I love clothing swaps. Not only do you end up coming home with many new articles of clothing, you also find a home for the clothes you love but just didn’t wear.
If you are lucky enough to be invited to one, be sure to make time for it, you won’t regret it. If you haven’t been invited to one, host one! It is really a low stress way to have your friends over with free entertainment.
What Is A Clothing Swap
There are many different types of clothing swaps. The basic idea is to exchange clothes and accessories with other people. It is a gathering where people bring the clothes that are in good shape and that they like but simply no longer wear.
Clothing swaps can also include shoes, hats, purses and accessories. Details of what can be included are up to the host, some even include housewares, books and childrens toys.
It is not a barter system, you do not have to give the same amount that you take. It is an unspoken rule that you will bring something to give away but not enforced. Many times the host just wants to find a home for their non-used items.
Benefits Of Clothing Swaps
There are so many benefits to clothing swaps. They are social gatherings which give people an excuse to get together. Clothing swaps help people clean out their closets and share the items that no longer work for them. Simplifying a person’s wardrobe has benefits of less decision fatigue and guilt over not wearing certain items. Clothing swaps also help others spice up their wardrobes without the guilt or expense of purchasing new clothes.
Clothing swaps contribute to a healthy textile economy. The fast fashion culture that became the norm saw people purchasing new clothes each season and simply donating the “old” ones. Clothing swaps help decrease the demand for new clothing to be manufactured. This in turn decreases the amount of clothing that goes to a landfill.
Countries like Tanzania no longer want clothing donations from western countries. This has caused a huge problem for western countries in disposing of old clothing. A shift to a culture that includes clothing swaps as a way to acquire new clothing alleviates the wasted clothing.
Clothing swaps help items get more use.
People are more likely to try things on if they are free. This gives the unexpected benefit of finding a new style that fits. There is often a group of judges that will compliment you when things look good.
New friendships often form at a clothing swaps. It is an easy environment to chat, hear a story about a piece of clothing, give an opinion about what looks good. If everyone leaves the swap looking good, people will feel better about the clothing they went home with.
You might even have a total fashion overhaul! #haulternative
Where To Host
A clothing swap can take place in any space that is big enough for the number of people you wish to invite. Common spots include your office after hours, your living room, a community center room or a park on a nice day.
If you are with a group of friends, I recommend that you host a swap in a living room. This makes it more comfortable for people to try on clothes.
If you are hosting a public clothing swap, make sure to choose a space that has a private area for changing clothes.
Who To Invite
If this is your first clothing swap, you might be thinking that you need to invite only people who are approximately the same size as you. I am amazed at how many different sizes of people can wear the same piece of clothing in different ways. Often people bring items from their home that belonged to a family member who no longer wears it, so the size of your guests might not even reflect the items they are bringing. Plus, your swap might include scarves, purses and shoes!
So don’t even think about sizing, just invite great people!
Once you know how many people can fit into the space you have in mind create your list of awesome people.
Send out an invitation about two weeks before the date you have in mind. Be sure to list the items to bring (good condition CLEAN clothing, shoes, accessories etc.). You might also mention that people should bring a shopping bag to bring their newly found items home in.
Email invitations are great but you might want to use an application like Evite where you can view the RSVP’s easily and add people to the list after the initial invitations have already gone out. Facebook is also a very effective way to get your message out, depending on how big you want it to be.
Send out a reminder message the day before your event so people still have time to prepare the clothes if they have forgotten.
If your guest list is big enough, you might want to get some volunteers to help you. This is something you can ask in your invitation, listing the jobs that you might need help with (set up, appetizers, cleaning up afterwards).
Prepare The Room
Preparing for a clothing swap should be fairly easy. If it is a small one, you simply need spots for people to sit. But if you are the type of person that likes to go all out, you might want to ensure that there are some empty surfaces to place clothes on so they don’t end up in a pile on the floor.
Some hosts have a hanging rack with hangers available to display some of the fancier items. I don’t think this is necessary but certainly a nice touch.
If you plan to have a big clothing swap, you might want to organize the clothing by type and create a space and small sign for each type. Pants, dresses, sweaters etc. This works well with the “market style” clothing swap but maybe doesn’t make sense for the “advertising style” (see below).
You might also like to create a space away from the clothing to serve a few appetizers and drinks. Making a few yummy things always adds to the enjoyment of a gathering!
Find a safe spot to set up a full length mirror. It doesn’t have to be fixed to the wall, as long as it can lean somewhere that keeps it safe. Other hand mirrors are also helpful to have around the room.
How To Choose The Clothes To Bring To A Clothing Swap
This might be the most difficult part for many people. For some it is very difficult to part with your belongings. Clothing often has sentimental value; something you wore to a special event, someone special gave you a compliment when wearing it etc. For others, the minimalists, they might not have any extra clothes lying around in the first place because as soon as they don’t wear it for a few months it gets donated. I belong in the later boat.
But take a look at each piece of clothing in your wardrobe and ask yourself “do I love this?”, “does this make me feel great when I wear it”? If the answer is no to either question, put that piece in a “maybe” pile. At the end of this exercise, take a look at your remaining clothes and decide if there is a full outfits to wear to to each of the different activities you do.
