Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Clothing Swap












Last night, I attended an annual clothing swap with a wonderful group of women. The concept is simple--everyone clears their closets of clothes and accessories they no longer wear, and brings them on hangers to the party. We arrange our clothing "store", then after sharing a meal and conversation, we all "shop"--for free!!! It serves the dual purpose of cleaning out our closets for the new year and providing something new for everyone. I went with a friend and even brought my daughter this time, since she is one of our family partners in the "nothing new for a year" pledge. I brought 25 items of clothing and 6 pairs of shoes to donate to the swap. (top photo)Most were nice and hard to let go of, but everything had a reason why I didn't wear it. Many were clothes I treated myself to after I had my son, but are now a size too big. Some were expensive clothes from my pre-kid working days, which are now a size too small. It was much easier this time to let them go, knowing someone else would have a chance to take them home and actually enjoy wearing them. It was fun to see someone choose an item I had brought and show their delight when it fit perfectly!

I returned home with 19 clothing items, 3 pairs of shoes and a pair of sunglasses. It was my goal to take home less than I brought! I was very careful this time in choosing the items. I made sure everything was a perfect fit, and that I could visualize it as part of a complete outfit using either things I already had at home or items from the swap. I was very, very lucky to find so many items that I absolutely loved and to find complete outfits, even down to the shoes! My daughter enjoyed the accessories table and came home with some cute necklaces and earrings along with a watch. Someone brought a tub of baby toys, and my daughter chose a few to bring home to the 2-year-old, and even found him an adorable Texas Longhorns jacket. And lastly, another attendee who was moving brought a box of household items that she no longer needed. One was a beautiful ceramic platter, still in the box, that matched my kitchen and another was a lovely angel statue for the garden.

All in all, we had a wonderful time. I will be busy today organizing my "new" wardrobe into my closet and will be enjoying new outfits for weeks to come. This really takes the sting out of passing up all those clothing sales this month!












2 comments:

Jenyfer Matthews said...

What a great idea! I could use friends like yours :)

2simplify said...

Yes, I think its a wonderful idea too. I guess I need to be especially grateful for the friends who wear the same size I do--LOL!!