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Thursday Mar 25, 2010
My first Swish
Last night I attended my first ever Swish.
"What's a Swish?" I hear you ask? Well, despite sounding like some sort of annual Superhero convention, a Swish is in fact another word for a clothes swap. It's an ecologically friendly, recession busting, guilt-free way of updating your wardrobe without breaking the bank whilst having a great time with a bunch of friends or, in my case last night, strangers.
"The Art of Swishing involves getting your friends together to swap gorgeous clothes and party at the same time. Every lady must bring at least one good quality, clean item of clothing, or an accessory, that she'd feel proud to hand on." (from www.swishing.org)
Last night's Swish was organised by Charlotte Hayes who is running the Brighton Marathon and raising money for YouthNet at the same time. Charlotte kicked off proceedings by welcoming everybody and explaining the rules. We then had a very diplomatic vote on whether we should have a half hour browsing session or just get stuck in (getting stuck in won) and the Swish was declared open.
After a few seconds of people falling over each other to get to items that had caught their eye, the party quickly settled into an amicable hour of people trying things on, suggesting items for each other and at one point, puzzling over a "piece" which had been donated by a fashion-forward Swisher and appeared to defy convention by having the arm, head and body holes in illogical places! I was surprised at how happy I felt to see my long-unworn donations being claimed by others to be taken home and loved again and every now and then could hear others saying the same to their fellow swappers.
Despite not knowing anyone there, I immediately felt like one of the group and we all seemed to bond through the joy of money-free "shopping" (as women are wont to do). One woman, towards the end of the swap, turned to me with a gleeful expression and exclaimed "I've been looking for a pair of gloves like these for months and here they are! Look! For free!".
Well, not exactly for free. This Swish was to raise funds for YouthNet's LifeSupport Appeal and Charlotte was asking for a suggested donation of £5 per person to join in. I can safely say that nobody minded donating and I for one came out with a sparkly Topshop dress, a gold, disco-tastic Accessorize bag and a new scarf, all for a fiver. Now that's what I call a bargain.
Thank you Charlotte!
You can see a selection of Swish-pics below.
