Clothes swapping parties and event can be very hit and miss. Normally I take beautiful things to swap, then leave disappointed and empty handed. However, when you attend a good one, it’s likley that you won’t leave empty handed as long as you go prepared and open minded.
The main thing is to attend with an open, but strategic mindset – I took great quality things that I hoped would make someone else happy and had no expectations to get 10 items for myself.
3 Tactics For A Happy CLOTHES SWAPPING Party
It’s not just about clothes – be social and chat to the people there. All the people I meet at these events are always kind and lovely, creative and genuinely interested in being being more sustainable – they saw the value in these swapping events instead of buying new. Be open creating new friends and maybe even your style twin at clothing swaps.
Go with a clear idea of what’s missing in your wardrobe and what items could fill the gaps. Streamline the experience by knowing what works for your body shape, knowing your perfect colours also helps – and always check the garment labels. You might want to avoid unsustainable fabrics, so if that’s the case check out my materials guide here.
Patience is key! I notice people tend to get greedy at clothes swaps and hoard a lot of the clothes. Wait it out and see if it went back on the rail – and it did. My tactic of waiting until the end worked.
CLOTHES SWAPPING GEMS
Some clothes swapping events are better than others, during one event in North London I found myself:
Whistles Lambs Leather Wrap Midi Skirt RRP £249
A Selfridges Red & Black Lantern Skirt Dress (unfortunatly in natural ligght I realised it was far too orange so I donated it)
High Waisted Guess Denim Shorts
Why CLOTHES SWAPPING IS IMPORTANT
When I started to realise the truth behind fast fashion and that I was contributing to part of the problem became more interested in being more sustainable. I then started to look at using more of what I already own – and up-cycling, or I prefer the word re-styling as up-cycling makes me think of a person walking around in a coat made out of carrier bag or crisp packets.
Clothes swaps have for many years been tarnished with being a bit ‘car bootsale’ rummaging through tonnes of cheap clothes that are smelly and that nobody wants. It couldn’t be farther from the truth, in the last 6-7 years I have seen them change from being a place for bargain hunters – to becoming a destination for style savvy fashionistas.
I will be 100% honest – there is a still a lot of ugly clothing out there made badly and that I would not be seen in. That’s why resourcefulness, creativity and style has to work together. There is so much wasted opportunity and exces clothing on this planet, that we must start to see past garment flaws, and be able to look beyond what we see on teh hanger. Clothes can be upcycled, altered and turned into new beautiful things… but what a lot of people lack is ability to see HOW to transform and outfit that makes people go WOW not OH NO!
If you need some guidance on a wardrobe re-styling, check out my collaboration with The Reclaimery and you can see how I made clothes that didn’t fit right work me – I started with the Little Black Dress – and then got hooked on alterations and repairs 🙂
