Sometimes, I just sit down and ask myself, “who send these people work?” Because honestly, who gave Instagram vendors the green light to hijack our sacred bend-down select and turn it into boutique content?
You and I both know….
Before “thrift shopping” became popular, there was Okirika. Or as it is fondly called, bend-down select. And it was (and still is) the realest OG. We like our Okirika with no hanger, no scented packaging, and no branded nylons. (Yes!!!!!) Let us kneel under that sun, drag for the best clothes, and discover that one perfect gown that fits like a second skin. Lahor
Omo, growing up, if your wardrobe didn’t have at least one denim skirt, a no-name branded polo with the weirdest inscriptions ever, and those cotton gowns with shoulder pads that made you look like a backup dancer for Whitney Houston, did you really experience life? Okirika clothed us. It covered our shame, and we in turn rocked it proudly.
But now?
You people have put our beloved secondhand clothes on mannequins. MANNEQUINS!! You’re wearing it for content. You’re snapping it beside plants and soft curtains like GT Fashion Week 2025.
One vendor laidat is even calling it, “Premium thrift.” Premium kini?? Is it not Okirika from Katangua again?
I just weak.
Did we complain that our knees were tired from bending? Ehn
Did we beg you to spare our backs from sun and sweat?
Who told you that we don’t enjoy that chaotic hustle?
Do you even understand that rush of adrenaline rush when you spot a fine chiffon blouse with the tag still intact for ₦300? And you have to be fast before it gets snatched out of your hands, ₦300 o! You go shout “how much last?” and the vendor go say, “na ₦250 last.”
What happened to fighting over a pile of jeans in Tejuosho market? What happened to yelling “Aunty abeg hold that one for me I dey come!” even though you know you’re not coming back?
Before, we used to go to the market with ₦1,000 and come back with clothes, bag, belt, and small change for gala. Now, one Instagram vendor will tell you “₦10,000 last price” for one “stock jean” that you’d have gotten for ₦2,000 after small haggling.
Please, let us be guided.
To all Instagram thrift vendors repackaging our okirika
Awa o fe.
Leave us and our bend down select alone.
We’ll carry our Ghana-Must-Go bags to Katangua market. And we’ll be happy.
But if you’re still bent on calling it “thrift,” at least let it be affordable
