I know it may seem hard to believe, but I do occasionally leave the house without my chicks. One of my child-free destinations is a bi-annual clothing swap in which I've participated since moving to Montreal. Twice a year--once in November, and once in June, I get together with a group of women, some of whom have been participating for close to fifteen years, to trade clothing we're no longer using.
Each woman shows up with a stack of clothes; some just bring a few things, and some bring two huge trash bags full. We take turns showing our wares and distributing them around the room to whoever lays claim. Women's clothing constitutes the majority of what is shared, but there is also usually some men's clothing, children's clothing, jewelry, shoes, hats, and other accessories.
Being poor and frugal, I jumped at the chance to go to my first clothing swap and made sure to firmly plant myself in the group as a continuing participant; there's no way I'm going to miss out on a room full of free clothes! The women are generally fashionable and up to date, so it's not as if I'm coming home with the polyester one-piece jumpsuits favored by my Intro to Sociology professor. In fact, several of the highlights of my otherwise relatively lackluster wardrobe have come from clothing swaps.
I've also gotten jewelry, children's clothing, and the occasional crazy/unique item to add to the chicks' dress-up collection.
The clothing swaps are a ton of fun. Before getting down to the serious business of wrestling over the best and fanciest duds, we all share a potluck, gossip, and catch up with those we haven't seen since the last swap. It's fun, social, eco-friendly, and free--my kind of activity. If you've never participated in a clothing swap, I encourage you to organize one. You really can't go wrong!
I've somehow accidentally volunteered myself to organize a clothing swap for children's clothes with the members of our community garden, so perhaps I will be posting about them again. I can envision doing this with all kinds of things: books, toys--the possibilities are endless.
**I linked this post to Steady Mom's 30 Minute Blog Challenge.
10 comments:
Sounds like a great opportunity for a little girl time AND fun expanding your wardrobe!
What a great idea! I need to see if there's something like this near where we live - and if not, maybe I can talk my mother's club into helping me organize one?
oh, this sounds awesome!!! What fun!
Hmmmm .... wonder if there is something like this in my neck of the woods? I'm gonna have to do some searching/asking around ...
Best Wishes!
A friend of mine hosts one of these every winter...unfortunately, most of her other friends are about size 0...so I don't come home with much (which is probably a good thing!)
That sounds great, totally up my alley too! I wonder if they have one already established here? How did you find out about yours?
I'm stopping by through Steady Mom's 30 Minute Challenge. I hope you'll do the same! You can find me @ http://sofiasideas.com/
Free clothes? amazing! I would love to go to one of those!
Wow! How fun! That is a great idea too!
We do this informally in my group of friends, but it's mainly for kids' clothing. I love your ideas of expanding it to books and other fun things!
I have heard of this, but never done it before! What a grand idea! Might have to do this in the Fall!!!!!!
I have been meaning to plan something like this and your post was a wonderful reminder that fall is on the way.
I am curious. How do you get people to feel comfortable to start claiming items they want? I imagine everyone being shy about it.
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