By STEVE EIGHINGER

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Times are tough for many Americans, and money is tight.

Gas prices remain outrageous, and for too many foreclosure is no longer something that only happens to the other guy.

Disposable income? In most cases, it's nothing more than a distant memory.

And something as simple as buying new school clothes is no longer an option for some families.

"Our business is up 20, maybe 30 percent from this time a year ago," said Susan Dolbeare, who owns the Hand Me Down Boutique at 610 Maine.

And Dolbeare knows why.

"A lot more people are coming in to buy back-to-school clothes," she said. "They aren't new clothes here, but they're still nice."

Second-hand, consignment and thrift stores are natural options for families, especially those with more than one school-aged child. Clothing, much it carrying the designer labels people are looking for, can be bought at a fraction of the price of new, off-the-shelf items.

Edna Newton of Quincy swears by stores like Hand Me Down Boutique.

"I used to buy all of my kids' clothes here, and I still buy a lot of what I wear here," said Newton, looking over a selection of pants neatly arranged on a circular rack. "My kids still come in here to buy clothes ... the price of new clothes is just outrageous. People can't afford it."

The Salvation Army and Goodwill both say more people are shopping at their stores nationwide, especially for back-to-school clothing and related materials.

Melissa Temme, a national spokeswoman for the Salvation Army, said traffic and sales are up, although the organization doesn't have firm numbers yet because stores submit official reports only once a year.

"It's not just the working poor, we're also seeing more middle-class families coming to us," Temme said.

Goodwill sales were up 6.2 percent for the first six months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, and are expected to be up for the back-to-school season, based on store reports nationwide, spokeswoman Lauren Lawson said.

"We've seen an increase in terms of clothes, school supplies, broken-in sports gear. It's a great way to get brand name styles for cheaper," she said.

Christie Cogburn of the Salvation Army Thrift Store, 812 Maine, says sales the past month have skyrocketed. She credits more families using the store for their back-to-school shopping needs.

"We're busy all year, but in the last month a lot of parents have been coming in with, or for, their kids to get school clothes," Cogburn said.

And those coming in are from all walks of society, all trying to find a way to help make ends meet.

"You get to meet and know a lot of nice people," Cogburn said. "I enjoy this job greatly."

School supplies are equally popular at the Salvation Army store.

"Anytime we get in supplies of pencils, notebooks, backpacks ... they all go fast," she said.

Dolbeare said shirts are probably her store's single-most popular item.

"Especially when they have some sort of saying on them," she said.

In the fall and winter, jeans and hoodies are the big choices.

"We have a lot of teenagers come in here," Dolbeare said. "They can come here in with a few dollars and leave with a lot of items."

Cogburn said jeans are in high demand at the Salvation Army, too.

"We can always use them," she said.

Nationwide, clothing donations are on the decline to the Salvation Army, according to an Associated Press report. More people are holding onto clothing items much longer these days, the report said.

"I'm trying to scrape up everything I can find," said Sandra Cochrane, manager of a Salvation Army store in Chicago.

The days of a family having to feel embarrassed about buying school clothes at a second-hand store are long past, according to Dolbeare.

Dolbeare said her clientele includes not only parents buying clothes for grade-school children, or junior high or high school-aged kids coming in on their own. She also gets a lot of business from the college crowd.

"People are all looking for a way to save money," she said.

-- seighinger@whig.com / 221-3377