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Acquire a whole new wardrobe, just by trading items you already own. Kirstin lnnes investigates ‘Switch and Bitch’ parties and the growing phenomenon of online swapping.
Photography: Kate V Robertson Additional research: Diana Kiernander
The accursed red dress
Multicoloured swap shop
hate this dress. I bought it in a sweaty panic in the tenth shop l‘d run into. after discovering that a boyfriend‘s sister’s birthday party was going to be tnore formal than anticipated. lt's silk. I think. Two layers. scarlet and cream flowers. knee-length. More
expensive than any other item of
clothing I‘ve ever bottght. and it doesn't even suit me. At the party. the boyfriend‘s sister sidled up to me and murmured. ‘()h. that would be really nice . at a summer wedding.‘ I /I(ll(’ this dress.
l haven‘t worn it since. but the memory of the price tag stops me frotn handing it into a charity shop. and it has glared out from between saner purchases in my wardrobe ever since. a perpetual reminder of the perils of pressure shopping. However. it was the first thing I pulled ottt as appropriate
for the clothes swap evening at the (‘he (‘amille showroom in Glasgow.
(‘lothing swap parties have been rttnning all over the [S (where they’re often called 'Naked Lady Parties' or ‘Switch and Bitch nights”) for several years. but they have only started to take off in the last couple of months over here. The principal is simple — everyone has clothes they don‘t want. and everyone wants more clothes. Sotne organisers recommend running the parties like auctions: sometimes everyone throws everything into a pile and there's a free-for-all.
At this particular party. hostess (‘amille Logorio welcomes everybody into her studio/swapping space by establishing her ground rttles: be sure to make someone an offer if you want to take something of
theirs. and feel free to try everything on with no pressure. Over on a huge trestle table in the middle of the room. people are piling tip and pulling out wools and satins and sequinned corsets. Hesitantly. I pick tip some floral material. in its own matching bag. ‘l)o you need a hand‘." says a giggling girl behind me. She fiddles with some tapes. and it becomes a pair of open—leg trousers. ‘I’ve got a friend who lives on a trailer park in the States. and she offered to make them for me. I couldn’t really say no.‘ Meanwhile. someone has picked up the red dress. ‘No way! I own this.‘ she says. I quickly try and
i.“ ll l .u ¥s
explain that I‘m giving it away for sentimental rather than taste reasons so as not to offend her. but she doesn‘t seem remoter bothered and tells me she has far happier and more glamorous memories of hers. ‘I bought it to wear the first time I went to the (‘annes film festival.‘ she says wistfully. This happens quite a lot —- original owners will hover nearby as you look at their clothes. making sure you're aware of the stories behind the labels and snagged threads. These aren‘t just anonymous garments.
Of course. some of the swappers are tnore practised and determined than others. and they ferret ottt the
I If you’re itching to swap something and there isn’t a swap party happening right this very moment, you could always try the internet. A number of swapping websites have evolved out of the eBay revolution, operating on the same principle as the online auction site, but with swappers setting their own form of currency, often exchanging expensive, unwanted items for aspirational goods they couldn’t otherwise afford.
94 THE LIST ‘. -if> Mar 9007'
Even if you don’t have anything to swap, it can make for interesting reading. ‘Donna Karan gentlemen’s camel overcoat’ reads one online entry, ‘will swap for Sony Ericsson w950i’. Another woman wants to swap her
aspect. Both
size 20 Mori Lee designer wedding dress (unworn) for a people carrier — ‘must take seven people. J-reg or newer only.’
Often it helps to have an open mind. Writing ‘WHY’ (what have you?) in your ‘willing to swap for’ form invites people to make you offers for goods and could in theory net you something you had no idea you wanted.
I Just like the clothing swap parties. there's a social
www.iSwap.co.uk and
other about any ‘bad
www.8wapz.co.uk come with sprawling forums where swappers can announce new acquisitions and warn each
swappers’ who don‘t fulfill their promises. Many people are simply looking for a bit of
extra cash, but they are regarded as crass by the swapping purists.
I The fairy godmother of all clothing swap sites is www.whatsmineisyours.c om, where ‘fashion- literate’ members exchange high-quality vintage and designer labels. Rummage carefully and you may spot a pair of pea-green Stella McCartney stilettos or a vintage Susan Small cocktail dress lurking amongst the 708 patterns.