 "Photo: Tyler L. Johnson")
Leslie Corona, 16, exits the heat into a converted World War I-era Air Force hangar with no real plan, just a goal.
Corona looks around the facility, going past a row of registers, into a sea of garments and accessories. She heads toward the women's department clad in jeans, purple print flats, a blue tank top, a half sweater and feather earrings.
She's seeking what works with her interests: looking good and saving a dollar.
She has a classy blouse in hand and heads toward the fitting room. The store where she shops is very well-known. It's not Guess, Abercrombie & Fitch or even American Eagle Outfitters.
The store is Goodwill.
Located at 3401 Fredericksburg Road at Vance Jackson, the store known for helping rehabilitate lives is now helping teens rethink their shopping choices.
A growing number of teens are choosing to go to places like Goodwill and Salvation Army and other thrift shops.
Corona did not just pick up this new trend; she has been a thrift store shopper since her childhood.
Her parents taught her and her older siblings how much Goodwill has to offer.
She goes shopping once every two months and pays $15-$20 on every visit.
Today, she has agreed to take a reporter along on a thrift store-shopping excursion where she planned to put together an outfit.
Goodwill leader Milton Grant said people go to the store to purchase clothing not only for wearing but to resell at flea markets.
"Goodwill is the store of opportunity," Grant said.
Grant has seen an increasing number of younger customers. These new customers are mostly 17- and 18-year-olds who come to buy blouses for $4.89, jackets for $10.99 and jeans for $4.89.
Eighteen-year-old Sara Acosta is a thrift shopper. She seeks cheaper prices, once taking home three pairs of jeans and four shirts for under $30.
Acosta said more teens go to thrift stores to create their own individual looks for less.
Picking and pulling from the racks, Corona drapes more garments over her forearm. This is how she not only looks laid-back but also saves money.
Though some teens look down on wearing used and inexpensive clothing, that doesn't bother Corona.
Ironically, Michael Quintanilla, fashion writer for the San Antonio Express-News, who has covered fashion for 11 years, enjoys shopping at the Salvation Army, where he finds quality clothing for a good value.
"Fashion is whatever one wants it to be," he said in an e-mail.
"It can be a costume, it can be offensive, it can be rebellious, romantic, repulsive, retro, relaxed. It should be all those things and more.
"Thrift stores, poetically speaking, offer clothes with history: suits from the 1930s, dresses from the '40s, coats from the '50s, minis from the '60s, polyester from the '70s, big padded shoulders from the '80s."
Quintanilla said he shops at thrift shops "for the thrill of finding a designer label at a throwaway price.
For a shopper, there's nothing more thrilling than finding a bargain."
After about a 30-minute shopping trip, Corona turns the knob of the door on the dressing room, slowly opening it to show off a garment she selected from the racks of Goodwill.
After trying on five garments, she chooses to model for observers a sleeveless banana-yellow hoodie.
She struts in front of the dressing room looking fierce and confident in her selection, which was priced under $5.
She didn't buy the item because she did not have money on her, but she plans to go back soon to add to her wardrobe.
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