See... If you had only joined in Early November like I did...
You just missed the whole "Gold key" craze. Where you could randomly obtain rare "Gold keys" by playing games and locked crates to be opened. You could open the crates to win potential rare items (or super rare like stitch hat)! People were in a craze to obtain keys and were trading rare clothing/items for them! EVERYTHING I own I traded keys for. They were truly fair and helped newer players "catch up" because anyone had the same odds of obtaining them and could trade them for rare items. Without them I'd be a poor beggar.
I truly feel for new players who (like me) didn't hear of this game from Day 1....
Don't lose hope, though.
Play games for credits, buy featured items of the month (October was halloween items, November was Adventure (Ned's shop) items, December is holiday stuff). Stock up on featured items and in 1 month when they retire, trade them up for items you've missed/desire to collect. Just be patient and don't take the game too seriously. Look for giveaways and play contests with prizes (Cute or Boot, falling chairs). Attend HOST events (check calendar for them): Ride the rideathons, play HOST games, always make sure you enter the room RIGHT when it opens so you won't have to wait in a queue too long! If you're patient, smart, and work diligently then you can truly rebuild what you had from original VMK! I wish you luck and if you ever need any advice or help, I'm Jason in-game.