GREEN GAMEDAYS WITH @UMICHAPPAREL

By: Shannon Leone

 Abby Miars is a junior at Umich studying economics and minoring in entrepreneurship. However, she is more well known for creating @umichapparel, an Instagram account that allows Michigan students to buy and sell unique Michigan merchandise. Abby started the account only 3 years ago and has already managed to accumulate over 3,500 followers as well as sell over 3,000 pieces.

What gave you the idea for umichapparel?

A: Making the decision to go to Michigan was really difficult for me because my entire family went to Michigan State so I felt sort of out of place. In the first week, I wanted a cute outfit for game day but I didn't really have anything in my closet and so I went to the MDEN but everything was insanely expensive. I've always loved thrifting so I decided to try that out and I was able to find a few pieces. Then, a few of my friends asked me if I could find them stuff when I went thrifting and I found a ton of pieces and they recommended that I try and do something with this. A week later I moved in and started the account and got really lucky because I began toa accumulate a following really quickly. I feel that my previous interest in fashion and thrifting as well as my passion for repurposing old clothing played a major role in the success of the account.

How do you get the clothes for the umichapparel account?

A: Something that really helped me when I first started the account was a senior reaching out to me who had a ton of old tailgate clothes that she wanted me to sell for her. Most of the clothes she gave me were very “boutique-like” tailgate clothes that girls would often look for and it really helped draw interest to my account because girls would see the clothes and notice how unique they were compared to the MDEN. The rest of freshman year I thrifted everything else that was seen on my account. However, during the pandemic, thrift stores closed so I started buying clothes from other Instagram accounts often run by Michigan students. This past fall, I began to buy from Instagram accounts that sold primarily vintage clothing and they would often have a lot of vintage Michigan gear which allowed me to buy the clothes in bulk. However, 70% of the clothing that I sell is still thrifted! While I am pretty lucky when it comes to finding stuff, I think it's just a lot easier to find clothes since I am looking for styles that suit so many different people, not just myself.

What is the overall mission of umichapparel?

A: From a sustainable standpoint, I realized that I tend to wear a game day outfit once and then what? I don’t want to throw the clothes away but what do I do with them? Gameday apparel is very fast-fashion based because tailgate trends often come and go. The mission statement would be keeping college gear in circulation for more than just the one time that someone wears an outfit. In this way, everything that I buy and sell is secondhand. I also just wanted students on campus to have really unique pieces and a lot of my clothing is cheaper or about the same price as the MDEN but the difference is that you will rarely ever see anyone else wearing the same piece of clothing on a gameday.

How does your business relate to sustainability + sustainable fashion?

A: Every piece that I buy is second-hand through thrifting and purchasing clothing from other vintage shops. There is also another part of umichapparel that does not get advertised as much but I am trying to increase awareness of which is people actually selling the gear they have purchased on my account back to me after they have graduated or no longer want to utilize the clothing. So, I am aiming to alter umichapparel to be more of a Plato’s Closet equivalent which would open it up as a way to recycle your clothes and eliminate waste.

Do you have any plans to expand your business?

A: There are some days where I consider opening up a shop in Ann Arbor or launching a website because I love what I am doing but then I have to also consider the risks of putting so much time into it. However, I do plan to continue utilizing the account for the rest of my time at school as well as a few years after. Currently, I am doing a project now for one of my entrepreneurship classes and our end goal is to create a website so I will hopefully have a website up and running soon. I also just got the official LLC business label for umichapparel so the next step I am going to take is to create a business bank account so I am able to accept cards when people pay which will really help me to finalize the website.

We would like to thank Abby for taking the time to interview with us today! Check out @umichapparel on Instagram to find sustainable Umich gear and more :)))