Over the past two years, sustainable fashion has taken over mainstream media as more and more people have become aware of fast fashion’s impact on the planet. This shift towards environmentally friendly clothing has encouraged younger crowds to thrift stores, vintage stores, and online secondhand shopping.
In my hometown, I had thrift stores that I’d been going to with my family for years. But when I got to Storrs last year, my thrifting options shrunk to taking a lengthy bus ride or buying online. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I saw on social media that a Swap Shop was opening on campus.
Trading Clothes
By the end of the second week of the semester, I’d heard lots about the Swap Shop through social media and signs and felt the excitement from other students. I brought a bag of clothes from home and I was eager to go see what it was all about. The Swap Shop is in the Family Studies building and was easy to find.
When I walked in, I saw racks of well-organized clothes and a cute mannequin display. I brought my clothes up to the front, and the process was quick and easy. They explained to me that certain items get you a specific amount of credits and you can use those credits to buy clothes there. Once my clothes were sorted through, I was told how many credits I had and was ready to shop!
Store Setup
The clothes in the store are organized by type of clothing and how many credits they’re worth. For example, basic tees, jeans, dresses were all racks that had the number of credits on them and were sorted by size. I was really impressed with the selection especially because the shop had only been open since the beginning of the semester. In addition to the secondhand traded items, there were jewelry and accessories made by students and a section of curated vintage clothing in the back. The Swap Shop also included a dressing room, which was great as many large thrift stores have closed their dressing rooms because of COVID-19.
Overall, the Swap Shop was extremely well-organized. When I first heard about its opening, I was unsure whether the process would be difficult or unorganized, but it was the opposite. The clothing I brought was processed quickly and I was given an extremely fair amount of credits. A lot of other thrift or consignment shops are typically less generous and only give you a fraction of what the clothes were originally worth. Since the credit system was consistent with the price of what I had brought in, I was able to get great items in exchange.
Not only was the system of trading the clothes easy, but the inside is very cute. Many avid thrifters know that especially Goodwill or Savers requires a lot of digging, and sometimes finding sizes can be difficult. When I first saw the Instagram posts and signs I was eager to go, but unsure if I would go consistently as I go to thrift stores (I will!). The UConn Swap Shop exceeded my expectations, and I’m already excited to swap more clothes this weekend!