Pressed for time and need money as a student? This may be the answer needed.

Fashion Journalism Interview Piece

Pressed for time and need money as a student? This may be the answer needed.

            As all of us students know, going to school in general is expensive, let

alone in Toronto. Running from class to class trying to squeeze in time to eat can get extremely exhausting and very costly. Most of us are so busy getting a part-time job is almost laughable at how incompatible it is to our weekly schedule. However, what if there were ways to make a good amount of money, use your knowledge of fashion, and work whenever you want?

            One of my friends Harrison Feltham does exactly that. By going onto websites that buy and sell designer, street, and miscellaneous clothing it opens up a whole new world of possibilities. For the past few years he’s been going online, particularly to a website called ‘www.grailed.com’ he puts the art of buying and “flipping” clothing to use. First a little background, ‘grailed’ is a website particularly for men all around the globe to buy and sell their unwanted clothing, particularly expensive clothing. Everything from Gucci to college sweaters and all in between you can browse through thousands of posts to find that particular piece you always wanted. Most see it as a way to improve their own closet, however for some such as Harrison, it’s a great way to make money if you know how.

           

            It’s worth noting that it isn’t as easy as signing up and buying whatever you see then selling it a few days later. After doing this for a few years Harrison has learned a lot about where the money can be made and what to look for, “it takes a lot of time to build up your understanding of how it all works. I’ve honestly lost a good amount of money on things I really thought would be able to sell back high – you really need to kind of study it to understand what to look for, what’s selling and why it’s selling.”  Fashion students in general can learn a great deal about trends happening now, this can also transfer over into helping in the future. You have the possibility to meet people who may be a contact in the future – “I’ve sold clothes to a ton of people, there was one guy I sold something to who was a tattoo artist who kind of travels everywhere, we stayed in touch and now whenever he visits Toronto we get to catch up. Then there’s another guy who worked at this store in Yorkville I bought something off of and through him I almost got my internship for last summer so you really never know who you can meet and what doors can open up.”

            With so much time being spent on school, it’s very hard for students to find the time to make money to support themselves, however, with this aspect of the fashion industry it’s very flexible. “Whenever you have even a few minutes to check what’s going on you have potential to make money. Some stuff you really need to know is if something has the potential to sell at higher than you paid for it, I look at it kind of like the stock market in a way. Then on the other aspect you can post something up and just sit back and wait for offers to come in. It’s so simple when you know what you’re doing, just takes a while is all. For anyone looking to start I’d definitely say before you even start buying stuff to sell I’d take time and just make note of what’s selling cause’ I know personally, I’ve lost a good amount of money on things I just didn’t know enough about at the start.”  

            One little detail that I picked up whilst researching was the reusability of the clothing on this website. The fashion industry as a whole has a big reputation for waste and pollution due to the waste. This website shines a light on reselling and repurposing clothing, mostly expensive clothing as well. Many designers have tried to bring light to the issue of waste in the industry with runway outfits, clothing lines, and many other things. I believe that this whole ‘buying and flipping’ part of fashion helps to alleviate some pressure on the wastefulness of the fashion industry. By recycling the clothing, it adds more possibility of older clothing to be re used or possibly up cycled.

            With a little work, anybody can make a little extra money by following something that interests them and gaining some knowledge along the way, possibly even making some connections. There are many upsides to buying and flipping clothes, especially with the addition of recycling and re using clothing instead of tossing it away as we do so often these days. You can feel good about selling your unused clothing, make some money for school, and be environmentally conscious. With so many upsides to buying and flipping clothing, it’s almost like a secret with the low amount of students who really do it.