Clothes Swap 101

Have you ever been to a Clothes Swap?

I refuse to imagine my life without them.  Today I realized that everything I’m wearing is from a swap, including a cozy wrap from Splendid, a sassy striped shirt, a perfectly broken-in belt, and a pair of cargos:

Yummy, right?

My friend Chrissy and I have been hosting swaps for over 10 years, so we’ve perfected every detail.  Below is our recipe for success:

• 2 swaps a year is ideal.  We do one in the Spring and one in the Fall.
• Swaps work best when you’ve got a mix of sizes and styles, so send out an invitation to everyone you know.  Ideal size for a swap is about 20 people, but we’ve swapped with as few as 5 and as many as 40.
• Allow for 3 hours.
• Provide nibbles and drinks.
• Encourage swappers to ruthlessly purge their closets!  Clothes, shoes, bags, accessories…everything.
• Tip: pre-sorting clothes by type (tops, pants, etc.) before arrival at the swap is a good idea.
• To set up at the swap, create separate areas for each type of item.  Rolling racks work really well here…ask around to see if you can score a few.  Don’t worry if you can’t: you can fold and stack items on tables or drape them over sofas and chairs.
• When swappers arrive, have each person sign in.  Their number on the list determines their pick order.
• Have each swapper set out their items in the appropriate locations (this is where pre-sorting comes in handy).
• As people arrive and for the next hour or so, it’s time to “shop” – try stuff on, scope out the goods.  Remind swappers not to put anything aside – everything needs to stay out and “shoppable.”  This is always a fun time because you can try on numerous different looks and get feedback from all your friends!
• Tip: it’s a good idea to have pens and paper handy so swappers can jot down items of interest.  Otherwise it’s really easy to lose track of what you want.
• Tip: the more mirrors, the merrier.  Encourage swappers to bring full-size mirrors if they’ve got any that are easily transportable.
• After the shopping frenzy, it’s time to get down to business.  Reading from the sign-in list, give each swapper the chance to choose a gem.  We always run through the list 3 times.
• After everyone has cherry-picked 3 items, it’s time for the FREE FOR ALL!  This is kind of like Supermarket Sweep, or the Toys R’ Us timed shopping spree you always dreamed about when you were a kid.  Basically, you can snag whatever you want.
• At the end of the swap, everyone helps bag up what’s left and grabs a couple of sacks to take to the local shelter/Goodwill.