From Trash to Treasure – Clothes Swap Party
01.29.10
Being a college student for the past four years of my life, budgeting and cutting back on expenses is something I had to master. But at the same time I had to make sure I had a social life, no matter how poor I was. Therefore, I consider myself an expert at throwing parties at home on a very minimal budget—extremely minimal. My suggestion for a fun, inexpensive, girl’s night in is a “Clothes Swap”.
You might have seen it on the show Giuliana and Bill on the E channel network. The main concept behind this home-hosted event is to go through your wardrobe and find articles of clothes you either outgrown or find yourself not wearing anymore. If you happen to find other things in your closet you don’t feel attached to anymore feel free to add that to the mix such as, handbags, jewelry, shoes, hats, and belts. You then invite your girlfriends (they do not need to know each other) and ask them to do the same with their clothes and accessories.
Before the ladies arrive, there are a couple of things you want to have ready:
• Candles: It is always nice and relaxing to come into a house with lit candles. You do not need to go to buy new ones, just use the ones you light when watching a movie on your couch.
• Martinis: These might be the most girly drinks I know, specifically Cosmopolitans, but I think a martini will set the mood for this engagement. (As an added touch create a signature martini just for the night)
• Clothing rack: This is very important because you do not want the clothes your friends bring to be on the floor. Don’t worry about the budget, you can find it inexpensively at Wal-Mart.
• Table: You can use your dining room table and cover it with draping so the ladies can put their accessories if they do in fact decide to swap it.
• Bags: These are used for when the ladies are shopping in your house/apartment, but I do not recommend plastic grocery shopping bags. You can find cute gift bags at the dollar store which can be used as their shopping bag, but if do not want to budget bags, you can collect the bags you receive from departments stores, Victoria’s Secret, Bebe, etc.
Once the ladies arrive, greet them with a martini and ask them to hang their clothes on the rack (just for the night, use the hangers you have in your closet so you don’t have to budget for new ones). Once everyone arrives and they have a drink or two and a chance to mingle, I’m almost positive the ladies will make friends with each other. Just in case this doesn’t happen, play a little icebreaker game. Have all the ladies introduce themselves, say a little about their style and why they think the clothes they brought can be transformed for someone else’s style.
After all that, SHOP!!! This is better than shopping, because it’s FREE!! And please keep this in mind, one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure, but only if all the clothes are washed and are in good condition.
Tags: Budgeting an Event, Clothes Swap Party, Delilah Rivera, Drink Recipe, Hosting at Home, inexpensive
This is a great idea. I have gone through and purged my closet for donations, to accomodate weight loss, etc., but this is a much more fun way to refine the wardrobe, score some new (to me) items and fellowship w/ friends! Thanks.
Charisse – I think we all have those clothes in the closet that we can’t fit or just don’t wear. For me who likes to hold on to stuff I think it is easier to let “those favorite jeans that I don’t even HOPE to get skinny enough to fit” go when you know they are going to a friend.
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