On Monday night I went to a clothes swap run by The Clothing Exchange – my first one!
The idea of it was to bring up to six pieces of clothing, which you exchanged one-for-one with buttons upon entering (subject to the garment being in good enough condition and such). After all the clothes were hung up, we could go and pick up three items to try on. If we wanted them we took them off the hangers and could try on another three. And then we “paid” for the items we wanted with the buttons.
review
It was a pretty small event, which meant less to choose from and the nice things being snapped up in about a minute. And I don’t know if it was just because I was slow at choosing, but the half of stuff that was left after that intial minute wasn’t so great in terms of quality. I’m hoping they’ll start being a bit stricter about that, or that it was just an off night for them.
the goods
That said, I picked up some things that I adore, and I’m assuming the things I gave up went to loving homes. (They were some of the nicest things from when I removed most of my ‘not-me’ colours from my closet.)
Here’s what I got.
Scarf with pockets. I was close to buying a new scarf (organic from Etsy or something) because I hadn’t any luck finding one at an op shop the past few months. The ones I have usually clash with the new colours I’m wearing. But this is perfect.
Strange silk dress which I got because I liked the print (but the dress looks awful on me). I’ll turn it into a camisole or another kind of top.
I adore the style of this skirt and the rich colour of it so much.
I had six buttons to “spend” but nothing else felt right, so I just stuck with these three items.
thoughts
I think if I had’ve attended this event last year I would have felt a little jibbed. Like I’d lost money giving up six really nice items when I’d only come away with three. How much money I could have made on them if I sold them on eBay instead. Annoyed that some of the other guests didn’t put in better pieces for the benefit of everyone else.
But instead I’m inclined now to think that I got a perfect deal. I have two items that I love and one item that I might love soon, and they’re worth more to me than the six pieces I didn’t even want, no matter how much they cost in the first place.
I’m not equating value with money anymore. I’m not equating it with how many of something there is.
Value is feeling.
- It feels good to know that my items have a new life with people who will appreciate them. There’s not really that feeling when I donate to an op shop, because I don’t know quite as much about where they’ll end up.
- It feels good to have decluttered an extra six unwanted things from my home.
- It feels good to have these new-to-me things that truly express my personal style.
- It was a really lovely night with a very good friend.
The other stuff doesn’t really matter anymore.
one last word
I found myself wanting stuff again after attending the event. You might know that I’ve barely bought anything aside from food, necessities and experiences in the past month or so (and been quite content doing without my usual thrifted wares), so this shook my foundations a little.
I thought about new shoes all the way home.
I wasn’t expecting that, though I can see why it happened. The event reminded me of the joys you get from new things, that sense of ‘I don’t have enough’. But I’m just going to wait, and the desire and urgency will pass. If the new shoes idea sticks around for a few months, I’ll look into it then.
I’ll go again sometime next year, I think.
Have you been to a clothing swap? How did you find it?
I’m in two minds about posting this, especially since you said you’re not equating money with value anymore (which is just as it should be). And that scarf is lovely – I have the same one. But since you mention you wish they’d been pickier about quality – the reason I have the same one is that it came free with a magazine. Which absolutely shouldn’t stop you from loving it, but does seem rather unfair of whoever brought it to the swap.
Thanks for pointing that out, Peta! It is kind of a weird constuction, I was wondering where it originated from.
I’m glad they brought it along, free or not. I’d prefer something that was reasonably nice and free than something expensive they bought and that looked obviously worse for wear.
When I said picky about quality I guess I meant things that weren’t pilling and obviously aged, cheaply made (and obviously so), that sort of thing.
Hi. Congrats on the pieces you got, they look great! Hope you get alot of wear from them. I have never been to a clothing swap party, but I know a friend who has and she came away disappointed after having donated 3 really good quality dresses and coming away with a beanie hat! She said the quality of the donated items wasn’t good and all elbows were out as it turned into a ‘wow, free stuff!’ kind of feeding frenzy! I think the organisers have since changed some of their policies, but she hasn’t been back.
Until July this year when it sadly closed at the end of its lease, there was a clothing swap shop ie in shop premises, near me. It was run by some ladies who had sent it up as a not-for-profit as they are passionate about reducing landfill and also about reducing consumption. You would take along up to 10 items and they would ‘value’ them as to how much they could sell them for in the shop and you would receive ‘credit’ for half this amount. You could then use this credit to ‘pay’ for other items in the shop. You could also pay by cash in the shop if you had too little/no credit. Any items not suitable for the shop or that remained ‘unsold’ after a certain time was donated to local charities. They also used to re-use some of the fabric in workshops they used to run, making bags and stuff.
