Clothes Swaps

Clothes are pricey as anything and it’s the worst. While the op shop cycle is something I am all about, a nice variation is clothes swaps: not only do you get yourself some sweet threads on the cheap (often on the free), there’s the benefit that you get clothes from a buddy and get to give clothes to a buddy. Buddies!

Make an event on your preferred social media and invite all your friends whose clothes you covet.

Some people are probably gonna be cool and bring refreshments but stock up on what you guys like. The last clothes swap I went to we had a tea party, but drink whatever you want.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter"] (But seriously, low-moderate drinking under adult supervision is a great introduction to alcohol and allows you to develop a really healthy relationship with it later in life)[/caption]

Arranging by size can be helpful but sizes totally lie, so generally people just make “give” and “take” piles and everybody scratches through things themselves. If there aren’t many people arriving at once, and they don’t have a heap of clothes, a bit of a show and tell can help you find the flyest threads.

If people are really trying to get rid of things, they might sneakily leave them in your house and skedaddle, so make sure you’re prepared to drop the dregs off at an op shop in a few days.

If you have something that was mad expensive, just let anyone that picks it up know that you’ll be wanting cashmoneys for it. Basically everything else is generally free (it’s a swap, right) so that’s usually not too much of a hassle.

Be brave! Try on things you'd never try on in a shop. You're in a safe environment, and there's no pressure to take or not to take.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter"] Work it move it, bitch go crazy! (image from gagasmonsters)[/caption]

Remember that clothes swaps aren’t just for clothes! Bring shoes, accessories, makeup. I’ve even scored some sweet fairy lights and soaps from clothes swaps. One person’s clutter is another person’s treasured clutter.

This is usually a really body-positive experience too! You'll end up complimenting each other a lot. It's so lovely.

Start swapping and have fun! ▼