Keep in mind that the clothes that you are going to donate might be loved by someone else. AND, there is very likely going to be a few new items that you will bring home.
From your “maybe” pile, make sure each item you select to bring to the clothing swap is nice. Do you think one of your friends or their family would want to wear that item? It feels really great when you see several people interested in one of your pieces!
How To Prepare Your Clothing
This part is simple but important. Make sure the clothing you bring to a clothing swap is CLEAN! Don’t just blindly bring that donation bag you’ve had in the basement for years, be sure to pull each item out and decide whether it fits the above selection criteria.
Be aware of any minor fixes required like loose buttons (not necessary to fix but you should be able to let the other person know about it).
What To Serve
Finger foods are best. Simple healthy whole foods seem to go quickly. When people are about to try on some clothing, they might not want to get their fingers dirty in a bowl of Cheetos! Rather a nice veggie plate with dip or crackers and cheese / vegan cheese. Chocolate is always appreciated by most, you can just get your favourite chocolate bar and cut it into squares and put it in a bowl.
If you have something that has a dip or possible mess factor, be sure to put out some cloth napkins.
All of the swaps I’ve been to had wine and tea. If you think your guests would enjoy red wine, be sure to have safe spots to put their glass on a table.
Kombucha is another popular and easy drink to serve. It feels celebratory and won’t stain if spilled!
Different Styles Of Cothing Swaps
There are two different styles of clothing swap: market vs advertising. In a market style clothing swap, the clothing is laid out in sections for browsing by all of the guests similar to shopping in a market. This style is great for very large groups of people that might not know each other. Often large groups need to be split into starting times so the crowds are manageable. In this type of swap, there is an advantage to the person who sees each piece of clothing first as it is “first come first serve”.
The advertising style of clothing swap has one person holding up each piece of clothing while all the guests look at the same time. This is more suitable for a smaller group of friends. The benefits of this type of swap are that each piece of clothing is seen by all guests at the same time and then communally decided on who gets to try it on first.
Many people prefer the market style, it can be a quicker experience for those people that want to do a quick walk through and then leave. Plus they might not want to sit around while each piece of clothing is talked about.
I have been to 3 clothing swaps that were all at friends houses. I loved the advertising style because we all had a chance to give a little more information about the clothing we brought and why it is so special. I loved hearing other people describe their clothes and why they don’t wear it any longer. There was a sense of bonding and we all took turns holding up a pile of clothes (not necessarily our own).
Etiquette
The main rule to etiquette in a clothing swap is be patient and generous. When you see a piece of clothing that you would love to try on you can certainly voice your request. If there are several people who are also interested just go with the flow of who gets to try it on first. I’ve always found that it works out. People might not fit or like it once they try it, or they might find they have too many other things and pass on it. It always works out.
If you really want to take a shirt home for your family member, make sure there isn’t someone in the room who wants it first.
In the end, if you have a giant pile of selections, take a minute to check in with other people to see if any further swaps should be made to make sure everyone is getting something they love.
As a minimalist, I always make sure that I won’t be bringing too much stuff into my house that I now will not wear! It is easy to get swept up in all the free stuff but ask yourself “will it bring value into my life” for each item.
What To Wear
Make sure to wear something that is easy to change in and out of. Perhaps a pair of leggings and a sweater.
If you are at a smaller friend gathering, don’t wear a pair of underwear or bra that you are embarrassed to be seen in!
Things To Be Careful Of
- don’t take too much, if your closet at home is too full you won’t wear it all
- make sure you love all the items you took
- when two people want the same item, remember that there is plenty to go around and let the other person take it first (chances are it will return at the next clothing swap!)
- don’t loose track the the clothing that you came in!
I was at a swap once where a friend tried on a pair of jeans and announced that she loved those jeans. Everyone else agreed and then a few minutes later another friend said “wait a minute, those are the jeans I wore here!”
Donate And Recycle
At the end of the night, you will be left with some clothing. At this point you should quickly sort the clothing. Perhaps some of the items were not selected because it was in rough shape, these should be taken to a textile recycling center. The rest can be packed up and dropped off at your local donation center.
Community Swaps
If you feel this is all too much work there might be a community swap near you. These swaps often have a ticket price or an entrance price of a few pieces of clothing. They are becoming more popular as people want to move away from being part of the fast fashion industry and do something to help the environment.
Swishing is another term used for swapping items with acquaintances. You might find a swishing event near you – it is basically the same thing.
Other Items To Swap
You might choose to open your swap to other items like house wears or childrens toys. You might be surprised by the items people have that are in great condition but they just don’t use anymore, like a rice cooker or musical instrument.
Some invitations might include a note for people to make a request like “does anyone have an extra blender or watering can”. This request goes to the entire group before the event and it just might work out.
Fashion Revolution Week April 20 – 26, 2020
If you haven’t picked a date yet for your swap, consider doing it the week of April 20 – 26, 2020 (if we are no longer socially isolated by then).
You can register your swap to be part of the Fashion Revolution Week. Fashion revolution is a group dedicated to creating a safer, fairer and cleaner industry for clothing globally.
Photo Credit
Feature Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash
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