Last weekend I co-hosted a clothing swap at my house. It was my first clothing swap and I was quite pleased with how fun it was and how much good stuff each girl got to take home with them.
The other host and I each invited a handful of friends which provided a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles...as well as making some new friends!
Each girl was asked to bring a bag of clothes they no longer wanted and a snack to share.
I set up the house boutique-ish which was super fun! I already had a hanging rack that I picked up at Target a few months ago and used baskets to organize accessories.
When the first set of girls arrived, we chatted while everyone put out their items they brought. After all the clothes were put out, we let everyone look around without taking anything yet.
After "window shopping" we picked numbers and let each girl take a turn picking one item. With a small group of six girls this was especially fun as we each ooed and ahhed at what each girl tried on and eventually chose. We continued this for a few rounds, picking numbers each time so that no one girl was stuck with picking last.
After a few rounds of picking one item we planned on having each girl pick more items each round but four girls ended up showing up late with bags and bags of more clothes! We were overwhelmed by it all and eventually just went with a free for all!
I was really surprised how everyone, including myself, was so happy with what they took home that day. Everyone got at least a few items that they loved which I considered a huge success!
Everyone was super friendly and played nice which made for a very enjoyable shopping experience. I let any of the girls who wanted to leave their leftover clothes that were not picked to be donated by me later. This allowed each girl to take home their new stuff...and no more old stuff getting in the way!
Have you ever attended a clothes swap? I would love to hear about your experience!
this looks like so much fun!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like so much fun! I have always wanted to do something like this! I love the aprons that are hung up with the hearts on them! Angie xo
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this idea!
ReplyDeleteAnd so glad you documented it! Looks like so much fun, and girl I'm all about free ;)
xoxo
What a fun idea! I LOVE how you organized it. We're doing a book/magazine swap later this month, and I wondered how to make it fair!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I need to host one of these!! xo K
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea!
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun! Looks like you had a great turn out too. I need to get some of those big drink dispensers ;)
ReplyDeleteWow!! So much fun!
ReplyDeleteHow fun and organized! We did one last year for our youth girls. It was a blast for them! We made different accessories while they waited their turns to shop... it was great.
ReplyDeleteWhat a really fun idea! I love it! Wish I could go but you're a little far from PA.
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun idea! Love the way you displayed everything!
ReplyDeleteA couple of my friends have done this but I have yet to attend one. Seeing these pictures though makes me what to host one. I love hosting parties anyway and this is a good reason to have another. Thank you for the great ideas!
ReplyDeleteHi! A friend and I have been running seasonal clothes swaps at our church for a little while now. Ours were run similarly to yours which works well when you don't have too many people. I like your idea of drawing numbers for who chooses first! I LOVE the photos of how you've set yours up! It is so inspiring! How did you organize where people tried things on? We have a really open area to work with that has lots of windows and not many curtains so that has been a big challenge. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteLove your blog
x
Hi! What an inspiring post :)
ReplyDeleteI have been running Clothes Swaps at my church for about a year or so. We try to do them seasonally and use them as fundraisers for charities as well.
We run them similarly to you although we don't have such a beautiful venue! I like your idea of drawing numbers to choose first after window-shopping. I LOVE the way you've got everything laid out. Looks so perfect! Thanks for the great ideas.
How did you organize where people tried things on? We have a fairly open area with lots of windows and less curtains which is tricky! Any thoughts?