Last Friday, Villanovans were invited to peruse tables and bargain for clothes at the Student Sustainability Committee’s (SSC) Fall Semester Wildcat Thrift.
This biannual event has been one of the SSC’s main intitiatives for the last few years, with a dedicated Wildcat Thrift chair overseeing a sub-group of committee members who plan the event.
The array of dresses, sweaters, Villanova merchandise and more was enticing to many students as they walked past the Riley Ellipse between lunch and classes.
There was a lot of anticipation leading up to it, as the event was originally set to be on Halloween but was unfortunately postponed due to inclement weather.
“I was told by one of the vendors to check it out,” freshman Danika Gadient said. “She was selling stuff, and then I decided to stop by because I like the whole idea of thrifting, and there’s not really thrift stores around here that are close by. And everyone [at Villanova] is always dressed so nice, too.”
Fashion culture and standards around dressing vary dramatically depending on where one goes to school, and events like this reflect the attitude and styles of the students on any campus. Anyone was allowed to sign up for a table, which allowed very different styles to be represented. Among the roughly 12 vendors, the selection of clothing ranged from formal and preppy to athleisure wear and statement pieces.
Groups like Tonight’s Dress, a student-to-student dress rental platform, and sororities had booths, as well as Special Olympics who sold leftover Fall Fest T-shirts to anyone looking to hold onto the spirit of that weekend and a handful of individuals simply looking to clean out their closets.
“I’m flexible [on prices] because I know that college is very expensive, and I just want to get rid of this stuff because I’m not wearing it anymore,” sophomore Soleil Dubois, one of the vendors selling more unique items, said.
The idea of the Wildcat Thrift is to promote sustainable clothing consumption with the goal of creating a semi-closed clothing economy on campus. If students buy from each other, clothing items get a new life and don’t have to be tossed aside or replaced by another brand-new (and likely mass-produced) item.
While the main goals ring true to sustainability incentives, it also has the added benefit of allowing people with differing aesthetics to share and explore other styles for cheaper.
Thrifting in general fosters individuality when it comes to style, letting people pick and choose interesting clothes to add to their closet instead of succumbing to a herd mentality of wanting to get your hands on pieces that everyone else has.
Past stigmas around thrifting have now been drowned out by those excited to sort through donated clothes and hunt for good quality and name brands. As the trend grows, events like the Wildcat Thrift are becoming more well-attended and anticipated.
“I think a lot of people are more open to thrifting recently because they want a vintage look,” Gadient said. “Not everyone wants to wear the same thing.”
Other platforms for exchanging clothes have been gaining popularity as of late. Apps like Depop and Nuuly make buying, selling and renting used clothes easier than ever, and they reflect a growing sentiment in younger generations for getting creative with personal style while being more eco-conscious.
As for the Wildcat Thrift, some students are hopeful that traction grows throughout campus for future events.
“I think they could do a better job of advertising people to come and sell their stuff,” Gadient added. “I was expecting a lot more people, but I think it’s a good start to make it into something bigger.”
While there was a healthy mix of different styles, clothes for different occasions and a table for inclusive sizing, more tables of clothes to look through might draw a bigger crowd, ultimately working more towards the SSC’s goal with this event.
As we look to the Spring Semester for the next Wildcat Thrift, students are encouraged to reflect on their personal wardrobe and the choices made when purchasing clothes. We should all remember to do so while staying true to our own unique styles.
