Clothes swap - stylishly sustainable

I love clothes. More than that, I love personal style. To me, one's personal style is more about creating something that reflects who you are or how you feel and less about how much something costs or whether it's from the latest designer line.

I love finding pieces with character or a story and working them into an outfit that represents me today. Some of my favourite finds have been from church bazaars, thrift shops or - maybe the most fun - from clothes swaps. I went to my second ever clothes swap last night and scored some great things! I went in with two full bags and came out with slightly less (a good thing).

Among the haul were:

- one of the ladies' actual cheerleading sweater from when she was a girl (red boiled wool)
- four bags (including a black envelope-style purse - I tucked the straps in and will use it as a clutch - and a pressed leather cross-body purse)
- pants (including these capri jeans and grey velvet pants)
- a lightweight tan cardi that will be great for work or as a summer coverup
- a black jacket/sweater with faux leather front
- blouses for work
- two pairs of shoes
- and tons of other great stuff!

If you've never been to a clothes swap, it's really quite straight forward. A bunch of girls (or guys, if they're into it) get together with clothes that they're planning on getting rid of. Round one has each lady hold up each item she brought, give a very brief description and whoever yells "mine!" first, puts it in her "try-on" pile. If nobody wants to try on the piece, it goes immediately into a pile destined for good will.

Round two has everyone try on their things and decide what they want to keep. Anything they don't want goes into the middle of the circle in case others who weren't quite quick enough in Round One want a second crack at it. Anything left in the middle at the end, joins the pile for good will.

Then, you just sip drinks and enjoy the baked goods that people usually bring or make for these events and enjoy a good chin wag with your fellow thrifty gals.

It's super fun and a great way to get new-to-you clothes absolutely free! It's also good for the environment so you can feel extra good about that.