Fashionable Things to Buy in Baguio for Budget-friendly OOTD

Where to buy: Easter Weaving (2 Easter Road, Guisad, Baguio City)

Suggested budget: PhP530 to PhP1,000

A great place to start your search for Baguio style is Guisad, where a weaving tradition has flourished since Baguio City’s beginnings. Founded in 1909, Easter Weaving Room has been in business for more than a century, and has become a just representative to the city’s colorful culture.

The weavers of Easter Weaving Room commit themselves to the preservation of many traditional techniques, including the Ikat, a Cordilleran process of tying and dyeing spools of recycled acrylic yarns into vivid hues. These turn into high-quality native, stripe, or metallic fabrics, which are then made into the elegant apparels such as the shawls and scarves that tourists visit the highlands for.

These vibrant headwears make sure you stay cozy amidst Baguio’s cool climate, or stay protected from the sun as you strut down the summer capital’s tourist. You can also shield yourself from dust, smog, or smoke, or cover up a bad bug bite with your trusty scarf. You know it’s a done deal when a piece is both fashionable and functional.

Aside from shawls and scarves, Easter Weaving also sells wooden crafts, handwoven purses, and silver, leather, paper, and crocheted goods.

Where to buy: Baguio City Public Market (Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City)

Suggested budget: PhP150 to PhP300

Whether you’re in Baguio for the weekend or for an extended vacation, you’d need a consistent kit to take with you on your hauls. Enter the sling bag. The hands-free single-strapped carrier is also sometimes referred to as a shoulder bag, satchel, or a body bag.

Stalls lining up the Baguio City Public Market are probably the best source for these bags, as they sell them in many different shapes, sizes, materials, and of course, styles.

Where else can you find a public market that’s classified as a top tourist attraction? That’s because the busy Baguio Public Market is always at its best: it’s always clean and well-kept; cool, so you’re never too worn-down; and best of all, it’s comprehensive, as it sells practically everything that the region has to offer.

But if you’re after sling bags to start off your shopping spree, Marbay, the dry goods section of the public market, is your destination. Hundreds of handicrafts, from wooden to woven, are sold here, which of course includes sling bags. Canvas, fabric, faux leather, in square, round, or duffel sizes – the whole variety is available at the market.

Where to buy: Lagalag Baguio (Casa Vallejo, Upper Session Road, Baguio City)

Suggested budget: caps start at PhP550

Sometimes, a trip to Baguio City is a timed relaxation, but other times, it’s a hike to the highlands. That’s why you have to come prepared. Brace for the cold ascent, or just stay snug with a cap, like the ones sold by Lagalag Baguio.

The store runs on people who live for the great outdoors, as manifested by their wide array of hiking equipment such as heavy-duty backpacks, soft shell hoodies and windbreakers, field shirts, convertible pants, singlets and jerseys, and of course, headgears. More functional than fashionable, these products ensure runners’, hikers’ or just the general outdoorsman’s safety while trekking through nature’s best and worst conditions.

This is how the trustworthy trucker’s cap works too. For female athletes, or anyone who happens to have long hair, caps keep your locks secure or your eyes shielded when winds get too strong or the sun gets too bright. Other options like visors and wide-brimmed hats from Lagalag offer great protection from sunburns and heat strokes too.

Baguio’s diverse terrain, coupled with nature’s unpredictability, make for a great weekend hike, run, or trek so make sure you’re properly geared!

Where to buy: Baguio City Public Market (Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City)

Suggested budget: starts at PhP70

Also within the premises of Baguio City Public Market, locals make a living by selling a piece of their heritage: beaded necklaces. Called paraway in local languages, these beaded necklaces usually adorn the necks of Mangyan and Kalinga women – daughters, mothers, grandmothers – as a display of status, wealth, and power.

Today, locals use commercial glass beads to replace either the traditional plant seeds or imported porcelain and sew them into beautiful patterns and various lengths to form the necklaces they sell in the public market. Some claim they have religious relevance, or that they ward off evil spirits. Nonetheless, these colorful accessories are the perfect addition to your suit of Baguio’s body jewelry that can also include anklets and earrings.

And it’s a great gift too! These beaded necklaces fit all, can be paired with most outfits, and can even be given as an heirloom to younger family members for their sentimental value. But the best part is, passing them on preserves a tradition – of the fairs and festivals of Baguio, and of the bond between mothers and daughters.

Headed to the City of Pines anytime soon? Check out Yoorekka for useful travel tips!