Quarantine thrift flipping
The growing trend of eco-friendly style through up-cycling past fashions.
Graphic by Melissa Liu, Managing Print and Design Editor
Krystal Wu, Staff Writer, Cameron Chappell, Staff Writer, and Melissa Liu, Managing Print and Design Editor
Quarantine has left people with plenty of time on their hands and many have spent this time searching for new hobbies and crafts. Taking your dad’s oversized shirt and flipping it into a stylish top is a craft that has swept the internet, many excited by the sustainable and satisfying result. With the overwhelming negligence of fast fashion for the environment and for humanity, individuals have looked towards shopping second hand as a cost-friendly alternative. Not only that, but thrifting can also bring forth many top-notch fashionable gems; after all, someone’s trash is another’s treasure. Sometimes when you’re thrifting, you might find a really nice washed pair of jeans, but the size is just too big on your waist. Or maybe there is a really nice, quality dress with an adorable pattern, but the length is sort of awkward. All over social media, people are posting tutorials on how to alter your pants, turn your awkward dress into a cute picnic-ready outfit, or make a cute bucket hat with the leftover fabric. At the end of the day: Style or sustainability, why not have both?
Thrift flipping is taking clothes from a thrift store, making them look trendy, and then reselling them at a higher price than bought. This process allows for environmentally, uniquely-styled clothing. You receive a cute but special outfit. Some popular apps to resell clothes on are Depop, Poshmark, and Etsy, but most promote their reselling businesses on different social media platforms. TikTok has become one of the most popular apps to use during quarantine with teens being the target audience. A lot of people use TikTok to display the process of themselves thrifting and recreating the original clothing into new pieces. There are accounts that show videos themed around “Pack an Order with Me”, while some are accounts themed around “Thrift and Upcycle with Me”. Most thrifting projects require a sewing machine and some experience, but others may call to only cut and crop a big shirt. Not only that, but the seemingly endless amounts of time also leaves people with new means to upcycle. There are many accounts who teach you how to hand sew a new outfit, measure your proportions, and make a template for clothing just your size. Goodwill is the widely known chain of thrift stores that can be found all over the country and often where people with no thrifting experience begin. The key to thrifting is being patient and thoroughly exploring all the items, whether it is a long dress to be refashioned or a blanket to be upcycled. What was once seen as boring and uncool to some is now one of the most popular trends of this whole quarantine. Thrifting allows people to try out new styles and express themselves through their clothing choices, all while being socially conscious and sustainable.
