“In today’s economy, there’s no excuse for not looking good,” Said Gwynn Clark owner of Repeat Performance, a consignment store that’s been in Fresno for 25 years just down the street from the Tower District, It’s where the Fresno City College’s Fashion Merchandising program built their wardrobes for business on a strict budget.

Recently the store hosted an activity with a primary goal of teaching how to dress. Participants picked out 20 articles of clothing and accessories and from them build ten different outfits. Carol Stone, The program’s instructor, described the activity as “putting into practice what they learned in class; to experience what was learned and know how to use it in daily life.”

Her goal was to show her students how to budget when they shop and learn that they have the ability to “never have to repeat an outfit.”

Once the students had the skeleton of the outfits picked out, Stone said they were able to add more to it and change everything up. “As soon as you add in another blouse or another bottom, you create ten more outfits,” The activity also works with casual wear, but their focus was mostly on a “professional image” and how to market themselves visually. Stone said that learning to shop the way the students did in the program made it possible to “never have to wear the same thing twice in almost five weeks on the job.”

Stone continued, “part of it is how to package themselves; because students are always on a budget.”

Melody Mao, April Curran, Krystal Cuevas, and Pablo Garcia were the four Fresno City College students participating in the activity.

What Cuevas found to be most important about going through the activity is that “It doesn’t always have to cost a fortune to look good.” she added, “it taught me how to put things together to accentuate to your physique. What goes well with what and what doesn’t.”

The final outfit that the group put together cost a total of $31.44 but it had the ability to be made into ten different outfits.

“We’re not talking about out of style clothes, but what young people really wear and what you will definitely see in the workplace,” Stone said.

Stone advises those trying to budget in some clothes between rent in these tough economic times to stay away from designer and retail. She takes advantage of the opportunities that conseignment shops like Repeat Performance and Plato’s Closet in Fresno offer. These shops allow patrons to stop in and ask what type of clothes they are in demand.

Stone said, “Personally I don’t shop retail; everything is previously owned because you get more items for your money.” If the clothes hidden in your closet are in the certain shape they want, then they will put them on their shelves for you; if they make a sale, then you get a check in the mail. If they aren’t sold, then they are donated. Consider it a way to recycle the clothes you don’t wear as much anymore and invest in some new ones.