Stupid Smart Vintage, an NC State student-led, thrifty clothing brand has a mission to sell sustainable and stylish clothing at SHEIN prices.
This past summer, Elizabeth Edwards and Sarah Harte, third-years studying fashion and textile management, found themselves with a vast curated clothing collection.
The pair decided to start selling pieces from their collection and launch Stupid Smart Vintage.
Edwards and Harte have been interested in fashion since they were kids and used thrifting to follow their personal style rather than trends.
“I never had the money to go out and get a bunch of clothes,” Harte said. “But I always wanted to find cool stuff and be different from the kids in my school, so I would always just go thrifting and just find pieces.”
Edwards said she found thrifting allowed her to hone her style and stand out.
“It was more so just not wanting to wear what other people already had,” Edwards said. “Everybody was shopping at PacSun, Forever 21 and H&M. You go to school [and] everyone’s wearing the same jeans.”
Harte said she thinks staying ahead of trends is important.
“It’s kind of fun, seeing all the mainstream things that we wore so long ago now coming back in and becoming popular again,” Harte said. “Just trying to be ahead of the curve, really.”
Harte said their coursework has aided in their mission to be as sustainable as possible while staying affordable.
“We’re trying to make the small difference that we can,” Harte said. “We learn a lot in class about SHEIN — like the unsustainability of fast fashion — and we really don’t want to contribute to that.”
Edwards and Harte are focused on growing their brand, and they said they’ve made significant progress through social media, word of mouth and campus-related initiatives — most recently, they styled The Layaways, a Raleigh-based band composed of five NC State students.
As the pair has gained experience, they’ve learned how to be a savvy thrifter. Edwards said that one of the biggest thrifting mistakes she made as an amateur was hunting only for name-brand items.
“Eighth-grade me would just get things because they were American Eagle, even if the pieces weren’t cute,” Edwards said. “Pick up a piece, and if it sparks joy, get it.”
Hart said it’s important to think outside the box when thrifting.
“You don’t have to keep it as is when you find it in the store,” Harte said. “You could cut it, you could change it, do anything really, and make it completely different.”
Stupid Smart Vintage will be at the “Campus Thrift Store x 2BrokeBoyz” event on Oct. 5, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Stafford Commons.
