Activity #328: Swap ’til you drop

… or How to Host a Clothes Swap Party.

It’s almost January, so it’s time to plan another clothing swap! Whitney totally hates this photo series but I love it. To be fair, she was trying on outfits from the “pass-through” pile.
We’ve mentioned this idea here and there, but maybe it’s time to full-on tell you how to throw a clothing swap on your own.

I have hosted no fewer than nine clothing swaps with my stylish friends and spawned at least three known copycats. For the record, this is better as a a no-kids-allowed event (or just pre-crawlers), so let Daddy take junior out for a hike while you get a little well-deserved girlfriend-time. The whole thing can take less than two hours.

Here’s the step-by-step to planning and hosting:

1. Work with your partner or a babysitter to find a good day for this event. Plan around naps and try to avoid mealtime so that you are not trying to be Martha Stewart while you are running around your living room half-naked.
2. Send out an evite to all your potentially willing friends.
3. Set aside a good hour and clean out your closet of stuff you haven’t worn in a year or wouldn’t want to wear right now if the proper situation presented itself. Be brutal. If you’re feeling those pesky post-partum body issues, get a good friend to help. (Do your marriage the small favor of not asking your husband if your “butt looks big in this”!)
4. Clean and fold the things for the swap. Consider pressing something if you really want it to go to a new home. Have a separate bag of clothes so ugly you’d be embarrassed for your friends to see (stained t-shirts for instance) — these can go in the pass-through pile (modeled by Whitney as “Before”)
5. Think about how you’ll set up your space for the event. Is there a mirror handy in the living room or will you have to tidy up your room too? Is there space for hanging clothes? If you have room to “merchandise” your stuff, it is a little more fun to “shop”.
6. Make little signs — use the computer or write on index cards what the categories of clothing are so that guests can sort their offerings. (Download our labels here.) And, have a few blank labels available for the day of.

On the day of the event: tidy up, wear cute underwear, get some appetizers or have your friends bring them, and wait for everyone to bring you new clothes! We usually start out browsing the piles casually enough and trying stuff on here and there. Once you try on a cute spangly dress, it is fair game for someone else to have a go at it. Let your friends decide who really looks best in it. I am notorious for trying to get my hands on everyone’s good stuff.

Afterward, get someone to help you load the car or take stuff directly to the charity.

Note: we often have a grab bag category, maternity, men’s clothes, shoes, and baby clothes.

If you’re still not convinced, here are my top ten reasons to host a clothing swap:

1. eat drink and be merry (just easy snacks and spa water)
2. enjoy a fun afternoon with friends
3. feel good about donating to a worthy cause
4. get a heap of new clothes for free (especially good if you have a changing-mom-body!)
5. get a license to buy a couple new pieces for all your thrift
6. get to know your friends in a whole new way
7. play dress-up and get silly
8. purge yourself of unwanted clothes
9. re-gift your recent holiday loot (I like to hold mine in January)