Meet the 17-Year-Old Who Made $30K Thrifting Clothes Online
Axaila is a fashion icon in the making.
When most of us were teenagers, our version of a job consisted of working at the mall or babysitting. These days, however, teens are making an extra buck by starting full-fledged businesses and among them is 17-year-old Axaila, a budding style chameleon who is funding her college education by selling her clothes online.
The Trinidadian-Mexican teen is alleviating her mother from the financial burden of a college tuition by making bank with her coveted sense of fashion. The Y2K, kawaii-core obsessed high schooler has sold over $30,000 USD in clothing, as Axaila took all of the fashion questions her 139,000 followers would shoot her way as a sign to start selling her closet. The mere fact that Axaila is doing all of this while taking three AP classes is enough to put me to shame.
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Discussing the impetus behind her online hustle, Axaila remarks, “Coming from a single parent household, I feel like this is my way of giving back to my mother and thanking her for all that she’s done for me.” While Axalia began thrifting with her abuelita in her younger days, the emerging entrepreneur began selling her clothes on Depop, but has since pivoted to the platform Galaxy, an inclusive and interactive digital space to thrift online, while connecting with others.
Reflecting on the importance of BIPOC voices in the vintage and sustainable fashion niche, Axaila shares her disappointment, pointing out that the same folks who would disparage second-hand clothing are now the most visible faces of the vintage fashion movement. She says, “Diversity is very important in making thrifting an accessible way of being sustainable, as well empowering each other to be comfortable in their own skin and not being embarrassed to wear what you want, which can be hard in a time where everyone is competing with one another to have the latest luxury item.”
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Remarking on her personal style, Axaila reveals that while growing up, a lot of people would judge her, sharing that they would attribute her way of dressing to acting “white,” as if there were such a thing. “I’ve gotten a few mean comments online here and there, but I’ve also received DMs where followers would share how much my style has inspired them to be themselves. During my childhood, I remember looking up to women of color who weren’t afraid to be themselves, and now I feel like I’m doing that for other girls.”
Axaila’s unabashedly genuine and authentic personality is the driving force behind her growing community online, as she truly is her bubbly and fashion-loving self. Her infectiously positive nature shines through her Instagram feed as she embraces a new favorite aesthetic wholeheartedly and with ease. It’s impossible to not want to shop the closet of a girl who happily adorns her face with butterfly eyeliner wings and drinks bubble tea, as if doing so will imbue your wardrobe with her youthful and carefree energy.
Feel free to peruse through Axaila’s Galaxy closet online.