The ‘credit’ was valid for a certain length of time and this meant that ‘purchases’ could be more considered; you could just return another time if nothing took your fancy on the day. I donated and ‘bought’ some lovely items! I thought it was a really good idea and admired the ladies for setting it up and donating their time, but wasn’t surprised when it closed.
I miss that place!
Am working on refashioning stuff instead now as I am learning to sew and will be interested to see what you do with the silk dress – the print is lovely, I would have been attracted to it too! x
I would have loved to visit that shop! But yes, it doesn’t sound like it’d be very financially stable. Really really cool concept though.
Good on you for learning to sew & refashion! It can be daunting.. but I’m hoping the patterns and instructions I’ll be launching later this year will help take some of the confusion/intimidation out of it all for people.
Oh, I should have added that I donate alot to local charity shops, and buy a fair bit from them too (I have an almost 3 year old and many of his toys have been found in charity shops), but clothing swaps do have their place when it comes to the stuff in your wardrobe that doesn’t quite work for you, but which does need replacing.
i haven’t been to one but i’ve always wanted to. you looked at it in a good way, i could imagine i would have felt a little jibbed. but you are right, you are better off this some new items that you like, than 6 things you don’t
I actually saw you at the clothing swap and recognised you from your blog. I didn’t want to spoil your night with blithering fan-girl antics, so I left you to it. I did however nab an item that I think was yours (?) – a lovely ammo top which has already got one wearing and which I love to bits. Looks like we did a swap, because you got one of mine! The brown skirt. It was something I loved but rarely wore. I hope you give it more of a run.
I also have mixed feelings about the events. I did notice that by the end there were some really poor quality items left, or things that are so far left field as to be of interest to very few people (a bright orange roll neck sleeveless top comes to mind). On the other hand, while I wasn’t in the market for jeans, I did notice a few of pairs of really nice good quality jeans on the rack (er, or were they your too?). I have been to several swaps now and this variation is evident in all of them. I usually find that I take 5 or 6 things, and I leave with one thing I really love and one or two I think are ok or have potential (I sew stuff too). These days I am prepared to be happy with that, as I think my wardrobe could do with a little less clutter too. This one was a particularly small swap, I was quite surprised. There is usually a lot more stuff, thereby increasing your chances at finding something you love.
I also have the “consumer high” feeling afterwards. These days I don’t buy much stuff (pov student life & growing sustainability values), but I have always loved shopping and especially for clothes. I don’t necessarily think the consumer high thing is too bad, as long as you can let the excitement focus on your swap purchases and be content with your haul without getting swept up in wanting more. I usually spend the trip home thinking up outfit combinations to include my new purchases, and this distracts me from any desire to go on a further spree.
Oh, awesome! Yes, the Ammo top was mine! I wore it just once, too, and I loved the style but the colour isn’t me. I didn’t give any jeans though.
I totally agree about the crazy stuff and the poor quality stuff being left. I tried really hard to think of what I could turn that orange dress into.. but it was just a bit off, and the colour was it’s only redeeming quality.
And I loved reading your thoughts on the “consumer high” – that’s a really good suggestion about thinking about outfit combinations to distract yourself from thinking of shopping. For me, the consumer high isn’t that bad either, as long as I don’t make any impulse decisions because I’m feeling moody. But I’m getting pretty good at holding off.
You’ve got me thinking about ways I can engage my ‘personal style brain’ instead of my ‘consumer brain’ when the wanting to look nice crops up. So thanks for that!
PS. If there is a next time feel free to introduce yourself! Would love to meet you.
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Hi ladies!
Some great comments and definitely some great feedback from our end. I am the Melbourne co-coordinator and we are always striving to make the events pleasing for everyone. We have come to be really strict with quality over the years and the standard of clothing that women bring has increased as we have educated swappers. The Clothing Exchange accepts various basics and doesn’t judge on style, so therefore I guess you need to be open to various styles being on the racks. We also have rules that women can only try 3 garments on at a time, so that it’s not such a made rush. Love to see you all down at our next swap on Dec 2nd @ the Rose Street Market!