18/05/2026
🌟Time for some TRIVIA!
👚Here is a fascinating piece of trivia about ukay-ukay...
💃The "Wagwag" Origins & The Playful Dig at SM
While younger generations only know the term ukay-ukay (derived from the Visayan word halukay, meaning "to dig"), the industry actually started under a completely different name in Baguio City during the late 1980s and early 1990s: Wagwagan.Here is a fascinating piece of trivia about ukay-ukay that will appeal to a middle-aged audience. It connects history, nostalgia, and a clever play on words that many may have forgotten.
👗The Action: Wagwag is an Ilocano word meaning to take a piece of clothing by one end and snap it sharply in the air to shake off the dust. In the early days, clothes weren’t neatly hung on hangers; they were dumped in massive piles on the sidewalk. Shoppers literally had to wagwag every item to see what it looked like.
🫦The "Secret" Code Name: As the trend grew and expanded outside of Northern Luzon, middle-aged shoppers and working professionals who felt a bit embarrassed about buying secondhand clothes started using a clever, tongue-in-cheek acronym to hide where they bought their outfits. They would tell envious friends they bought their clothes at "SM."
While everyone assumed they meant the retail giant Shoemart, "SM" actually stood for Segunda Mano (secondhand). It became a running inside joke among practical shoppers who wanted to look like a million bucks while spending next to nothing.
