As clothing prices rise and wages struggle to keep up, University of Arizona students are increasingly turning to thrift stores, vintage pop-ups and resale platforms to manage their budgets.
What began for many as a cost-saving decision is now reshaping students’ fashion choices, with thrifted bags, oversized jeans and vintage mocknecks trending on campus.
“[Me and my friends] like thrifting together a lot as an activity. That’s like a thing that we do,” Natalia Morales, a UA student and frequent secondhand shopper, said.
Some of these trends stem from economic pressures related to economic policy changes under the current administration, including the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. It made tax cuts permanent, added new tax breaks, expanded border and defense spending and made cuts to welfare programs.
According to The Bureau of Labor statistics, in September this year alone, which is the most recent record due to the United States government shutdown, the US apparel price index rose 0.7%. This is a noticeable jump from 0.5% in August and 0.1% in July. The US apparel price index is a part of the consumer price index, which tracks how prices for everyday goods and services change over time.
More than half of consumers mentioned the rising retail prices have pressured them to cut non-essential spending, according to research from Tradewinds, a research initiative tracking consumer spending, released in May of this year.
Meanwhile, students are struggling.
The 2023 school year saw a 29% increase in the demand for the UA’s Campus Pantry, with about 2,200 people visiting the pantry each week. The demand for the UA’s Campus Closet, which is a donation-based program that provides free casual and professional clothing to all students, faculty and staff, also grew by 66% in 2023.
Around 28% of college students receive government aid through the Pell Grant. But Trump’s legislation will potentially raise the barriers for around 6 million students nationwide.
That financial uncertainty has led many to rethink their spending habits.
“I stopped buying stuff from more mainstream brands, because the quality is not good and it’s expensive,” UA junior Lauren Dempsey said. “I would rather buy something secondhand.”
That makes her part of a growing number of people shopping resale.
The US secondhand apparel market increased approximately 14% in 2024 and is expected to hit about $74 billion by 2029, according to ThredUp Newsroom, which is run by ThredUp, the online consignment and thrift store.
The secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $350 billion by 2028, according to the study.
Dempsey also sells clothes on Depop, a popular reselling website.
“The older I’ve gotten, the easier it has been for me to sell stuff, like I will post something and it will get sold within the day,” Dempsey said. “This summer I made $600 over 2 weeks from selling stuff. That is the most money I’ve made on Depop since I’ve started selling.”
More students are also hitting up local thrift stores.
“Secondhand shopping has always been a thing, especially when families are tight for money,” Morales said. “My family would always go thrifting when I was younger.”
But Morales thinks it has gained even more popularity because of the need for more affordable clothing and social media deeming it trendy or in style.
One popular place for UA students to get secondhand clothing is Greek Street Vintage, which is a recurring secondhand pop-up shop located on Second Street.
Si Bohrer, entrepreneur and former UA student, is the owner of Greek Street Vintage and founder of Backgrounds, a vintage shop that sells American vintage clothing to Japan and Germany.
“Secondhand stuff is just as good as the new stuff,” Bohrer said, even though it’s had a negative connotation in the past.
“We associate thrift stores, secondhand clothing and hand me downs with poverty and hard times,” Bohrer said. “However, that is just simply not the case.”
According to Bohrer, that view is shifting and many feel they get a bigger bang for their buck while shopping for used or pre-owned items.
Kathleen Kennedy, professor of practice in retailing and consumer science at the UA, echoed Bohrer’s sentiments. She emphasized many in the United States are looking for greater value for their money.
Kennedy urged consumers to “delink apparel from fashion.”
“It changes the way consumers buy apparel. It enables people to thrift at discount retailers and embellish their own things,” Kennedy said.
That change has opened the door for many UA students to express their individual styles while saving money.
“My main goal is to get to the point where my closet is all staple pieces or pieces I love,” Dempsey said.
Many of those pieces will be treasures she finds secondhand.
