Too Many Clothes in Your Closet? Organize a Clothes Swap!
By Marcia Passos Duffy
I bumped into a friend at the supermarket the other day. She eyed my sweater a bit too enviously. "Love that color," she said. "Do you want to get rid of it?" We both laughed, and I politely told her to take her paws off. It wasn't ready to be swapped -- not yet.
We, along with about a half-dozen other friends, are clothes-swappers. We meet every so often with our bags of unwanted clothing after a spring (or fall) cleaning frenzy to … well … swap clothing. I'm not sure when this ritual started. I was invited to a clothes swap two years ago after a friend (who probably realized we were about the same dress size) invited me to a clothes swap she organized at her house.
Dump the goods and dig in
At first, I was skeptical on what kind of clothing I could get and frankly a bit embarrassed over the hopeless clothes I lugged along that nobody in their right mind would want. But what ensued was a cross between a slumber party and an open fitting room at Filene's Basement. There were about eight of us at my first clothes swap. Veteran clothes-swappers immediately told us to dump our goods on the bed and dig in. It was finders keepers -- but you had to try it on first!
One hand pulled out my awful maroon wool dress (which previously belonged to my mother-in-law and fit too snug and short on me). I had to admit it was mine. It was gingerly picked up by a petite woman I only knew in passing. Was she just trying to humor me by trying it on? When she emerged from the bathroom it was like was tailor-designed just for her. It was snug in all the right places; the hem hit just above the knee, where it should have. "I'll take it," she said and quietly folded it up into a growing pile she was gathering at her feet.
Wow. Hey, maybe this wasn't so bad after all! One woman threw a very loud flowered dress at me. "This is you," she said. Huh? Me, who wears muted greens, grays and black? It was not a dress I would ever try on, never mind wear. But with prodding from the group, I did try it on and sheepishly modeled it. Claps, cheers. "Take it!" "Oh, it is you!" I laughed and kept it -- I mean, what did I have to lose? (I've since worn it several times. A special notice to all my friend swappers: I'm now tired of it and it will emerge again at our next clothes swap
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© Marcia Passos Duffy
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Marcia Passos Duffy is a freelance writer and the publisher/editor of The Heart of New England online magazine and weekly e-newsletter, a publication that celebrates the unique character of the northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
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