Purchasing threads on a budget

Racks that don’t lack Plato’s Closet has a large selection of used named-brand clothes available at a discounted price. Pictured above is their wide array of t-shirts. This store in particular has a wide variety available for men.

School, it brings a lot of new things to one’s life. One of the many new things is a new wardrobe.  However, many college kids can’t afford an entire new wardrobe. So how can one get clothes with just lint and pennies in their pockets? For those that are on a budget there is an answer for even the worst wardrobe malfunction. First, shop sales racks, as well as use store memberships to their advantage. Furthermore there are always consignment stores.

By shopping sales, name brand clothing can be found at low prices – as well as being brand new when you buy them. It’s amazing how much one could save by being observant and checking out the sales racks. Some stores that have great sales racks can be found at: Kohl’s, Target, Charlotte Rues, Sears, and many name brand stores.

Another way to save big is by utilizing plus cards or membership cards. These are not the cards that are like credit cards; these are the free membership bones you can get by just stopping and filling out a piece of paper. In other words they are like your Dillon’s plus card.

By going to stores that offer plus or memebership cards you can really save. A prime example would be a Hot Topic’s H-1 card; which they call their card with benefits. Using the H-1 card, points add up with every purchase, and in turn the points turn in to cash off the next purchase.

However that is not the coolest and most helpful thing about these plus membership cards; most of the time they will also send you emails about upcoming products and sales. Most people call this junk mail, but you can get emails that the store is having take 50 percent off clearance – it will end up saving tons.

Lastly another place one could shop is consignment stores. At this moment most people thing of second hand close and the thrift store your great aunt Barbra with the ugly sweaters shops at. Well there is great news – there are two great consignment stores in town that targets students.

Branded which is located at 2111 SW Belle Ave., near Topeka West High School, is one of these consignment stores. Walking into Branded feels like walking into a name brand store. Branded is exactly that – it houses all the name brand clothing everyone loves at low cheap prices. The sensational part about Branded is they buy back your own name brand clothes and give you cash or in store create! Moreover, Branded has a great selection of clothes for the people who are just a little bit bigger than the average person, but still wants to look stylish.

Plato’s Closet which is located at 2727 SW Wanamaker #106, near Best Buy and Orange Leaf, is known for being a teen to 20-something consignment store. Plato’s Closet much like Branded does buy-backs, where they will take gently used name brand clothes and pay money for them or give in-store credit. However, unlike Branded the clothes sizes are smaller, but the choices for men at Plato’s are excellent.

“It’s cheaper than other outlet stores,” said Washburn student Patrick Schmidtlein. “You never know what you are going to find.”

There are many ways one can shop with lint and pennies in their pockets, without looking like your mom still dresses you. It is just a matter of will and your choice of method.  As it comes to finding great deals keep the words of Elbert Green Hubbard [1856-1915] in mind:

“A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.”