I am not committed to a college, yet I keep shopping for my potential schools. But, never from the official school store.
I am simply obsessed with any vintage college clothing and utterly repulsed by half of the items in any and every official college clothing store. Most items are outdated, despite being new. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, they are all cropped. Frankly, I don’t want every item in my closet to be cropped, especially hoodies.
That being said, my search for college clothing has led me to some possibly less traditional places, but they should definitely be used by other individuals.
Poshmark
I love Poshmark, on the buying side and the listing side (please buy from me @k2kemppainen). Although some sellers overprice certain items, I haven’t seen many overpriced college items. My best advice in finding a specific college is to search for the college name and type of item wanted, such as a hoodie or t-shirt. Sometimes Poshmark’s search feature isn’t very effective, so filtering the results into a certain category or size may help. And if vintage items aren’t showing up when desired, add that to the search.
When scrolling on Poshmark, trust the process and just keep going, even if the results aren’t the greatest. It’s truly an online thrift store: digging is required to find the good stuff.
Poshmark is great for college clothing because it is such a widely-used resale site, and the sellers know to include the college name in the description, so items for smaller colleges can also be found.
ThredUp
Despite my love for ThredUp, finding college merchandise is incredibly difficult. The item listings never include the college title, which makes them incredibly difficult to find. Even by searching the exact name of the college, I get results of other schools, but typically, they are all schools of the same color. Though searching for college clothing on ThredUp is difficult, the reasonable prices and regular sales of the store make it worth it when I find something good. But until I commit to a college, my options will rest in my saved section, with my hope that they don’t sell.
eBay
Of course, this couldn’t be a vintage clothing lifestyle without the classic: eBay. eBay is one of the biggest reselling sites, meaning there are plenty of results for practically any college. The one issue I have with eBay is the insecure payment. For Poshmark, the website holds the money from the seller until the item has arrived and been approved by the buyer. ThredUp functions as an online consignment store, meaning the sellers are only paid after their items sell and have no part in the process other than sending clothes to the brand to be listed. eBay does hold the money from the seller until the item is shown as delivered by tracking or for 21 days if there is no tracking. I have had instances where items were marked as delivered to states away, meaning the seller was paid without me receiving the item. The 21-day window also concerns me, as there is a possibility the item may not be shipped by the seller, and they will just earn the money three weeks later. My advice to avoid these issues is to definitely check the seller rating.
Etsy
Etsy is great for any handmade or vintage items, but their college clothing specifically is great. Some shops opt for a simpler take while others go crazy with large designs. For whatever vibe, Etsy has the perfect match. However, smaller schools are less likely to be available on Etsy unless the item is entirely customizable. But, this is a good route to go to support small businesses.
Vintage and Thrift Stores
Shopping in-person for clothing is ideal for trying the items on. Many college campuses have thrift stores or vintage stores near campus that specifically take items in for that college. But there is always hope to find vintage college items without driving all the way to campus, especially for farther schools. My favorite vintage store, The Vintage Haven, in Hastings always has various college items, whether in-state or out.
No matter what college, there are always ways to find cute items, without getting outraged at the limited selection of the official stores.
