Press Room
High School Students Learn About Fashion Merchandising - Libertyville, IL 2/18/10
By STEPHANIE KOHL
Plato's Closet in Libertyville is offering local high school students an opportunity to learn about fashion merchandising through a clothing display contest at the store.
This is the fourth year of the contest, which has grown from four participating schools to more than 10. Each school was given an 8-foot space to create a wall display with clothing and accessories from the store. Plato's Closet is a name-brand resale store for teens and young adults. Through March 7, anyone who visits the store can cast a vote for their favorite display.
"It gets the word out about Plato's Closet," Store Owner Pam Ohman said of the contest. "It gives (the students) a real life example of putting together a display."
The fashion and interior design classes from Libertyville High School visited Plato's Closet, 1420 S. Milwaukee Ave., on Feb. 11. In the hope of speeding up the return of warm weather, the team chose summer as its theme.
"I'm hoping they'll look at color schemes," said teacher Loretta Wasielewski, adding it was important for the students to work together to create the display.
Shortly after arriving at the store, the students set off to "shop" for potential outfits for the display. They would later vote on the best two to use on their mannequins.
"I think we're all excited for summer so it helps that we're looking for stuff to wear now," said Jamie Kenston, a sophomore in the class.
The class looked at the contest as a learning opportunity, though the lure of winning a $250 shopping spree to be split among the team was equally appealing. The contest served as a way for the students to really apply what they learned in class to a real-world experience. They agreed that in order to create the best display possible, they would need to consider everyone's opinions.
"As a group we have to decide what's up there and what's going to look best," said Adriane Goacher, a junior in the class.
Manager Brittany Davidson said when it comes to creating store displays, it's all about catching the interest of teenagers.
"It's eye-catching and (it's) the styles they want to see and wear," she said of what makes a successful display.
Participating schools include Libertyville High School, Grayslake Central High School, Round Lake High School, Carmel Catholic High School, Warren Township High School, Grant Community High School, Wheeling High School, Lake Forest High School, Stevenson High School, Vernon Hills High School and Waukegan High School.
A ballot box will be set up in the store to allow people to cast their votes. Business hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The winning team will receive a $250 Plato's Closet shopping spree to be split among its members. The second place team will receive a $100 shopping spree to be split among its members. Winners can also forego the shopping spree and instead donate the money to charity.
"I think this is probably the best displays we've had so far," Ohman said.
