Kaitlyn Tran sources secondhand clothing from local thrift stores, then customizes them with her own embroidered artwork and slogans. Many of her designs are Philadelphia-themed, reflecting regional pride and appealing to local customers. She also creates seasonal collections for winter and fall.
She started the business in 2020. When all schools were closed for quarantine, Kaitlyn Tran had a lot of free time — and a closet full of clothes.
“I have so much clothes already, so I was like, might as well just sell them like everybody else is doing it, just to make some extra cash,” said Tran.
Kaitlyn’s Threads operates through Instagram, which has more than 6k followers. Instagram allows Tran to engage with her followers directly and maintain her brand’s aesthetic through posting upcoming collections and individual item pictures. She photographs each item individually and adds detailed descriptions to the posts, making it easier and more convenient for her followers to navigate her page.
With the growth of orders and her followers on social media, Tran realized that she needed a more diverse inventory, so she started buying things in local thrift stores.
“I would spend hours in the stores just looking for items that I think my following would like,” said Tran.
The search can be a complex and time consuming process. Current trends that also correspond to the aesthetics of her audience are her priorities during the search for new clothes.
“As I started growing, I really understood who my market was and what kind of pieces they were drawn to,” said Tran.
Tran manages her business entirely by herself, tracking her expenses in a spreadsheet after purchasing clothes to stay financially organized. After that, she always washes and dries each item to ensure cleanliness and quality before photographing them separately. Another important step of this process is to carefully stylize, evaluate, and describe each product before uploading to Instagram.
Beyond business logistics, her brand’s goal is to limit clothing waste and support thoughtful consumption. Fast fashion has transformed people’s clothing consumption habits. With constant new trends and low prices, it is easy to overbuy. But most of those pieces are typically worn a few times before being thrown away.
“So many things are being produced because people want a good price, only to wear it one time and then throw it out,” Tran said. “The world only has so much space to hold all of this stuff.”
By reselling secondhand clothing online, Kaitlyn’s Threads helps to keep clothing in circulation rather than contributing to new production.
Each item sold is one less piece potentially ending up in a landfill and one less demand for a newly manufactured garment. The environmental impact may seem small on an individual level, but over time, it adds up.
“It’s just a whole cycle,” Tran said. “People donate the clothes, I pick them up and sell them on my platform, and someone else uses them again instead of new clothes being produced.”
