In this post on the Comms Women platform, Holley Jackson, a student at the University of Alabama, College of Communication and Information Sciences, speaks with Ebbie Stutts, a junior at the University of Alabama who also serves as a director of the student circular economy initiative, the Quad Marketplace.
Photo: Courtesy of Ebbie Stutts
Ebbie Stutts is a junior at the University of Alabama working as the director of social media and content creation for Quad Marketplace, a student-run marketplace, revolutionizing how women at UA buy, sell, and rent clothes. Ebbie was introduced to Quad Marketplace when founders Walton Cherry and Ethan Meyers approached her, looking to solve the scattered and unsafe options for second-hand clothing. Together, Ethan, Walton, and Ebbie have built Quad Marketplace as a more efficient inter-student marketplace. Quad Marketplace has a website and a brick-and-mortar storefront where students can shop second-hand with ease.
As the director of social media and content creation, Ebbie runs the Instagram and TikTok pages, the two channels their audience interacts most often. She posts on each platform twice daily, once on the story, and once on the main feed. She says her job is to drive sales by engaging women in the community and encouraging them to visit the store or use their website. She wants Quad Marketplace to be the first place people think of when selling their valued clothing or when looking for a last-minute cocktail dress for a fraternity formal. Ebbie desires to create a brand image resonating with the sorority girl, their target audience.
Photo: Courtesy of Ebbie Stutts
While working for Quad, Ebbie is also a full-time student and Pilates teacher, so time management is imperative. She explained schoolwork and mental health come first, so she likes to start her day by waking up early for coffee and breakfast, carving out time for herself. She knocks out schoolwork in the mornings and teaches about one to two Pilates classes per day. She can usually work for Quad Marketplace remotely but enjoys going in-store about twice a week for a couple of hours to create content and assist with sales.
She first became interested in fashion when she entered high school, creating a blog called “Everything Ebbie”, which she continues to update today. She explained how her love of fashion led her to dress up daily because it made her feel productive and put together. She became obsessed with staying up to date with the trends as people started to notice how she carried herself differently from other people. In her sophomore year of high school, she began working at Duke’s Clothier, a high-scale boutique in Birmingham, Alabama. Her blog following took off as she grew older and posted more regularly, and she began selling her clothes through the blog to recycle her fashion.
Ebbie predicts the future of the industry is the return of in-person shopping. After the obsession with online shopping, she sees young people returning to the local boutique, appreciating the ability to try on clothes before purchasing. Since consistency with social media and fashion trends is a challenge, she foresees the future of fashion PR to be a younger workforce of women. This job can be time-consuming, so she also sees teams of young women working for companies to open more jobs. She believes the lie our generation is lazy is untrue, as she sees many women empowered to work in her industry. Ebbie said that influencers and TikTok shops make shopping more accessible for people, so this industry has a bright future.
After interviewing Ebbie, she let me in on some style predictions for the upcoming season. She sees dark wash denim coming in style, specifically in baggy jeans and raw hemmed skirts. She sees Blazers making a comeback, although she’s not fully on board with the trend yet. She also has been seeing belts, low-rise denim, and one-piece bathing suits as we transition into summer. She thinks a classy, more conservative style is returning, and explains how girls want to look effortlessly sharp and put together. Ebbie is happy to see the end of puff sleeve dresses and tops and hopes that shoulder pads will eventually go out with them. Regarding athleisure, she loves matching sets and brands like Alo that create elevated athletic clothes, making you look put together.
All around, Ebbie is a hard-working, well-rounded student with a passion for fashion and inspiring young women to do what they love. She believes you can do anything you put your mind to when you have a supportive group of women looking out for you.
