Ditching the mall as a clothing source is trending. Switching to sustainable fashion can be difficult, but there are students that have shared their favorite tips and tricks for making the switch.
Adding sustainability to one’s closet can mean eliminating fast fashion or collecting more vintage pieces, but overall it creates an entire shopping spectrum for consumers and how they choose to buy clothing and what type they buy. There are apps like Depop and Grailed but also stores like Helping Hands Mission Store and multiple Goodwill stores around the state that provide a great selection of pre-owned clothing.
Sophomore student Zoe Fisher-Smith has been buying clothing second-hand her entire life and has been able to rack up some pointers for those who would like to start focusing on sustainability in their closet.
“Goodwill and the Salvation Army store [are] both really good stores [to thrift at] because it’s cheap and you can [have] really great finds there,” Fisher-Smith said.
Fisher-Smith has recognized that even when getting great finds, one may want to watch out for the not-so-great finds.
“Actually look for stuff,” Fisher-Smith said. “You absolutely need to look for stains, weird marks, or holes in clothes because nobody wants to be seen with clothes that look extremely worn out.”
Sophomore Shelby Toth is another student who has a closet of primarily pre-owned clothing and has found easy ways for others to find hidden gems in overfilled thrift stores.
“Look at all the size racks. You can usually find clothes that were misplaced and put in the wrong section,” Toth said. “There has been times I’ve found size smalls in the large section [of stores.]”
Toth is someone who has an interest in vintage clothes and buying vintage pieces from resellers can reach expensive heights, so Toth has found cheaper alternatives.
“As long as people actually look at all the racks [of thrift stores], they can find so many great vintage pieces that nobody else will most likely own,” Toth said.
Junior and thrift-savvy student Niyla Zambrana has an interest in thrifting, to find unique clothing items.
Zambrana’s attire has been enhanced by branching out. Observing styles in magazines, television, or even peers can be an easy outlet for those wanting to experiment.
“Ways to improve your thrifting is to open your eyes to a variety of different styles and make sure you have something that would look good with it,” Zambrana said.
