How to Survive a Clothing Swap

Today I attended my first clothing swap! I have been so excited for this swap, and have been planning for it since August.  I have been constantly going into my closet and pulling out clothes that I haven't worn in a while, and putting them into my "swap bag". A week later I'd go into the bag and decide why I haven't been wearing that particular item. Was the item too small? Too big? No longer my style? These were all questions that I would answer in my decision making process. Now you don't have to be this extreme when it comes to deciding on what items to take to a swap. I just hate getting rid of an item, and then deciding on a perfect outfit two months later and realize that I gave said item away. 

The swap that I attended today did not charge to attend the swap but rather had a clothing and accessory minimum, along with a potluck dish. Some swaps will give you a ticket for every item that you bring. This prevents someone from bringing two items and taking home 20. In my case, I brought two huge bags full of clothes, and only brought home one. The items that I swap were items that I truly no longer wanted, and was going to give to Goodwill. The potluck portion of the swap was nice because it gave us a chance to eat after the intense clothes hunting.

What should you bring to a swap?

Since I have been cleaning out my closet since August, I was able to come up with a fair amount of items to take to the swap with me. My mom had recently done the same in her closet, and was getting ready to take her clothes to Goodwill, so I was able to take her clothes with me to the swap. Since my mom and I are different sizes, I was able to take multiple sizes to the swap!

The number one thing to think about when taking items to a swap is the condition of your items. If you items are worn, have holes or stains, DO NOT SWAP THEM. There were some items at the swap today that should have never made it on the tables. Grungy old college sorority shirts or worn out purses are not acceptable. It is not fair that you take an item of poor quality to swap, and someone else brings something that still looks new. (If you have an item that isn't up to par, take it to Goodwill or turn it into a cleaning rag).

What should you wear to a swap?

• Dress or tunic. When going to a clothing swap, wear something that you can easy slip on or out of. My number one recommendation is to wear tights (but not see-thru). This way you can try on skirts, dresses, and pants without having to take off your bottoms. I chose to wear a sweater dress to this swap as it is chilly outside and I didn't want to worry about taking a coat into the swap. (I didn't want anyone to think that it was an item for swapping!)

• Belts and Shirts. I had a cami on under the sweater dress, so that I could take off the dress, but still be covered. A t-shirt would also be acceptable. I also wore a belt, so that I could see how certain items would look. Of course I'm not going to wear a red belt with a majority of the clothes that I tried on, but I really just needed to get an idea of what something would look like belted. I can't tell you how many times I took my belt off, so that other women could see how their outfits looked when belted. (Of course I kept my eyes on my belt as I didn't want it walking off!). 

• Accessories. Don't worry about wearing accessories to a swap. I ended up taking off my necklace before I left the house as I didn't want to worry about it getting in the way. 

• Shoes.Wear shoes that you can easily take off and on. My first instinct was to wear boots with this outfit, but I didn't want to worry about zipping and unzipping my shoes the whole time. Flats are the perfect shoes to wear so that you can try on shoes and clothes. You can also pair socks with them once you reach the clothing swap for sanitary reasons. 

• Accessibility. The main thing that you want to remember is accessibility. Can you easily change in and out of what you are wearing? Are you going to have to take off multiple layers that could be mistaken for a swap item? Is your jewelry going to get in your way? Are you going to be spending precious time taking off your shoes?

Sweater Dress: Express

Tights: Target

Flats: Payless

Belt: Plato's Closet (not sure of original origin)

Undershirt:Old Navy

Necklace: This was one of my Great-Grandmother's necklaces. She had a lot of costume jewelry, and this necklace was one of them. 

**I ended up taking off the necklace as I didn't want anything to interfere with the process of trying on clothes.

How to shop

My "how to shop" is based upon a large swap that does not have a clothing limit. When I first arrived, the room was in chaos, and I wasn't totally sure where everything was. (I accidentally arrived two minutes late due to terrible I-phone directions. Therefore I was trying to put my items out during the mayhem instead of being able to start shopping. I am glad that I gave myself extra time to find the location, but I still needed to get there sooner. ) Fortunately the swap had volunteers stationed around the room to help direct people and to keep the clothes in the appropriate piles. Once I knew the lay of the land, I was ready for business.

I immediately hit up the accessory tables, followed by the shoe table. The dress and jacket's rack were right beside these tables, so I quickly went through them next. Then I went to the medium table, the small table, then the large table. If I saw something that I liked and could possibly be in my size, I grabbed it. Once my bag was over flowing, I moved off to the side and started trying clothes on. The reason that I went to all of the tables was because not all of the items were put in the appropriate tables. 

By this time, everyone else was pretty much trying on clothes too, so we were all crowded around the mirror. This was actually a lot of fun because everyone was giving each other styling tips. If someone had an item that they no longer wanted, there were 5 people standing there that were happy to try the item on themselves. This is how I was able to score the army green tunic/dress that I got. The woman that was trying it on just didn't love it on her, and since I was saying how much I love it she quickly handed it over to me! I did this with a couple of items that I was trying on as well. 

After I had tried on my items, I went back to make a few more trips around the room. Surprisingly there were still people coming in with bags of clothes and accessories. I was able to score these booties when a girl walked in with a few shoes. I nabbed them before they even had a chance to hit the table. The back quarter of the shoes are worn, but the rest of the shoe still looks great. DIY glitter shoes are all over Pintrest, so I plan on sprucing them up. Always go back and look again as people may have put items back.

My clothing haul! This is what I scored:

A pair of booties (I am going to glitter-fy the back quarter, thanks Pintrest)
A Purse
A hat
A Scarf
Pair of gray skinny jeans
Dress Pants
Two Tunics,one is more like a dress, but it's too short to wear without something under it.
Four shirts
A Cardigan
A Sweater
Two jackets
Fancy Lace Leggings

I've been looking for a few particular items lately, but have either not been able to find them at a reasonable price or I have just not been able to find the perfect style for me. The swap allowed me to pick out pieces that I would not have looked at in the store, and see the true potential in an item.

So how did I find this particular swap? I found it on Meetup.com. This particular swap had 200 participants, but most are not that large. If the idea of a large clothing swap seems daunting to you, then organize a swap with a group of friends (or sorority or book club or community group).  I can't wait to attend another swap, but I won't be able to participate for a bit as I'm currently happy with my closet. :)