Swap ‘Til You Drop

I went to my first swapping party recently, Swap ‘Til You Drop. The idea is you bring along all your unwanted clothes, accessories, CDs, DVDs, games and books, and swap them with things you really do want. What with all this talk of beating the credit crunch, this sounded right on the money.

Swap ‘Til You Drop is four months old and has spread by word of mouth and lively promotion via their website We Like Swaps and blog. It comes hot on the heels of a growing trend called “swishing”, where fashion lovers swap unwanted clothes at parties.

Hoping to come away with some hot nearly-new clothes, I arrived early at Star of Bethnal Green in east London, which was hosting the event. I added my items to the stash on show and grabbed a drink - things were just getting started.

All of the clothes were hung on a rail, and people then had the chance to rifle through the goodies and try clothes on if they liked. They also had sewing machines available and a sewing assistant on hand to help, so people could alter or customise clothes if they wanted.

I had visions of it turning into a brawl, full of competitive and crazed, fashion-obsessed women pulling at each other’s hair to get that top. In reality, it was pretty easy-going and relaxed – friendly chatter ensued as we browsed and tried on clothes.

Swishing rules state that you can look but not claim items while browsing, but this was a laid-back Sunday afternoon affair and we could grab anything we wanted.

So, what was it like? I was really impressed - this was a brilliantly organised swap with some really good quality offerings. I got to try out new outfits and came away with some great clothes. And, it was great to see my cast-offs become someone else’s treasure. Any clothing left unswapped at the end of the event is donated to charity.

And don’t forget that this is great for the environment, too – swishing and swapping is just a fancy way of recycling, so more events like these will mean fewer clothes being thrown away.
The next Swap ‘Til You Drop is on the 15th November. If you can’t wait until then, pop along to Swapaholics in conjunction with Swap Til You Drop on 23rd October 2008.