Thrifting is not only good for your wallet, but also for the world
At first glance, it may not seem like future judges, doctors, engineers and architects walk the hallways of UTSA. Before they are able to put on their fancy white coats, robes and hats, students scramble to class wearing their mom jeans, birkenstocks, Adidas shorts and pullovers.
Along with the drive and dedication it takes to get a degree, so does dressing confidently. For many students, it seems to be an accepted notion that fashion can actually play a role into their academic success. “I feel like my performance in school will be better when I dress well and feel comfortable in my outfit,” said Alex Yglesias, a marketing student.
Student, Bryan Jallow said, “I feel empowered and like a rockstar.” This highlights how some students embrace their unique style, regardless if it’s anywhere near runway material or not, it can help them excel in the classroom.
While throwing on a stylish, comfy and individualistic outfit to ace exams seems to be of value for some students on campus, does dressing for success equate spending loads of money? Other sustainable alternatives, such as thrifting, have become a direction that millennials have been moving toward for fashion finds – especially college students who want to stay on trend without breaking the bank. In fact, a recent study in the 2018 Fashion Resale Report indicates that millennials thrift more than past generations, yet they are also the most wasteful when it comes to fashion.
Fast fashion stores, clothing stores carrying collections modeled after fashion week’s most recent releases, are commonly shopped at by young adults. As a result, students fall victim to perpetuating a detrimental cycle of clothing creation and about 60 percent of those textile products end up in landfills due to the cheap and the easily tearable material.
This is due to the demand for easily accessible and affordable clothing that college students see as one of the few options for dressing stylish. While some thrift stores might offer fast fashion brands, thrifting can help students achieve confidence through obtaining trendy clothing items for less, and help prevent the cycle of the 10 million clothing articles that end up in landfills each year when purchasing their “new” staple pieces as secondhand products, as found in the 2018 Fashion Resale Report.
Thrifting and reselling are not only an easy solution for affordable fashion finds, but there are also hidden treasures that can be found, as well as ending the stigma of only shopping brand names to be confident in one’s fashion ensemble. Marketing student, Alexis Pinkerton said, “fashion is important to me, but brands aren’t everything.” In essence, making thrifting and reselling the new shopping alternative for fashion forward pieces will not only add to one’s confidence and help create a more sustainable planet, but also break down the need to walk around campus covered in logos. What they wear is not who they are. College halls do not have to be fashion runways; but, students becoming confident in themselves, saving money and being more eco-friendly seems like a win win for everyone.
