20 | feature / the standard / oct. 2020
ININWITH THE OLD WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE OLD A look into how students have turned thrifting into a business
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ith clothing trends making a comeback from decades ago, so has thrifting, an alternative option for shoppers looking to stay away from retail and fast fashion. This old trend has resurfaced once again, and some students are now using this trend as a foundation for their businesses. Thrifting since she was 13 to buy herself clothes, sophomore MacKenzie Wasinger, decided to start selling some of her unique finds as a source of income. “I worked with my dad,” Wasinger said. “But I needed a little something extra.” Similar to Wasinger, senior Maddie Kelly started Signature Thrifts, a small clothing business with sophomore Audra Pugel. “We sell the items on our [Instagram] stories,” Kelly said. “People can swipe up and the first person to swipe up on the item gets it.” Kelly said as vintage fashion has begun to resurface, she has evolved her style to fit her finds. “A lot of my favorite pieces that I found have been things that were first outside of my comfort zone and then ended up really cute,” Kelly said. While Signature Thrifts sells via Instagram, Wasinger uses Depop, a fashion marketplace app used to buy and sell unique items. Before using Depop, Wasinger said she sold her finds on Mercari, a similar app. Before she can upload them on her account, Wasinger said she uses a white backdrop and takes photos of each item so her buyers know how it looks on a person “After I take the pictures, I upload them to Depop,” Wasinger said. After adding a small description for the clothing item, Wasinger said she adds keywords, which is an important step in the process. “I didn’t put keywords like it wouldn’t reach a lot of people.” Wasinger said.
| sophomoremackenziewasinger
