Clothes Swapping Can Save Lots of $$$
Posted by Vivian McInerny, The Oregonian July 21, 2008 11:58AM Are you into life swapping?
Have you ever bought something you loved -- say a slinky red cocktail dress -- but every time you wore it, you realized it was meant for a life you don't live? Do you own a designer suit that made perfect sense when you worked in a swank office, but since you started telecommuting just hangs in your closet depreciating daily Did you spend a small fortune on a great pair of jeans only to gain weight, lose weight or otherwise change shape and those denims are giving you the blues?
Lives change. Wardrobes can too.
At The Fashionista Swap you can trade clothes that still have a lot of life left in them.
"We invite you to bring items from your closet to exchange," says organizer Diana McKnight. "But we also encourage the ladies to come and take full advantage of all the free services."
The $25 ticket includes "free" champagne brunch, spa makeovers, organizing seminars, and fashion show by local indie designers.
Yep, it's a fancy pants swap with a mission. Well, at least a mission statement.
posted online that reads, in part: Fashionista Swaps main mission is to create convenient venues for recycling and refreshing wardrobes. We not only love clothing but believe in sustainable communities and collect items that may benefit others in need of clothing. What: The Fashionista Clothing Swap
When: Saturday, August 2, 2008
Time: 11 A.M.-4 P.M.
Where: The Rose Quarter
Why: Because it's green, darling.
Any remaining clothes are donated to charity
Ticket: Buy here
Posted by Vivian McInerny, The Oregonian July 21, 2008 11:58AM Are you into life swapping?
Have you ever bought something you loved -- say a slinky red cocktail dress -- but every time you wore it, you realized it was meant for a life you don't live? Do you own a designer suit that made perfect sense when you worked in a swank office, but since you started telecommuting just hangs in your closet depreciating daily Did you spend a small fortune on a great pair of jeans only to gain weight, lose weight or otherwise change shape and those denims are giving you the blues?
Lives change. Wardrobes can too.
At The Fashionista Swap you can trade clothes that still have a lot of life left in them.
"We invite you to bring items from your closet to exchange," says organizer Diana McKnight. "But we also encourage the ladies to come and take full advantage of all the free services."
The $25 ticket includes "free" champagne brunch, spa makeovers, organizing seminars, and fashion show by local indie designers.
Yep, it's a fancy pants swap with a mission. Well, at least a mission statement.
posted online that reads, in part: Fashionista Swaps main mission is to create convenient venues for recycling and refreshing wardrobes. We not only love clothing but believe in sustainable communities and collect items that may benefit others in need of clothing. What: The Fashionista Clothing Swap
When: Saturday, August 2, 2008
Time: 11 A.M.-4 P.M.
Where: The Rose Quarter
Why: Because it's green, darling.
Any remaining clothes are donated to charity
Ticket: Buy here
Fashionista Swap at the Portland Rose Garden
ay, August 15, 2008
By MARY ANN ALBRIGHT, Columbian staff writer
With fall around the corner, it’s time for Ilse Norman to update her wardrobe. But the Hazel Dell woman, who’s studying to become a real estate broker, isn’t hitting the mall. Instead, she’s trading items she’s bored with or that no longer fit for clothes, shoes and accessories that, while maybe not brand-new, are new to her.
She recently attended Fashionapolis, a Fashionista Swap clothes exchange at Portland’s Rose Garden arena put on by Camas resident Diana McKnight, 53. They know each other through McKnight’s organization Professional Women’s Network NW. Norman, 37, had been to exchanges in McKnight’s and other people’s homes before, but never one of this magnitude.
Though she paid $25 to get in, Norman considered the price a bargain, noting that $25 won’t buy much at most clothing stores.
Though Norman’s a swapping veteran, it was the first exchange for Portland resident Teresa Rodden. She’s recently lost 30 pounds but doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on new clothes until she loses another 30 pounds.
“It’s a great way to exchange clothes that are too big for things that fit until I reach my goal weight,” said Rodden, 41, a certified health coach and owner of the weight-loss program Take Shape for Life.
With the economy being slow and many people having to cut their discretionary spending, the demand for clothes swaps is on the rise, said PDXSwap founder Kim Cameron, who dropped her first and last names and goes by her middle name, Rae.
“I think it’s becoming a more popular idea because people need free stuff more now,” said the 35-year-old Oregon City, Ore., resident, an advocate for green causes and a bartering economy.
Rae started the group about four years ago when neighbors she used to trade with moved away. She held the first swap in her home, and only two people came. Now, several thousand are signed up for PDXSwap e-mails.
Swaps are organized by garment size and neighborhood. Rae and other PDXSwap hosts hold about 10 swaps a month, drawing up to 75 people each. There are small, medium, large, extra-large, plus-size, all-size, kids and stuff swaps in southeast and northeast Portland, Tigard, Tualatin and Oregon City, Ore. Rae would like to add a men’s swap if she can find a coordinator.
“We’ve had so many men act like they’re offended there isn’t a swap for men, but when I say, ‘Great, do you want to host one?’ they look at me like I’m crazy,” she said.
Rae also would like to expand into Vancouver, and self-professed clothesaholic Cherany Skelton said she’s willing to take on some of the hosting duties.
Skelton, a 25-year-old receptionist and Vancouver resident, has been a fixture at PDXSwap events for more than a year.
“When I started going, I had just started an office job and needed professional attire,” she said.
She came for slacks and jackets but left with much more. Skelton made new friends and completely changed her perspective on shopping.
She used to hit retail stores on a weekly basis, but now relies on monthly swaps to refresh her closet.
Before her first swap, Skelton worried that the clothes available wouldn’t be fashionable or in wearable condition. That wasn’t the case.
“This is not people unloading their trash,” she said. At exchanges, she’s picked up items by labels such as Bebe, Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. But it’s not just about the haul. Swaps are a two-way street. Watching someone squeal over clothes she’s tired of is almost as great as finding something new for herself, Skelton said.
“It’s so much fun when you see someone so happy in something you’ve brought. When someone else can really use it, it’s exciting,” she said.
Mary Ann Albright can be reached at [email protected] or 360-735-4507.