Enjoyable, Aptitude and Style: Highlight on the Free Market

It’s a small thrift retailer, however there are people who like it. Nestled in Massachusetts Row, the Dartmouth Free Market sits a mere 30 seconds from the trail frequented by many on their option to Foco — but, most college students by no means make the detour to the dimly lit North Mass basement. 

With gadgets like denims and lengthy sleeves properly organized, you’ll be able to faux you’re in an upscale thrift retailer — till you flip round and see the glittery piles of aptitude needing excavation and understand that the Free Market is an area that’s uniquely Dartmouth. As I walked via the shop for the primary time, the brilliant colours indicative of aptitude definitely stood out — vibrant pink shorts, sparkly sweater vests and well-loved shirts from Green Keys, Winter Carnivals and Homecomings previous gave some much-needed cheer and vitality to the quiet and out-of-the-way basement. Yet whereas smaller than the standard thrift retailer, the Free Market carries an abundance of further choices, from final yr’s type of denims to stacks of aptitude in vibrant neons to, surprisingly, pencils. 

Run via the sustainability workplace by pupil volunteers and employees, the Free Market was created by Roan Wade ’25 in 2023 in response to sustainability and fairness points, in response to previous reporting from The Dartmouth. Students had been throwing out clothes in wonderful situation by the ton on the finish of every time period, whereas decrease revenue and fewer cold-acclimated college students had been discovering themselves with out the correct apparel for the cruel Granite State winters.

While the Free Market initially started as an effort to offer chilly climate clothes to these in want and reduce down on waste, its choices have since expanded. According to Alexa Beltran ’27, who has been working there since this summer season, the Free Market is a good place to “get costumes and flair” for any event. From dance teams resembling Street Soul to DOC golf equipment, college students will typically receive aptitude for occasions from the Free Market, she added. 

Andrea Soto ’28 mentioned that she makes use of the thrift retailer “for costumes for [her] dance group, Street Soul” and to seek out “better quality clothes than [she] could afford [her]self.”

For others, together with Free Market aficionado Audrey Kim ’27, the Free Market is a spot to destress. Kim mentioned that she first came upon in regards to the house after recognizing an commercial on the best way to Foco throughout her freshman fall and now visits the shop “maybe twice a term, typically after a big test.” For her, a visit to the Free Market serves as “a little reward or break” and an effective way to unwind, “rather than going shopping and spending real money.” She defined that though she doesn’t go in on the lookout for something particularly, she usually comes out with clothes necessities and a wide range of completely different tops.

While typically recommending the Free Market to associates, Kim usually goes solo “on a whim.” A big a part of the great thing about the Free Market is the shortage of dedication it requires: Most move inside 100 ft of the market day by day, there is no such thing as a monetary burden concerned and the house is inclusive and accessible to all, in response to Kim.

The Free Market is presently making an attempt to “put more sweaters out” as temperatures decrease and plenty of college students from hotter latitudes will want new clothes extra appropriate for the chilly climate, in response to Beltran. This time of yr, parkas, winter coats and most dense clothes flies off the cabinets, she mentioned.

One of the Free Market’s largest issues presently is its “lack of visibility, especially at the beginning of term,” Beltran added. Most of the donations come on the finish of the time period, which is inconvenient as a result of seasons altering dramatically between phrases, the employees being busy with end-of-term actions and the issue of washing and reracking the garments in a helpful timeframe for college students, she mentioned.

“Every end of term we get so many donations, which just means that people kept buying more and more stuff that we already had,” Beltran mentioned. 

Another concern the Free Market faces is that those that want the clothes most — usually freshmen who haven’t but up to date their wardrobes for the northern latitude — don’t know in regards to the Free Market, as it’s largely upperclassmen who’re using this campus-wide useful resource, Beltran mentioned. 

Mikey Wise ’29, a fellow first-year visiting the Free Market for the primary time, mentioned that he had acquired a “cool Outdoor Research bucket hat,” which he predicted would quickly develop into a staple of his wardrobe. 

“It’s pretty cool down here,” Wise mentioned. 

Wise, nonetheless, disagreed with Beltran’s opinions about visibility. When requested if he would advocate the Free Market to associates, he replied, “No, because I want the good things to myself.”

The hours are laborious to trace down — it’s usually solely open for 2 hours a day in some unspecified time in the future within the afternoon — however that solely provides to the hidden gem really feel of the hard-to-find market. The Free Market epitomizes Dartmouth at a a lot smaller scale – it’s small, hidden in a quiet nook of the world and dealing to offer a distinct segment and distinctive community-building service and expertise.