September is right around the corner. And back to school vibes mean we suddenly want to buy all the things. Press pause on your consumeristic tendencies with us for a moment and consider throwing a clothing swap with friends instead.
If you followed our closet detox with Ashlee Piper earlier this summer, you probably have a ton of old threads lying around waiting to leave your closet. Call a couple of girls, whip up a few healthy cocktails (we’ve got a few ideas for you) and get to swapping instead of shopping! Ashley Rae recently shared this party idea with Cameron Diaz’s Our Body Book and is walking us through the process, step by step…
A few weeks ago I went to a bachelorette party for a friend. While we were all sitting in the ‘quiet room’ at the spa (not being quiet at all) we were talking about how weʼre all so bored of our wardrobes but don’t want to spend the money to buy new clothes. We all have different priorities now, houses, businesses, children, travel, etc. and to be quiet honest, I’ve never been the type of girl to spend a lot of money on clothes. I don’t see the point. Since we all do have very nice clothes though (weʼve just grown tired of them), we decided to have a clothing swap.
I had heard about clothing swaps in the past, but had never attended one myself…until two weeks ago! My new neighbor hosted this epic (and I’m talking epic) clothing swap with so many clothes that it felt like her dining room and living room had transformed into a free-store. I took some inspiration from her and hosted my first clothing swap. And it was such a success!
How To Host An Epic Clothing Swap
Invite a lot of Friends
The aim of this game is to walk away with a new spring/summer wardrobe without spending a dime, so of course that requires a lot of clothes from a lot of people! This event doesnʼt only serve your wardrobe well, itʼs also a great reason for you and all of your girlfriends to get together and hang out for a few hours. Out of the fifteen girls I invited, nine attended, which for us is a really great turn out. Some of them brought bags and bags of clothing to swap and others only brought a few items – no problem, as long as everyone brought one thing, they were in for the swap!
The Set-Up
This whole event is so much more fun when the space youʼre using transforms into a “store”. I set up some clothing wracks for the dresses, tops and jackets and then folded the pants, skirts and bathing suits and laid them on the table. Browsing through everyoneʼs clothes was so much fun!
Play Fair
When I was sorting through my clothing and choosing items to contribute to the swap, I made sure to pick clothing that was still in great shape. These are your girlfriends youʼre swapping with, so make sure youʼre giving as much as youʼre receiving! As well, in order to make sure we were playing fair and everyone got an equal amount of turns to pick clothes, we drew cards. It was done randomly and with each turn, we were allowed to choose a maximum of three items. After we all enjoyed three solo trips to the racks, we went shopping together.
Snacks! Snacks! Snacks!
Snacks are ALWAYS important! Choose a few healthy dishes that you know your friends will enjoy “shopping” and catching up with everyone. I made Fully Raw Kristinaʼs Fully Raw Carrot Cupcakes, Oh She Glow Flat Bread (from her cookbook) with roasted tomatoes and fresh avo on top, and my Rae of Sunshine Amaze Balls. I also had espresso shots and coffee (with freshly made almond milk and coconut milk) and fresh orange juice. Everyone loved the treats!
Have Fun!
Obviously the reason to have a clothing swap is to have fun! Itʼs a win, win, win situation! Youʼre hanging out with all your best girls, eating delicious treats (maybe even drinking mimosas) and getting new clothes by sharing with each other.
By the end of the swap I had cleaned out my closet of everything I hadnʼt worn in the past six months and added two pairs of heels, three dresses, five tops and one bikini top. We packed up all the clothing that was left behind and donated it and decided to continue swapping on a semi-annual basis. Success!
For a look inside Ashley’s own clothing swap, click through here!
