Go Vintage

Mee & Gee offers cheap, second-hand vintage clothes

By John Yip

If you are looking for a new outfit and only have HK$20 in your pocket, do not be discouraged because you cannot afford a T-shirt at H&M. You could get yourself a vintage make-over at Mee & Gee for the money – with two shirts at HK$5 each and a pair of trousers for HK$10.
Mee & Gee is a second-hand vintage clothing franchise. From T-shirts to coats, from ties to sportswear, Mee & Gee sells a wide range of clothes mainly sourced from mainland China.
In the store you will be greeted with racks and piles of clothes and excited customers ready to make a splurge. The clothes at Mee & Gee are known for being cheap. Hand-written signs hang over the racks that read, “Branded sports trousers – HK$50 for two” and “Branded ties – HK$ 10 each, buy 5 get 1 free”.
It is rare to see any bargaining as most customers find the prices reasonable – or even a little too low. An average customer would spend anywhere from HK$50 to HK$100. You can imagine how heavy their shopping bags are when they leave the shop.
You may have trouble squeezing into Mee & Gee at weekends when the daily customer count is 10 people every 15 minutes. It is not at all surprising since Mee & Gee offers more than mere bargains. Many customers are attracted to the shop because they do not have to worry about wearing the same outfit as someone else on the street.
You will find the vintage clothing sold at the shop are one-of-a-kind items. The patterns and colours are different for each piece. It is like going on a treasure hunt. However, since the clothes are second-hand, the size and fitting may not be right and customers may need to get them altered.
Ms. Liu loves wearing dresses but those sold at Mee & Gee are in sizes too big for her. She buys them anyway for the sake of the nice cut and lovely details. She does not mind doing some alteration work after the purchase.
Interestingly, the alter-it-yourself factor is another selling point of Mee & Gee. The clothes become truly yours after your sewing and cutting. On Internet forums, customers talk about how satisfied they are after turning an ill-fitting piece into a high-fashion vintage one. Alteration work has become part of the Mee & Gee experience.
One thing to note in order to get the most out of your Mee & Gee experience is that you need to double-check your clothes before your purchase. Mee & Gee does not treat or wash the clothes after they source them from their previous owners. Therefore, stains and tears may become part of what you are paying for.                                                        �
If you are looking for clothes and have more than HK$20 in your pocket, Mee & Gee is still the place to shop.
Mee & Gee has stores in Wan Chai, Central, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok. For more information, please visit www.mydress.com.hk/brand/704/Mee–Gee