Trendy stores offer budget duds
Joseph Vasquez / File Photo
Plato’s Closet, a second-hand store specializing in fashionable clothes, buys and sells items geared towards teens and twenty-somethings on a budget. Lauryn Privas, a Fresno State student and Plato’s Closet employee, makes sure clothing is in good condition before purchasing it as part of the store’s inventory acquisition phase last September. |
By Katie Satterwhite
The Collegian
Students each month spend hundreds of dollars on the latest trends and hottest clothes. Unfortunately, the threadbare student budget doesn’t always allow students to make an impact with their clothes.
With hundreds of stores for people to shop at every day, students at Fresno State struggle to find a shop that will fit to their style and budget.
So with more and more fashion-oriented stores opening in the central San Joaquin Valley like Plato’s Closet, Forever 21, The Palace and Charlotte Russe, students are finding what they want at a reasonable price.
“I usually go to Forever 21 twice a week,” said Megan Tare, a senior at Fresno State. “They have pretty much everything I need there from pants, shirts, dresses, jewelry, and even sunglasses and sleepwear. If I need a shirt to go out Friday night, I go there because I know that I will find something,” Tare said.
With a wide range of styles to choose from and reasonable prices, Forever 21 at Fashion Fair Mall is a popular store among college-age students. The store has everything from business-wear to sweats.
You can get prom dresses and T-shirts, but still keep a sense of fashion with every purchase.
Now, Forever 21 is expanding its target audience to include young men. Recently, the chain expanded its clothing selections and brought in a trendy line of clothes for young men that includes pants, hats, shirts, jackets and even dress clothes.
Fresno State junior Mike Sanchez was shocked by the fact that he could shop there.
“I would never go in while my girlfriend shopped there, and then I saw that they had men’s clothes too. So I went in and actually really like the things that they had. I was impressed,” he said.
“I like having to go get dress shirts and not having to pay $50 like I do at Macy’s,” he said.
One place that’s fast becoming one of the more popular stores for young women is Charlotte Russe. This store, strictly for women, is one that can appeal to everyone.
Charlotte Russe at Fashion Fair is always updating its style to fit the latest trends and a limited budget.
Accessories are one of the main sellers at this store. From colorful handbags that change with the season to chandelier earrings, there is always plenty to choose from.
Each style comes in about 10 different colors, which makes it easier for women to match their jewelry to their clothes.
Purses are always a top selling item, according to Charlotte Russe employee, Charise Gorwin.
They sell about 25 purses a day and sometimes can’t keep them in stock. Gorwin said their “fire engine red clutch” was the best-selling purse last semester.
Not only the purse and the jewelry make this a one-stop shop spot, but customers can also find the latest styles like pencil-line skirts, sling-back shoes, collared shirts and belts to match. It is an affordable way to dress to impress for college students.
For students that prefer a more retro style, Plato’s Closet, which opened last semester, is creating a buzz.
Located across the street from Fashion Fair it makes it easy to leave the mall and hit this new hot spot.
The styles are like no other and reasonably priced, which draws high school and college students to Plato’s to get great fashion.
Plato’s Closet buys used clothes as well. If you have clothes that are in good shape but you just don’t wear them anymore, Plato’s Closet will buy them from you.
“They have articles of clothing like no other stores in town. Its great to be able to wear something and know that no one else will have it on,” Fresno State freshman Aimee Gain said. “I have told all of my friends about it.”
The Palace is also great place to get knock-offs of the latest designs.
The store, located on Bullard and First, carries versions of Tiffany necklaces, Chanel earring, and even Coach bags.
“I buy most of my purses and earrings there. You can’t even tell that they are knock-offs. They are starting to sell designer jeans too, this is a great place to shop,” Tare said.
Price is the most important aspect to most college students when shopping.
Whether you are selling your clothes to Plato’s Closet, buying designer jeans at The Palace, or just looking for great clothes at Charlotte Russe and Forever 21, the prices at these four locations are something that no college student can pass up. If the clothes fit at these places, so do the prices.
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