New clothing shop for youths helps parents cut spending

Parents Forrest and Laura Wagner have four children, including three daughters.

After the sticker shock of buying new clothes at the mall, which left Forrest wondering how parents actually afford to outfit their children, a new business came to mind.

The new business is Fashionation, which opened in August in the Lacey Downs Plaza, the same small shopping center that is home to the Lacey post office.

Fashionation, which is managed by their daughter Emily, 19, buys and sells gently used name-brand and designer clothing for young women and men.

The store pays 30 percent to 50 percent of what the item sells for in the store, and so far the Wagners have filled a 1,150-square-foot location with clothes, accessories, boots, jeans and other items.

Not everything is used, Emily Wagner said. A selection of popular jeans, sold under the brand Miss Me, are new, as are the store’s hair accessories and jewelry.

Although the Miss Me jeans are new, they have been discounted, she said. In addition to managing the store, Emily Wagner also is the bookkeeper and does the ordering for the store.

“I’ve always loved clothing and getting dressed up,” she said, adding that she and her sisters donated a lot of their clothes to the store.

Forrest Wagner said young people still are image-conscious about the clothes they wear, although attitudes about buying used clothes have changed over the years.

When he was a teen, he can recall his parents talking about purchasing second-hand clothes for him and he reacted with horror.

“I was always mortified at the idea,” he said.

But now young people have embraced “cheap chic” and buying used clothes is no longer taboo, Wagner said.

The Wagners aren’t alone when it comes to parents doing business.

Parents Rhonda and John Olnick came to a similar conclusion after spending thousands to outfit their two boys for youth sports. They decided to open Score Used Sports Gear in Olympia as a result, which buys and sells used sports equipment.

Fashionation

Owners: Forrest and Laura Wagner; daughter Emily manages the store.

Location: 5831 Lacey Blvd., Suite J, Lacey.

Service: Buys and sells gently used name-brand and designer clothing.

How long in business: Since August.

Employees: Three.

Online: yourfashionation.com.

Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.