Buying and selling second hand clothes is a very big part of life here. Many of the clothes are surplus from those that have been donated to charity in Europe. Vendors buy from the importers and sell in two markets here in Arusha. One is in the open air where sellers have their goods on the back of carts and the other is in a series of covered sheds.
I prefer the open air market because the prices are fixed. Shirts and tops 1000 shillings (60c), dresses 2000 shillings and scarves and accessories 500 shillings. There is also underwear but I have never inquired the price!
You just dig through the piles to see if you can find anything you like.
The undercover markets require you to bargain but they do have a bigger range. This afternoon a group of us went to these markets. Tonight one of the volunteers is having a birthday party and it is fancy dress. All of us need to dress as a rock or pop star. Should make for some interesting photos!
Michelle and (new) Helen explore the tee shirts
It is very competitive but it's always a slow process to get a fair price. I paid 10,000 in total for the three pieces I needed but I did get it down from 25,000.
Perhaps Laura is considering going as Dolly Parton!
