Giving clothes a second chance

"That was the easiest $18 I've ever made," said sophomore Michelle White after selling Plato's Closet some of her old clothes. "I was cleaning out my closet this weekend and decided to bring my jeans and sweaters in and see what I could get for them," White said. \nThat's the idea. Customers come in with their clothes and come out with cash on the spot. \n"We buy and sell brand-name clothing to high school and college-aged customers," said Shanna Brown, store manger of Plato's Closet, 1145 S. College Mall Road. "It's really an economical way for students to keep up with the trends without paying outrageous prices."\nBrown said Plato's Closet is strict about what they will and won't accept. Clothing must be freshly laundered and folded neatly in boxes or paper shopping bags. Plastic bags are not accepted because they can cause the cloths to wrinkle or mildew, she said. \nIf Plato's Closet rejects clothing, they recommend customers donate their clothes. The shop donates clothing that they can't sell to the Monroe County Recycling Program and the Smithville Southside Church, Brown said.\n"When sellers bring in clothes we look for three things: branding, condition and style," Brown said. "We pay accordingly." \nEmployees check for popular brand names such as Polo, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Old Navy and J. Crew. Next, they make sure the clothes are in good condition and check that the style is current. \n"We generally don't take things that are more than two years old," said Brown. "We do lots of detective work, scouring through fashion magazines and going to the mall, staying up on trends. We know the original prices of things and we stay current."\nDenim jeans account for the biggest overall sales, while Abercrombie & Fitch make for the biggest brand seller, Brown said. Dr. Martin's shoes are also popular because they are so expensive in the stores. \n"The average price of an item of clothing (in Plato's Closet) is about seven or eight dollars, so it makes good sense to shop here," Brown said. "People can come in and buy the same exact thing they see in other stores for 50 to 70 percent off the retail price."\nBesides clothing and outerwear, Plato's Closet also sells handbags, shoes, CDs, videotapes, accessories and miscellaneous items. \nBefore the store opened in March, sophomore Rachel Hardy began putting fliers on cars and collecting inventory a month before the store opened. She said her entire outlook on shopping has changed since she began working at Plato's Closet. \n"I won't pay more than $20 for a pair of blue jeans now, because I know I can find them here," Hardy said. "It's changed the whole way I shop."\nThe concept for Plato's Closet started three years ago. It was sold to Grow Biz International Inc., of Minneapolis, who built on the idea, Brown said. Grow Biz has more than 1,100 franchise stores, which includes Plato's Closet, Play it Again Sports, Once Upon a Child, Music Go Around and ReTool. All of the stores focus on reselling quality pre-owned merchandise to niche markets. \nThe Bloomington location is the 10th store to open, and now there are more than 25 stores nationwide, Brown said. There are three other Indiana stores in Evansville, Fishers and Greenwood, according to the chain's Web site. \n"There's no reason to spend $200 on an outfit at the mall when you can come here and spend $30," Brown said.