How It Started
Most people picked up a new hobby during the pandemic, but after the quarantine ended, most of those hobbies ended, and real life started to set in again. For Erin Anderson, that quarantine hobby was sewing new clothing for herself. What began as making tops for going to parties and bars turned into so much more…
Erin grew up with a strict mom who did not let her wear tops that “showed too much.” So, when she went into quarantine and found her mom’s sewing machine, she decided, “if I make the going out tops, my mom can’t say no.” It did not just stop there; however, this summer, she decided to start selling the clothes she was creating. All her friends at school had been making clothes and selling them. She said, “they were making a lot of money quickly, and I thought I should do that. I had so much extra clothing that I wasn’t using, so I decided to create an Instagram and start selling.”
Wanting to Reduce Her Carbon Footprint
It was not just the thought of making more money that motivated her to make clothing. She also wanted a “job that didn’t really feel like work” and to create less of a carbon footprint by making her own clothing. Erin explained, “I hate that everyone talks about how the world is going to burn up in the next ten years, but they never actually do anything about it. I actually wanted to take action. I could create less of a carbon footprint by making my own clothing rather than shopping on Shein or other fast fashion sites.” In an article by Jerren Gan, “Here’s Why You Should Never Shop at Shein No Matter What,” Gan states, “Like every other fast fashion company, clothes produced by Shein are often lower quality and not made to last. These pieces of clothing are also made with synthetic fabrics meaning that these clothes are more likely to be in a landfill longer than they are in our closets. After all, their clothes are supposed to be trendy. And following the trend means that these clothes do not have to last past their short fashionable lifespan.”[1] Erin wanted at least to stop her contribution to the issue that fast fashion industries create.
Her Inspiration
Photos by Erin Anderson
Her friends started her inspiration for tops and outfits to create. She explained, “when I first started, I had no idea what people would want in terms of style, so I went to my friends, and they gave great ideas, which actually are now my best sellers.” The Caroline top and the Morgan top are her best-selling tops as of today. I actually created the Caroline top, Caroline “Carly” Hart, based on a top I already had and wanted in a different color. Erin, however, turned this top into so much more, giving it many styles.
The Morgan Top was named after Morgan Walters one of her friends and sorority sisters.
What’s Next?
Having this conversation with Erin sparked an idea for both of us. Something that we both have always been interested in is starting a boutique. So, the hope is that one day Erin and I could start our own boutique close to home after working for a little while. After discussing her clothing, we spent an hour discussing how we could someday accomplish this idea. We would love to have many of Erin's items in this boutique and sell other sustainable vendors' clothing. We would also love to target college students since we have a good idea of what they are looking for. The name we came up with stemmed from Erin and I being roommates at boarding school, "Your Roommate's Closet." We thought of it not only because we were roommates but also because we have seen a trend that everyone likes clothing better from their roommates' closets. I often run into a problem where I want nothing in my closet, and the first thing I think to do is run to my roommate's closet to get a fresh wardrobe. Erin and I still have a lot to figure out, but this is a pretty good start on what to do next. From this point right now, the goal is to get Erin a website to sell her clothing which I hope to help her accomplish soon.
[1] (Gan, Here's why you should never shop at shein no matter what)
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