Lines of clothing racks full of vintage, second-hand garments crowd Kent’s downtown thrift stores, where students and town locals alike rifle through to find unique pieces to add to their wardrobe.
The downtown thrift scene in Kent offers a plethora of secondhand clothing shopping opportunities, each with its own personality. It’s a culture beyond just a mountain of donated clothes lumped together at a Goodwill.
“I think there could always be more [thrift options],” said Branded in Kent assistant manager Allison Peterson. “Right now, it’s just us, Sun in Leo in Acorn Alley and Einstein’s Attic. Obviously, there is a Goodwill, but I have heard that can be hit or miss.”
Popular local thrift store, Branded in Kent, opened in late 2022 and, ever since, has been a big help in styling Kent’s community. The Branded business has its original location in Butler, PA. It operates its warehouse in the Pennsylvania small town, where the brand then ships clothes to stock the Kent location, according to Peterson.
“[The owner] buys out certain charities if they have a surplus of clothing,” Peterson explained. “[The charities] would rather have a donation than the extra clothes, and he essentially sorts through all of the clothes at that facility, brings them down here, and we wash them, sort and tag them.”
Branded offers customers a range of styles, from sports paraphernalia to unique tops and accessories. Whether you wear vintage street style or reach for polished aesthetics, Branded has it all.
“[Thrifting] is definitely essential, especially in a place where it’s not super saturated,” Peterson said. “There are a couple of other vintage and curated shops around, but there’s not a lot like us. I feel like we are filling a gap.”
Buying thrifted clothes can be affordable, which is what attracts most thrift-lovers, but in some cases, especially when picking up vintage items, it can get a little pricey.
“…Thrifting and resale in general are really popular, right now, among Gen Z,” Peterson said. “It is important to have it, but the affordability aspect is just as important, which is something we have been trying to reassess and fix.”
If you gravitate towards a smaller, more-focused aesthetic shop, the Sun in Leo fashion boutique in Acorn Alley is the place for you. This shop, centered on upcycling, offers a very specific, vintage style.
Founder Justine Gallo, who is also a fashion designer, detailed on the Sun in Leo website that the goals of the shop are to restore vintage garments to help stop the ever-growing waste of fast-fashion.
It is a small shop with clothes lining the walls and aisles, and handmade jewelry is displayed at the cash register. Behind the cashier station, a small work desk with a sewing machine can be seen, adding to the whimsical atmosphere of the boutique and letting customers know the clothes are upcycled in-house.
Sun in Leo employee and head of marketing, Nicole Joseph, detailed that Gallo thrifts the store’s stock herself.
“She’ll go to a few big thrift stores, or little random ones, to find new stuff for the store,” Joseph said.
A specific part of thrifting besides choosing sustainable, low-cost options, is simply the activity of thrifting. Most people aren’t looking for a specific item when heading into the thrift stores, but rather trying to find clothing that fits their aesthetic.
“I love being able to find vintage clothing at a good price and quality,” Joseph said. “Also, the hunt of it all, I love to search for a deal for clothes that are really good.”
Access to secondhand clothing stores allows Kent locals to curate their individual style without being forced to succumb to all the popular trends just because that is your only option. This is highly important in the modern age of everyone participating in microtrends on social media. Our individuality and genuine self-expression get lost a lot of the time.
“I feel like thrifting is the biggest way I was able to find my style,” Joseph said. “When you’re in a thrift store, there are so many different styles of clothing that you go through compared to a department store, where it’s just clothes of what is popular in the moment.”
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