First place: Goodwill

Each school year, Oregon State University students and Corvallis, Ore. community members have the chance to vote for their favorite clothing store in Corvallis, with the first-place winner this year being Goodwill, and the runner-ups being T.J. Maxx, Runway Fashion Exchange and Ross Dress for Less. 

Goodwill is a chain store, with over 100 locations in the United States and Canada alone. They are a second-hand thrift store that thrives off of all the product donations they receive daily. They resell a variety of items, ranging from books and board games to clothing and houseware. Goodwill is almost always accepting new donations, and they accept donations during all business hours. 

Goodwill is known for their lower priced items and clothing, with their clothing generally being gently used and still good quality. Currently, athletic wear and jeans are best-sellers according to Goodwill employee Heather Johnson. 

Johnson said that Goodwill was probably voted as best clothing store because “we have a great selection of stuff, and a great variety, and it’s pretty decently priced for the most part.” 

Since Goodwill is a thrift store, most items that can be found in the store are considerably cheaper than if they were bought brand new. New items arrive daily, so the chances of finding something different or unique are very high. For students on a budget, this can be a great place to buy nice clothes and not have to break the bank. 

According to Janine Arthur, a Corvallis resident and frequent shopper of Goodwill, her favorite thing about shopping at Goodwill is “finding deals on really nice stuff for a fraction of the price.” She said she believes Goodwill was voted as the best clothing store because “it’s easy to shop here, it’s kind of a fun experience, and the employees here particularly are very nice,” and she appreciates how well organized this Goodwill store is.

Corvallis resident Liz Hoffman likes to shop at Goodwill because it’s more affordable than other stores in the area, the items have a high turnover rate, and she feels like there is a wide variety of things available. She recommends this store to other shoppers because she believes this Goodwill is good at providing good quality items.

Along with just being a thrift store, Goodwill is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have barriers preventing them from otherwise obtaining a job. 

The Corvallis Goodwill is located less than 10 minutes away from Oregon State University campus, at 1325 NW Ninth St. in Corvallis, and they are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

Second place: T.J. Maxx

Corvallis, Ore. residents and Oregon State University students have the opportunity to vote for their favorite clothing stores in Corvallis, with T.J. Maxx being voted in the top three this year. 

The Corvallis T.J. Maxx is located at 1550 NW 9th St., less than ten minutes from the OSU campus, making it a convenient place for students to shop. It is a retail chain with more than 1,000 locations in the United States alone, making it one of the biggest clothing retailers in the country. 

T.J. Maxx features stylish brand-name apparel, shoes, accessories and houseware. Their competitive prices make it a good place to shop for those on a budget. They list comparative prices on all price tags of their items, meaning that their prices are compared to regular full-price retail prices of the same or similar items.

Customers are T.J. Maxx’s highest priority, and their website states that their “reputation has been built on offering our customers an ever-changing selection of brand-name and designer family apparel and home fashions at great values every day. Our customers have always been and continue to be our top priority and the quality of product we sell to them is important to us.”

Paola Carmona, a T.J. Maxx employee who has worked there for around three months, enjoys working there and said her favorite thing about working at T.J. Maxx is “probably the culture, all the employees are really nice, we kinda hype each other up, so it’s pretty fun working here.”  

The hours of the Corvallis T.J. Maxx are 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

Third place: Ross Dress for Less

Ross Dress for Less tends to live exactly by their name: dressing people for a significantly lesser price than other clothing stores selling the same items. 

This year, Ross was voted by Oregon State University students and Corvallis, Ore. residents as the third best clothing store in Corvallis, tying with Runway Fashion Exchange and runner-up to both T.J. Maxx and Goodwill. 

Located only a ten minute drive from the OSU camp,us among other popular stores in the Timberhill Shopping Center, Ross has a wide variety of items, ranging from houseware to name-brand clothing. 

Since their clothing is lower priced than many other stores in the area, Ross is the perfect place for a student on a budget to shop. 

According to Ross manager Mark Hammer who has worked at Ross for six and a half years, 

Ross was probably voted as one of the best clothing stores in Corvallis because “the prices are really good, and they have a lot of cool name brands.”

The currest best-sellers from the clothing section are usually seasonal, said Hammer. “Right now we are selling a lot of coats, lot of winter-type gear, so it usually goes with, like, seasonality.”

Ross is open on Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and on Sundays fro  9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Third place: Runway Fashion Exchange

Runway Fashion Exchange in downtown Corvallis, Ore. was recently voted by Oregon State University students and Corvallis community members as one of the third best clothing stores in the area, tying with Ross Dress for Less. 

Runway is a retail chain, with locations in eight different states, with other stores in Oregon located in Bend and Medford. 

Runway is known for their system of customers bringing in new or gently-used clothing, shoes and accessories, and exchanging them for money on the spot or in-store credit to use toward the wide variety of other items available in their store. 

Runway employee Elena Essick’s favorite thing about working there is that “first picks on clothes isn’t too bad, that’s for sure, but a lot of the people in here are really nice, its really cool to work with our customers.”

For students who are shopping on a budget, Runway is a convenient option. Essick said that Runway was most likely voted as one of the best clothing stores in Corvallis because “[they] have really quality items for really cheap prices.” 

Current best-sellers in the store tend to be seasonal items, according to Essick. Other popular items are denim, coats and sweaters.

Runway uses Facebook and Instagram to post about new deals and new arrivals daily, and reach new potential customers through social media. 

Runway is located at 264 SW Madison Ave., and their hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays.