Zoe Kirk and Lydia Bradley
Staff Writers
With a growing awareness of clothing filling landfills and a need to save money, many students have gravitated into secondhand fashion.
The Courier spoke to some fashionable East Stroudsburg University students who enjoy thrifting to get their perspective on the growing shift toward secondhand fashion. We also spoke with the owners of Go Fish and LotusMothVintage, two woman-owned, secondhand small businesses within 10 minutes of campus.
We met with our friends Candi Molina Santana and Sean Selback to discuss our dive into the world of thrifting and find out more about their interests in it.
Sean found that his favorite aspect of shopping secondhand is the ability to experiment with his style without it having a negative environmental impact, as opposed to fast fashion. Candi enjoys the versatile selection in thrifting; multiple demographics can be reached in one store.
The two enjoy shopping secondhand, but we found that they were not familiar with the small-owned secondhand stores in our area and have been limited to the few big-name secondhand stores.
LotusMothVintage is located at 6 Delaware Ave in the Delaware Water Gap. Gobrielle and Jocelyn Hudson are the owners; two fashionable, super cool women focusing on restoring worn clothing that others have deemed as unwearable. The two don’t always buy their clothing to resell as they focus heavily on acquiring discarded clothing as well as sourcing from abandoned locations. They sell not only clothes but jewelry, vintage home decor, books, and so many other accessories.
Jocelyn and Gobrielle both find inspiration in the attempt to better the environment by helping to reduce clothing waste. They each emphasized the importance of wearing what you love and feel comfortable in, and this message is displayed throughout every item in their store. They put exceptional care into each and every piece for sale.
Go Fish is located at 748 Milford Road in East Stroudsburg. Andie Federman is the muscle behind this secondhand store. She sources her clothing primarily from the Queens and Brooklyn areas of New York. While many of her items have designer tags, she offers reasonable prices and a welcoming in-store experience.
Along with her store, she hosts a clothing auction each night on Whatnot, selling even more clothing at incredible prices. Andie found her inspiration very young as she grew up in New York City. She recalled that her friend group was made up of members of the LGBTQ community with unique styles. She told us that people created their own families in an attempt to feel less marginalized; they bonded over fashion and clothing.
Fashion has always been important to her; something she always came back to. She offered advice to anyone who is struggling to find their style.
“Don’t imitate who is out there. Feel fabulous in what you love and own it. Don’t listen to other people or what the trends are focusing on, they’re not for everyone,” said Andie.
She also offered 20% off any in-store purchase for students who visit and mention this article.
With the growing interest in secondhand fashion, we wanted to provide options for students who may be unfamiliar with the small businesses in the area. Go Fish and LotusMothVintage are both less than 5 miles away from campus and offer a more personal experience than chain locations. Both stores are also willing to be on lookout for any items you may be searching for, creating a sense of community that goes beyond a typical shopping trip.
As more students become mindful of both their environmental impact and personal style, supporting local small-owned businesses offers a meaningful way to do both.