What started as two high school friends selling used clothes on Instagram has grown into a nationwide resale business. On Friday, Feb. 27, Shop Closet held its Athens pop-up event at 1051 Baxter St. as the first stop on the Shop Closet Spring Tour.

Shop Closet, founded by Cali Proper and Kathryn Remmey, started as selling items from their own closets and eventually expanded to working with brands, influencers and hosting events across the country.

“We kind of started just as an online closet account on our Instagram… Then people just started asking us ‘Hey, are you willing to ship?,’” Proper said. “We shipped to all 50 states as our business expanded.”

Proper said she went to high school with Kristin Konefal, Alix Earle’s best friend, and that the brand “blew up” after Earle began promoting Shop Closet. The company has also partnered with several other social media influencers including Lauren Loveless, Halley Kate and Justjazzzyidk.

“At the beginning, it was just kind of like two shopping addicts that just wanted to get rid of their own closets,” Proper said. “Then it became something where after COVID, everyone got on social media… we were like, ‘Ok, we can start selling for these people with high followings on social media.’”

The event in Athens featured brands like REVOLVE, Beyond Yoga, PARKE, STAUD and more. Tickets were $12 for general admission and included snacks, beverages, clothing items sold at discounted prices and exclusive jewelry from HART for purchase.

After high school, Proper and Remmey went to different colleges and continued their business individually. Once they graduated from college, they entered the event space to expand Shop Closet.

“It’s just so fun to meet the customers face to face, versus just like always being online,” Proper said. “We just try and hit cities… where there’s a lot of girls who want to shop from their favorite brands, but they can’t in person.”

Rosemary Ferguson, a freshman sports management major at the University of Georgia, heard about this event after receiving a message from Shop Closet on Instagram.

“I bought from them before, so they actually sent me a DM,” Ferguson said. “ I wanted to come because they did it last semester, and I couldn’t come.”

Ferguson said attending the event inspired her to resell clothing of her own.

“I think it’s great. I definitely need to resell my clothes now,” Ferguson said. “Better than it going to waste.”

Sara Byrnes, a junior marketing and advertising major at UGA, worked the beverage station at the event and said it was “cool to see behind the scenes” of the event.

“I have a rental account that I rent my clothes on… I think buying second hand stuff is awesome,” Byrnes said. “I think it makes it easier and it’s more affordable. Being in college you have all these events that I don’t necessarily want to buy a brand new outfit for, but I also maybe want something new.”

As Shop Closet continues its Spring Tour, Proper said the goal remains the same as when the business began – connecting customers with their favorite brands in an accessible way.