When they weren’t scouring the streets of Evanston for people to quote, 2025 Medill Cherubs were hunting through thrift stores for their next find.
During a field trip to Chicago, Gaby Foster from Menlo Park, California, thrifted matching gold bangles with her roommate, cementing the trip in their memory. She said the three-story shop, Born Again Vintage, was the “most phenomenal thrift store” she’s ever visited.
Cherubs found that, similar to the sources they consulted, the clothing they discovered told them a story.
Foster uses thrift stores to decode the culture of new places she visits. “The clothing you find shows you about the lifestyles and hobbies of the people that live there,” Foster said.
After spending an afternoon at Crossroads, an Evanston thrift spot, rifling through everything from dress shirts to colorful overalls, Savannah Smith from San Carlos, California, came to the same conclusion. “It seems Evanston is very diverse in what people do, which you can see through the thrift store.”
Smith said an unusual number of cherubs were excited to thrift, compared to other summer programs she’s attended.
She believes this is because thrifting can often feel like an investigation. “Thrifting kind of goes along with the journalism vibe,” Smith said, laughing.
Both require an eye for detail, and most importantly, persistence.
“You have to be okay with looking through everything,” Will Hansen from Missoula, Montana, said, agreeing. “Otherwise, you’ll never know if there was a section you missed that had the perfect piece.”
