AKRON — A clothing boutique providing business attire and formal wear for students held its grand opening Thursday, May 4 at Tippecanoe Valley High School.

In honor of the opening of the student-run T’s Boutique’s grand opening Thursday, May 4, students volunteered to show off attire from the boutique during a fashion show open the public. After the show, individuals were invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony and to have a look at the new boutique.

The boutique, located in the high school, offers students male and female business attire and formal wear. The boutique includes a dressing room.

The idea of the boutique had been bounced over the years at the high school but it wasn’t until yesterday the dream came to complete fruition. Many high school students need business attire for classes that help prepare them of the professional world. Often these classes require students to dress-up for a mock interview.

Students often don’t have the resources to purchase clothing for interviews or other events that call for dressier attire.

It became apparent that students would significantly benefit from a clothing boutique at the high school.

Through the school’s Facebook page, the school asked the community to donate business attire to the school for students. Kelly Bradly, an interpreter at the school who also was essential in starting the boutique, explained the donations were overwhelming.

The donations continued to pour in from the community, parents and teachers. The school began storing the clothing in a storage closet at the high school. Students who mentioned they weren’t able to afford appropriate clothing for various school activities were able to pick out clothing from the closet to wear and then return.

Family and consumer science teacher Beth Landis has also had a hand in the creation of the boutique. She offered the room located in-between her classrooms as a space for the boutique. Teachers felt the boutique would get more traffic if they were able to lessen the stigma of borrowing clothing.

Students signed up doing their student resource time to make the space ready for the boutique.

The boutique has received grants and much support and donations from the community to get it where it is today.

Bradly has high aspirations for the boutique. She says business and design classes could use the boutique to give students hands-on experience.

T’s Boutique will be student run. Bradly says they hope to have enough volunteers to keep the boutique throughout the day.