Katie Wen is a third-year psychology major, double minoring in marketing and organizational behavior; her small business, Alterations by Katie, offers “convenient clothing alterations” here at the University of California, Riverside (UCR).
At the start of her journey, she posted on her personal Instagram account solely as documentations of her projects and “thrift flips,” a popular term for re-working thrifted items into something that fits the maker better. Many people on campus saw her personal projects and expressed their want for similar services; so in April of 2023, Wen started her Alterations By Katie Instagram account, @alt.byk, to advertise her alteration services to UCR students and faculty.
In fall of 2023, Wen also began hosting sewing workshops where she taught students the basics of sewing and how to alter their own clothes. In the future, she stated that she hopes “to host more sewing workshops to teach people how to hand sew and by-machine in order to equip them with the skills to wear their clothes more confidently and on a budget.”
Wen described her inspiration behind the business, stating, “it brings me so much joy to help people wear clothes that flatter them the way they feel comfortable in, that are more functional and last longer and ultimately save them money in the long run … these are all the reasons why I love sewing for myself. It helped me express my creativity and find my style; and it helped me gain confidence because I no longer blamed myself when clothes in stores were not designed for my body shape and proportions.”
Offering a wide variety of alterations, Wen described how she has hemmed “pants, shorts, skirts and dresses. I can take in the sides of jackets, sleeves, pants, dresses and tops. I also take in the waistband or expand the waistband in some cases. I have added or made [bigger] pockets on clothing. I have added or increased slits in dresses. I have cropped shirts, knit sweaters (in some cases) and jackets (in some cases). I have repaired buttons, rips and reattached or shortened straps.” Her most common alterations are hemming and taking in clothes, but she had received some more unique requests, such as “taking in a jacket for a dog and mending a mink scarf.”
Growing up, all of the clothes Wen wore were either hand-me-downs or thrifted, shaping the way she views fashion. This inspired her to learn how to sew by watching youtube videos so that she could hem, mend and fix clothing that she thrifted or that was passed down from friends and family; she also began mending items for her friends and family. As her skills improved, Wen began to challenge herself to learn different sewing techniques and how to work with more difficult types of fabric, she described how, “in highschool I would analyze people’s outfits if they were wearing trendy clothes and try to mimic certain trends and sew it myself instead of paying full price for something that was going to go out of style in the next season.”
Wen discussed the importance of sustainability in fashion, stressing that “the most sustainable thing you can do in fashion is to use what you already have! Whether that be styling things in multiple ways, following the care instructions to keep it in good condition, or wearing things till they become rags in your kitchen … learn to care more about the clothing they already own instead of expecting clothes to be bought, worn and discarded within a year.”
Sustainability is very important to Wen, and fast fashion waste is a huge part of pollution problems all throughout the world. She finds it important that we find ways to reduce textile waste and be kinder to the planet by prolonging the life of clothing before being discarded in the landfill. Wen hopes that her alterations business will indirectly encourage students to be more sustainable and reduce textile waste. She is inspiring students to practice slow fashion, elaborating, “regardless of [student] concern for sustainability, most will agree that buying clothes second hand and altering it to fit and function better for you is cheaper than buying clothes new for full price.”
Wen has collaborated with a multitude of on-campus organizations to heighten her reach and advertise her small business to more people. She tables with both the Career Center and VAIN, allowing her to access audiences interested in both professional clothing alterations and more stylistic ones. In the future, she hopes to collaborate with more campus organizations that align with the goals of Alterations by Katie.
Her most beneficial collaboration has been with Career Center’s R’Closet, because they align with the values of her brand. Wen elaborated on this, describing her brands values as “repurposing donated clothing, being accessible to UCR students, and helping UCR students wear clothes that fit their body and clothing needs. This works perfectly with the R’Closet because I advertise to my audience that UCR students get 3 free clothing items [from the R’Closet] each quarter. Since their inventory is donations based, sometimes they require some alterations for it to fit the students’ needs which is where collaborating with the R’Closet works perfectly.”
She started out just tabeling with the R’Closet and their relationship has now evolved into her hosting bi-weekly sewing workshops where she teaches students how to mend and hand sew their clothes. Wen provides all the supplies and guides students through the process of learning the basics of mending or sewing the article of clothing they bring to the workshop.
Wen has also collaborated with the Women’s Resource Center (WRC). Here she educated students about sustainable fashion and alternatives to fast fashion that are budget friendly and taught a beginner friendly basics of sewing workshop. At her second event with the WRC, Wen taught students “the basics of adding pockets to anything. The WRC provided totebags and fabric for the students to practice on. And the Orbach Library Creat’R lab provided sewing kits that they 3D printed in the Creat’R Lab.”
Outside of the rewarding aspects of making UCR a more sustainable campus, Wen described that her alterations business has “been my favorite way to meet people on campus rather than meeting people from my major, classes, or mutual friends. People I meet through Alterations by Katie are fast tracked to understand who I am, what I value, and what I do for fun.”
To inquire about alteration services, contact Katie Wen via her Alterations by Katie Instagram account, @alt.byk.
