Clothes Swaps ~ Everyone needs to have one [right now!]

I am a firm believer in out with the old and in with the new [to you, but old to someone else]! Most of my wardrobe is made up of garage sale and op-shop finds...usually with a purpose like a wedding or for work, but the odd thing does slip in there that doesn't get worn for years! I'm sure everyone has at least something in their collection that hasn't been seen by anyone else and it may well be because it's a look you're too self-conscious to wear outside the house [I very guilty of that one, and my sister reminds me that it's just a matter of getting used to looking at yourself in the mirror with it on and I'm trying my little heart out to get past that...it's tough though], but anyway I was heading off on a slight tangent...! So, yes, the mighty clothes swap. It is an amazingly wonderful pastime and one that should be indulged in at least once a year, if not, once a season. Plus it's a great chance to catch up with friends, drink wine/tea and meet new people!
I had the pleasure of going to my first such event last weekend thanks to an invite by a friend [I didn't know anyone else there mind you]. This was a fundraiser event for a local young mother's group. They had hired out a Salvo's Hall, received a ton of donations of clothes and accessories from people all over the place [thanks to facebook], put on a gorgeous afternoon tea, and even had party games to start the afternoon off with! I brought my own bag of clothes with me which gave me a discount and the event only cost me $10.
The clothes swap had about a dozen women turn up. Mostly new mothers, or soon to be mothers, [plus the rest of us] all glowing and excited to see what goodies await. We talked amongst ourselves whilst we waited for late comers and enjoyed a chocolate raspberry cake and cup of tea. We started the afternoon with a game to decide the "winners". The game was a bridal shower game with four parcels and a story in which the words left and right were used a lot and dictated where we passed the parcels! It was a lot of fun and many mixed up their lefts from rights!! The four winners got 5 mins to rummage and get first dibs on the clothes. After that we all got a chance.
It was a calm and fairly civilised event. Many girls were happy to help each other out and give advice/opinions on choices, making even the shyest of girls feel good about their picks for the day. We all had a great time and even though we all went home with a huge bag of clothes each, it was amazing how much was still left!! I managed to nab about five tops, two singlet tops, two shirts, a pair of black stretch stovepipes, a crazy batwing 80s jumper with diamonte back detailing, a super cute portmans stretch jersey dress, and a picnic-in-hanging-rock-esque summer dress. I scored so much good stuff I was very glad to have gone!

I have this super book called "Super Crafty" funnily enough, and it has the best idea for clothes swaps [otherwise known as Naked Ladies parties] and how to make cute invites to the event using shrinky dinks!

Be sure to check out some fun rules on how to host your own! You'll be glad you did!

Oh and for those of you living in mainland Australia who wish to experience the awesome power of a LARGE clothes swapping event ~ check out The Clothing Exchange.

Thanks again to all the lovely Ladies involved in organising the swap ~ you're all gorgeous!

xx WS