need new threads? have a clothing swap!

If you're anything like me, you've probably got a closet full of clothes that you look at every day and say, "I have nothing to wear!" One of the best ways to deal with this is to go through all of your stuff and edit, removing anything that you haven't worn for a season, doesn't fit, etc. You can store some of it if you think your size might change or if it's off season, etc.

As for the rest of it, chances are that some clothing you may no longer like for yourself might look smashing on a friend of yours. That's why it's great to have a clothing swap!  I've been having clothing swaps, aka Naked Lady Parties, ever since I lived in Brooklyn, when all my crafty friends would come over and dump all their fashion treasures on my living room floor.

My clothing swap style is to separate all the items into piles: shirts, shoes, pants, skirts, dresses, accessories, etc. Then someone takes the emcee role, holds the item up and describes it, and whoever is interested shouts "me me me!" or something similar.You can also have a free-for-all sample sale style event, where everyone can just have at it. I prefer the former. According to my friends at Tiny Choices, the two different styles are East Coast and West Coast!! Who knew?

When the day is done, have a friend help you take all the leftovers to the Goodwill or a similar local thrift store.

So, your closet is leaner and cleaner, you've scored some great new threads, you had a super fun day and you've given a healthy donation to those less fortunate. Sounds like a win to me!

Check out pics from my last swap >>

NEWSFLASH! Mark your calendars! The Philly Sewing Collective is having a Swap-o-Rama-Rama on Sunday October 19th from 1 to 5pm.

Founded by Wendy Tremayne, Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of DIY workshops in which participants explore creative reuse from recycled clothing. Basically, you bring a bag of clothes and they get sorted into piles by volunteers. You get to sort through all the clothes and work at the various DIY stations and sewing stations to create new clothes!