THE JOYS OF THRIFTING

For two Sundays in Rome, my kids and I enjoyed retail therapy that is unique to this stylish Italian city.

- VICKY VELOSO-BARRERA

That is, we scooped up armfuls of fashion bargains at the Roman flea market Porta Portese which covers two kilometers with over a thousand stalls. I'm talking about Italian fashion, which is always well made even when it isn't branded.

At Porta Portese, vintage and secondhand finds include shoes, bags and accessories at greatly marked down prices. I'm talking about one euro, two euro, five euro, 10 euro prices at a current exchange of P67 to one euro. To justify spending a hundred euro, it needs to be branded like Max Mara.

We gleefully carried off our purchases, another bonus on an Italian vacation that was carefully planned to get the best deals on airfare, accommodations, tours and restaurants without employing a travel agency. But this has always been the DIY style of my family when we travel or celebrate a milestone like a debut. Everything—from the gowns to the cake and giveaways to the photo booth - is made by us so that although the result looks like we spent millions, we spend only a fraction of that.

Since we all love to dress up, thrifting has always been an enjoyable way for us to score truly great finds. Plus, vintage clothes are better made than many of the items you see today. They were sewn in an era when designers or their parent companies weren't chasing after profit margins.