I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had been looking forward to this year’s clothing swap ever since last year’s wrapped. That’s how much fun it was to host everyone, after a year’s absence, in our newly landscaped (and ready for entertaining) back garden last year. The new set-up worked so well that I decided to do it again, in exactly the same way, this year.
The stone patio area was used for seating — a record number of attendees this year (13!) — and the deck was once again set up as a “boutique” area for accessories and house decor, which people could browse at their leisure in between swapping sessions. Speaking of which, I like to keep my swaps pretty informal and laidback, and also create opportunities for people to connect. What I find works well is for each person to show the rest of the group each item that they’ve brought, along with some key information about sizing, fit, brand, etc. It creates a really nice sense of intimacy and community — it’s that feeling of being in your best friend’s closet, talking about clothes and picking new outfits. Sometimes, swap newbies feel a little shy at first (we don’t make them go first) but after a round or two of sharing, everyone gets into the spirit.
The garden is a perfect space for hosting, as it gives us lots of room to spread out and a nice atmosphere as well. The only downside of an outdoors swap is the fact that you’re hostage to the weather; luckily, after a very wet start to the summer, our swap day was beautiful and sunny. So much so that I got a bad sunburn out of the deal (my fault entirely for somehow forgetting sunscreen all day, d’oh).
But I know what y’all want to see. Here’s a peek at what I took home.
It’s a lot more than I had planned to take, but still less than the 3 large bags of clothing (plus a bag of shoes and purses) that I brought to the swap. The nice thing about swaps is that they’re a low pressure way to try out things. It’s all free, and if it doesn’t work out, you can always bring it to the next swap (or donate). These days, I am pretty ruthless about what I choose to take in the first place, but there is always so much stuff to choose from and everyone is cheering you on to try so … don’t mind if I do.
I do think that, for the most part, I kept to my style brief pretty closely. There are one or two calculated style risks in the bunch, but you should be able to see my reasons for taking them on.
I don’t normally gravitate towards animal prints but this Topshop skirt had a lot of other things going for it. One, it’s suuuuper long. Like, ankle-length. Love. The fabric is a chiffon-like material, very floaty. Also love. I’m not a huge fan of the pattern, but I like that it’s a very small animal print; also, the background colour is my favourite shade of orange brown, so I think it will work nicely with some of my fall wardrobe. The skirt does have some interesting slits in the front, so it remains to be seen how it will work out for me long-term.
Again, not a piece that I would normally jump on, but it fits like a dream and has an intriguing bohemian vibe that might actually work really well with my current style.
This might be the piece I’m not excited to play around with. It looks like a knit dress but it actually splits open in the front so it’s really more of a tunic slash layering piece. It’s also very long which … well, you know where I stand on that.
This was one of the pieces I wasn’t really sure about, but I could not resist the vintage.
I have been looking for a pair of these Wilfred faux leather leggings at the thrifts for the past 5 years, no joke. Never found one. But now, I finally have one! It’s a greyed out olive colour, which is neat because I already have black and burgundy leather leggings.
This skirt had me at the vintage Gap label — it’s from 2000, which is funny because I’ve begun collecting various pieces from that year. I’m giving denim skirts another try; another vintage one I thrifted recently didn’t work out for me, so I am hoping this does. It’s long (yes!) but I am not sure how I feel about the cut. It’s more of an A-line than a column style (it flares out a bit at the bottom) so I don’t know if I love it. I do love the slit in front.
Okay, it’s not vintage but it is Pendleton and it is my favourite colour. Sold!
I love this shade of purple, but I don’t find it easy to mix and match with the rest of my colour palette. So this was a risk. I decided to take it because I’ve been looking for crop tops, and struggling to find nice ones at the thrifts.
Super pumped about these high waisted Everlane pants. I love the cut and the colour (a purple-leaning grey).
I couldn’t resist this Ralph Lauren plaid wool skirt even though it’s a mini. I just love the style and the colours. I will have to see if I can make it feel like “me” come fall. I know that style- and colour-wise, it will fit into my wardrobe really well.
I have been wanting a pair of pink heels for a while so I am very pumped about these (no pun intended). The heel is manageable and because it’s a block heel, I hope it will be relatively comfortable to wear. The brand is Lord & Taylor.
My current sunnies are on their last legs, so I was pumped to find this Toms pair. Classic style and very comfortable to wear. This was the first thing I picked up at the swap, and I wore them for the rest of the day.
Picked up some pendants. The turquoise was a no-brainer, as was the (imitation?) tiger’s eye. The faux coral Stella & Dot necklace is a bit outside my wheelhouse, but I thought it might work nicely as a layering necklace with some of my boho summer outfits.
Picked up a couple of small vases to add to my milkglass collection.
And a set of massive iron skeleton keys as a fun, unique display item. Hand for sizing reference — they really are huge and heavy.
Last but not least, I found some books that speak to all of my interests (fashion, history, biography).
And that’s a wrap on another fun clothing swap!
I haven’t been keeping close track but since I started in 2007, I think this was my 15th swap (after missing out on one in 2020). I hope to keep the tradition going for many more years to come. If you have any questions about clothing swaps, feel free to put them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.
