The MU Attic: Where vintage meets sustainability on campus
In a world where sustainability meets style, a group of enterprising Mercyhurst students has turned their passion for thrift and vintage fashion into a vibrant venture: The MU Attic, a unique college store that promises to breathe new life into forgotten treasures while redefining what it means to shop sustainably.
Situated at 309 Old Main, The MU Attic made its debut late last year and recently held a grand re-opening, said Erin Magorien, an instructor in the Department of Fashion Merchandising whose Visual Merchandising course was the impetus behind the store. Not only does the eclectic retail outlet present a showcase of affordable clothes but also an opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the classroom and share their passion with members of the Mercyhurst community. To achieve the latter, the shop staff plans on hosting three pop-up stores on campus later this fall (see schedule below).
Store Manager Hazel Crotts, a junior Fashion Merchandising major, said the department received a generous gift of fine vintage clothing from a local woman. At first, students were inclined to sell pieces on Facebook Marketplace when the idea for a store and all its perks began to evolve.
For Crotts, who gravitates toward the planning and allocation side of fashion, the shop presents authentic opportunities to work with data. For Kate Thomas and Bella Merry, both of whom are working toward careers in visual merchandising, the chance to create store displays is a plus. For Katie Tarlo, who eyes a career in media marketing, the new shop offers all kinds of options for creative marketing, particularly in the realm of social media. And for Jeramiah Parks, who crafts his own clothing line called Ttthriller and hopes to open a thrift store someday, helping to manage the MU Attic is an ideal foray into the industry.
For the record, thrift stores offer a variety of secondhand items, whereas vintage shops have more curated collections of rare, older items. On the vintage side, the Attic has everything from a mink coat to tweed suits. On the thrift side, there’s lots of denim, for men and women both, sweatshirts, athletic wear, and even some retro Mercyhurst t-shirts.
Magorien said the MU Attic is fortunate to have three dozen truly vintage pieces, mostly from a single donor, while the remaining thrift merchandise is courtesy of students, faculty, staff, and friends. Prices range from $1 to $100 and benefit the department’s Fashion Council.
In both cases, be it thrift or vintage, sustainability is a catalyst.
At Mercyhurst, students practice a variety of sustainability initiatives. In fact, in recent years, Mercyhurst has been recognized as a green college by several organizations, among them Princeton Review's Guide to Green Colleges, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Program, and Penn Future.
“Today’s students are concerned about waste, and looking at fashion sustainably is a way of creating a more environmentally and socially responsible industry,” Magorien said.
She also said social media plays a role. “Thrift hauls,” for instance, refer to the practice of showcasing a collection of items purchased from thrift stores or secondhand shops. Young people often share these hauls on social media, especially TikTok, highlighting the unique, vintage, or affordable finds they’ve discovered.
Not only is living sustainably a strong consideration for many of today’s college students, but clothing can be expensive, so having a store on campus with affordable vintage and thrift items is a matter of convenience, as well as dollars and cents.
The MU Attic is open seven days a week and operated by Fashion Merchandising work studies and volunteers. Despite the convenient hours, foot traffic is challenging to achieve on the 3rd floor of Old Main, which has prompted the debut of MU Attic pop-ups. A schedule and tentative locations are below. Stay tuned for further updates.
POP-UP SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Oct. 16, Egan Patio, 2:30-4 p.m. (rain location; Old Main alcove outside the President’s office)
Tuesday, Oct. 22, Foyer of Old Main, 1-2:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 14, Weber Hall, 6:30-8 p.m.
Each pop-up shop will have a theme spanning fall trends to menswear; also, basket raffles with items donated by local businesses.
For more information, contact Erin Magorien at emagorien@mercyhurst.edu.
PHOTO: (L-R) Gathered in the MU Attic at 309 Old Main are Assistant Store Manager Kate Thomas, Katie Tarlo, Store Manager Hazel Crotts, Jeramiah Parks, and Bella Merry.