With ugly sweater season fast approaching, a new store is hoping to become the go-to spot for picking out the party favorite.

Ragstock, located on East Liberty Street offers new and recycled clothing, in addition to a wide array of Halloween costumes. Store manager Emilie Parker said they opened the store at the perfect moment last month — just in time for Halloween costume season.

“There was a really nice rush at the beginning for people buying Halloween costumes and items,” Parker said.

Business slowed down a bit after Halloween, Parker said, but now the store is working on switching over to clothing that caters to the holiday season like holiday party sweaters.

In addition to seasonal clothing and accessories, Ragstock also carries basic clothing items in a variety of colors and styles, as well as vintage clothing.

A family-owned company, Ragstock is based in Minneapolis with 15 locations throughout the Midwest. The concept for the store, Parker said, began in the 1960s as rag-picking companies became popular. College students would ask if they could look through the clothing at factories before the items were turned into rags. Gradually, this method evolved into the idea behind used-clothing stores like Ragstock.

Ragstock gets all its used clothing from a warehouse that buys the articles by the bale and sorts through it to distribute it to all the store branches, according to Parker. As for the new clothing, the company has buyers who go out to New York City and order various items, she said.

The store also gets overstock or irregulars of name-brand products so it can keep prices low, Parker said. These cheap prices help to attract college customers, which is why every Ragstock store is located in a college town. But, the clothing is meant to appeal to a variety of ages, Parker said.

LSA senior Jessica Jurek said she’s found Ragstock to be a “trendy-meets-vintage” kind of store.

“For me, it looked like a combination of Salvation Army with bright Christmas sweaters and tie-dye shirts,” Jurek said.

But Jurek said she wonders if many students will find out about the store because of its location, which is a few blocks away from Central Campus.

“I feel like people might not walk by there as much, though, because it is not in the best location,” Jurek said. “Although, they had unique things, and it would be worthwhile to walk the extra five minutes to get an outfit for themed parties.”