Illini Threads

Inspiration

Illini Threads was inspired by students' constant needs for different types of clothing for different occasions such as semi-formal, barn dances, basketball games, etc. We as students often find the need to ask our friends or anyone we know to borrow clothing- However, with Illini Threads, we were hoping to create a user-friendly, sustainable, and accessible way for UIUC students to rent clothes out to each other at an affordable price. On top of this, Illini Threads allows students to make quick cash and easily meet up with their renters/rentees in public college spaces, helping the fashion community grow closer.

What it does

Illini Threads as a website includes several different features: on the home page, students can view listings of any clothes that are available to be rented, with item name, description, price, tags, and clothing photo easily viewable. A search bar also allows users to filter through items to find what they need. When browsing through listings, students can click on the item to view details and add the items of their choice to their cart (all added items viewable through the "Cart" page). The "Post Listing" page allows users to create a listing, including information about their clothing item with item/seller name, price, pickup location, image upload, and more. Lastly, the website provides a feedback/contact form for users to provide input on their experience.

How we built it

We used React framework and Tailwind to build the frontend of our web application. The main languages we relied on in this part of the code were Javascript, HTML, and CSS, as well as smaller React libraries imported to support our application. On the other hand, our backend relied on the Express.js framework as well as a MongoDB database.

Challenges we ran into

Some challenges we ran into were integrating different features of our project together. For instance, we ran into conflicts when combining features such as the "add to cart" and "return to listings" options. We also had difficulty accounting for different information to include on our website, such as size, tags, condition, and more that we initially didn't account for.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Some accomplishments that we're proud of include getting familiarized with the Tailwind tech stack for our frontend, as well as building an aesthetic and user-accessible frontend that elevates the user experience rather than just a bare-bones web app.

What we learned

We gained a lot more familiarity with the MongoDB and Express tech stacks, how to implement a search bar and filter mechanism, how React components function, how Tailwind works, how to connect frontend and backend and communicate data, and much more about web development.

What's next for Illini Threads

In the future, we hope to implement more features such as a user login and authorization feature, user dashboard, internal chat client allowing users to communicate through our website, user ratings, and more.