Stylish, sustainable, student-friendly: A back-to-school fashion guide

By Fernanda Scheid Sallet, September 22 2025—

A new semester here at UCalgary gives students a chance to not only learn new lessons and habits but also find new ways to present themselves around campus. Clothes have a larger influence on us than people often know — they are a form of self-expression, reflecting our values while building our confidence. Yet, students often have to deal with a limited budget and the constant demand for clothes that fit school, work and social life while also keeping up with fast-changing trends and the increasing cost of everything else, from tuition and rent to groceries and transportation.

But this semester, back-to-school clothes shopping doesn’t have to mean buying new items. Fashion can be a tool for creativity and purposeful expression, but there are ways you can find high-quality items without breaking the bank.

Start With Your Closet

Before you start visiting stores, the most overlooked style secret could be right under your nose. Finding out what you already own offers an unexpected thrill, and it costs nothing. This simple three-step method can give a new life to your wardrobe:

Take Everything Out: First things first, take a look at all of your clothes. A view of everything helps you find similar pieces and lost favourites while isolating those pieces that no longer serve or fit you. Although this might take some time and work, doing it at the beginning of the semester will save you time and money during the rest of it.

Experiment With Combinations: Try layering summer dresses over neck shirts, put a button-up shirt with a fitted vest or blend patterns you wouldn’t normally try on. Social media apps like TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest always offer a plethora of ideas, but the real fun is in trying and failing with your own wardrobe.

Sort What Needs Changing: Some clothes require alterations, such as shortening a shirt to make it a crop top, adding patches to cover holes or replacing buttons and zippers. In the end, those clothes you don’t want can go to donation stores like Goodwill or the Salvation Army, leaving more space in your closet for new garments.

A closet exploration may even kickstart personal hobbies such as sewing as you look to alter garments, as we’ll discuss in the next section. Sewing is a practical skill that can quickly develop into a creative pursuit, and altering a piece of clothing adds distinctness and boosts your confidence — qualities that no store-bought item can replicate.

The Appeal of Upcycling

Upcycling is a personal way to update your style, such as changing an old button-up shirt into a short top, an old pair of denim jeans into a cute bag, or large shirts into fitted tops. Beyond the aesthetic, the act of upcycling challenges the throwaway fashion industry — which encourages overconsumption — and helps show who we are as students without constantly buying into quick trends.

Simple home methods, such as patches or basic seams, can effect a large change. Many alterations can be made with hand stitching, but for those interested in diving into sewing even more, the Makerspace — located in the university’s Taylor Family Digital Library (TFDL) — offers students free use of the sewing and embroidery machines, a variety colours of threads, scraps of fabric and other side materials, making your upcycling journey affordable and accessible here at UCalgary.

Thrifting With Purpose

Despite the joys of upcycling, sometimes, all you want is something new for yourself. Thrifting shows its worth in this situation, but not all second-hand shopping is the same. As students, we should focus on ethical, low-cost choices that help the community, such as:

Good Neighbour Community Market: This thrift store has a pay-what-you-can system that removes the stress and limitations of high prices, making it possible for students to participate in a more collective and accessible form of fashion.

Women in Need Society (WINS): WINS has student sale days with 25 per cent off on Sundays, allowing students on a budget to shop while giving back to the community. Every purchase supports WINS in their effort to provide families and women with access to basic needs like clothing and household items, emotional support and employment training.

Salvation Army Thrift Store: Students can receive a 15 per cent discount every day at the Salvation Army by presenting their UniCards. Better yet, sales at this thrift store fund many social programs, such as children’s camps, food banks and shelters for people experiencing homelessness.

Thrifting saves money, but it also acts as a fashion statement and a political statement. Picking stores that give back or operate morally sends a powerful message: that we value community, ethical shopping and sustainability.

Fashion as Expression

Clothes express so much about ourselves. They show our cultures, our creativity, our beliefs and our values. First impressions are incredibly important, and our clothes are often the first point of contact with new people, even before introductions are made. What you wear tells a story, whether that’s an old found item, a change made by hand or a link to your culture that reveals who you are and what you want to convey to others about yourself.

There’s no right way to express yourself. Some students thrive in vintage finds, others in minimalist basics and some in more creative, experimental outfits. The key is authenticity: letting your outfit reflect who you are and what you care about.

A Thought for this Semester

Back-to-school season often stirs a desire in us to shop for new items, but perhaps this year, we can start new healthy habits by re-wearing what we already own, upcycling and reinventing our clothes with creativity, and, if you still want or need something new, exploring thrift shops that support community values. Getting into fashion doesn’t have to be costly; it can be a place for creativity, purpose and self-expression.

So this semester, try to style an old item another way, change something you would otherwise discard or visit a store that aligns with your values. Dressing in a way that shows your personality and values is not only satisfying, but mindful and enriching.