Staff Writer- Mary Athorp

As I sit here trying to type this article on this sunny Nobel Conference Tuesday, I find it a little silly to talk about thrifting. All of these scholars from all over the nation—the world, really, are filling our campus with tons of extremely academic findings and astonishing information. How am I supposed to write an article about thrifting (although it is the topic I chose) when far more serious conversations are happening all around me?

So, bear with me as I try to make thrifting somewhat… theological, if you will.

Right now, I’m listening to Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi talk about the layer of sugar that coats all of our cells in her afternoon lecture “Glycans: The Sugars Coating Our Cells”. Although I am no scientist or Nobel Prize-winning chemist like Dr. Bertozzi, I am quite fascinated by what she has to say. In case you didn’t make her lecture or haven’t watched it online, here’s my attempt at a short summary (remember, I’m just a Spanish and English major, I am only trying my best):

The sugar structures layering around our cells are called glycans, deriving from the Latin term glyco, which means sugar. This layering, essentially, defines certain parts of our being, namely, our blood type, and it also acts as a kind of “cell bouncer” – it protects the cells from the immune system. Bertozzi noted how this sugar layering also contributes to a lot of autoimmune diseases and can accidentally protect cancer cells. However, the research that she’s done in her impressive career delves into the communication that goes on between the sugar layering and cancer cells. Bertozzi helped develop chemical reactions involving bioorthogonal chemistry that help those conversations proceed correctly. I won’t be trying to define bioorthogonal chemistry, but you can Google it if you feel so inclined. Basically, Bertozzi is really smart.

I do apologize if I haven’t totally captured everything Bertozzi spoke about, but I still have to get to thrifting in this short article of mine, so give me grace. But, I do encourage you to go look at her lecture online—it’s definitely worth your time.

As I think about this sugar coating around our cells, I equate it, in my very science-challenged mind, to the clothes that a cell wears– to what’s on the outside. The clothes the cell wears, in a way, define what it is made to be (blood type, how it communicates with other cells, etc.). On a larger level, that’s how we define who we’re made to be every single day. What we, as humans, wear on the outside articulates our identity and communicates to others how we want to be addressed. That’s a pretty sweet analogy, if you ask me.

Sorry, I’ll stick to journalism, not comedy.

Thrifting is quickly taking over commercialized fashion, and if you’ve missed it, wake up! That seems a bit harsh, but if you haven’t heard an interaction going something like this…

“Hey, where did you get that?”
    “Oh, it’s thrifted.”

…then where have you been? It’s easy to determine when something has become a trend in society, but what’s difficult is to determine why. I think Bertozzi, in an extremely perceptive way, tells us why: The sugars on our cells give our cells identity, and so do the clothes we wear. Commercialized fashion isn’t cutting it anymore because the same flavor doesn’t sit well on every taste bud. All of our sugars aren’t the same, and neither are our styles. Thrifting allows the perfect style to be curated based on the wearer of the clothes. The price and sustainability factors are only bonuses to the already sweet package, but in case you’re interested, here are two facts to blow your mind: 

Thrift store shoppers save, on average, $2,071 yearly.
Purchasing a secondhand clothing item over a new one saves 8.41 pounds of carbon emissions, 16.48 kWh of energy, and 88.89 gallons of water.
(CapitalOne Shopping, 2025)

Undeniably, thrifting has the power to take over the entire fashion industry, and quite honestly, has the means to do so. Walking into a quaint thrift store with rows upon rows of multicolored clothing where the possibilities are endless, the experiments are endless, and the creativity is endless, is the key to self-expression.

And so, if you’re sitting here thinking: I’m not a thrifter, splash some water on your face and think: I’m not a thrifter yet. If the sugars on your cells can dress to impress, you can too. Bertozzi said so herself… okay, maybe not quite, but something close… probably.

If you’re lost on where to start, look no further than your very own St. Peter. There’s Riverside Thrift Shop at 323 S. Front St. (good for vintage finds and antique decor) and St. Peter Thrift & Consignment Store at 401 S. Minnesota Ave. (a solid thrift with solid finds). Let’s not forget Finders Keepers at 817 N. Minnesota Ave. (the thrift store to hit if you’re looking for an adventure). All of these are great places to start if you want to begin your thrifters’ journey and find your way to making your identity a part of your everyday look.

Thrifting certainly isn’t rocket science like bioorthogonal chemistry might be, but I have it in good mind that the reactions might be just as… sweet (sorry, I couldn’t help myself).