Back in June of this year I found myself wanting some new clothes, but having minimal funds and mountains of clothes already it wasn’t really an option to go on a spending spree. I put up a message on Facebook, announcing I had bags of clothes I no longer wanted and asked if anyone wanted them. People got back to me pretty fast and before long Clothes Swap! was born.
Clothes Swap! (or Swishing as it is sometimes called) is basically a group of friends/people, getting together with their unwanted clothes and swapping them for something new. It’s an idea that’s been gathering strength for a while now, with clothes swapping parties going on all over the country. Even glossy magazines have picked up on the trend and are offering Clothes Swapping Packs for readers to apply for. Swishing offers people a fun afternoon of getting rid of the old, enjoying themselves and going home with a new outfit at the end of it. It’s more or less free too! What more could a girl want?
A few friends helped me aquire one Sunday afternoon in Lamp to hold the event, I made up a few flyers and posters and we put the word about. The original plan was to hand out tokens for the clothes that people brought in and then they could use the tokens to get new items of clothes.
When the big day arrived this wasn’t an option, we had so many clothes! Everyone brought bags of things, by the time we’d finished hanging them all up we’d covered the front section of the Lamp. We abandoned the idea of tokens as the ratio of clothes to people was significantly bigger and it was a free-for-all, grab what you want affair.
Everyone was very relaxed about it all, no fights broke out and we all got a bag full of pretty new(ish) clothes to wear. It went down really well considering it was the middle of summer and there weren’t so many students in town, we even had surplus clothes at the end of it all which were bagged up and taken to the charity shop afterwards.
We’re hoping to hold another event in October and see how it goes down with all the students back in town. We’ve learnt alot from this first event, it’s popular, it’s doeable without much cost involved and people enjoyed it. We need to think up a strategy of swapping if more people attend, a free-for-all may not work every time. Thanks to everyone who helped out and all those who atteneding for making it a great success! Watch this space for news of the next swap!
Pictures from our Clothes Swap event, 29th June 2008 @ The Lamp, Hull;
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- Clothes Swap!
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- Clothes Swap!
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- Clothes Swap!
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- Clothes Swap!
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- Clothes Swap!
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- Clothes Swap!
Links about Clothes Swapping;
www.capessa.com/members/storyactions.aspx?g=126784&m=73442
