Greenmystyle.com is co-hosting a charity clothes swapping party in London’s super chi-chi East Dulwich in August, and take it from us the booty from the stylish gals that live in that zone will be second to none.

Have you discovered clothes swapping yet? No? Where have you been?! It’s the single most eco-boosting, credit-cunching way to get your hands on a totally new wardrobe, all the better when that wardrobe was pre-loved by another urban style queen. We’re not talking old tat here, ladies.

The clothes swapping party will be held on Sunday 9th August at The Lodge, Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, to raise money and awareness for Bowel Cancer UK. Party co-host, designer Vic Tristram recently supported a close relative through this disease.

The doors will be open at 4pm to take deliveries. Bring along any unwanted items of clothing, shoes or accessories. It can be anything from an outdated pair of high-top 80s sneakers or the latest bag that just didn’t go with that all-important outfit. Chances are, someone else will love it.

When you submit your items, you’ll be given the same number of tickets in return, each ticket entitles you to one swap item. If you’re unable to bring any items or want to take more home than you brought, then “swap” tickets will be also on sale. All proceeds will be donated to Bowel Cancer UK.

You’ll then have an hour or so to hit the bar, before the swap begins at 5.30pm. What else could you wish for on a Sunday afternoon?

There is a small £5 entry fee/donation to the charity at the door, entitling you to one raffle ticket, which could see you win a fantastic beauty spa voucher and half a day’s free gardening work, amongst other treats. We’ve seen the gardener and we’d recommend you ask him to take his shirt off while he works!

Greenmystyle.com Charity Clothes Swap Party
Sunday August 9, 4pm
The Lodge,
1 Lordship Lane, London, SE22 8EW

Words: Jennifer Ebert

Photo: The S.W.A.P Party

Maria writes: Attendees at this month’s Swap-A-Rama event, armed with at least one item of clothing to swap, paid £3 to adorn themselves with cast-offs fit to reside in even the most demanding fashionista’s wardrobe.

Resident DJs played remixes of old Motown classic hits, providing the perfect backdrop for a night of chaotic vintage glamour. Even the boys couldn’t help but get involved!

Flick through the gallery of gorgeous folk swapping Favela style by clicking the ‘Next Favela Chicster’ link.

» Next Favela Chicster

Corinne, 49, got this 1940s dress from the Swish: “It had been left behind, probably because it doesn’t look much like this, but it’s a good quality material and shape.” Her coat is a secondhand designer piece, inherited from a friend. Corinne’s dress and scarf are “about 20-years-old!”. Boots and bag from Marks & Spencer.

Next page: Kim reinvents a winter coat

Lena writes:

There is a section in my wardrobe, the corner in the very back, where – out of sight, out of mind – I keep all my fashion sins, misguided buys and unloved fashion gifts. Today I am stuffing this rather heavy pile into a bag, ready to pass it on to someone else, hoping that the grey 80s jumper with the question mark pattern (what was I thinking?) will find a loving owner who will wear it with pride. And in return I will get a as many clothes, shoes and accessories as I can carry.

It really sounds too good to be true, but this brilliant and simple idea is behind the new fashion trend taking London by storm and rapidly spreading over the UK. Swishing, or clothes swapping, is a fun and eco-fabulous way of getting a whole new wardrobe by exchanging your unloved fashion items for someone else’s. Easy.

I am feeling a little bit nervous as I arrive at the swishing venue at the V&A and spot the queue of girls eagerly waiting to swish. They are armed with bags and suitcases ready to grab as many items as possible. Some even brought their boyfriends, who willingly trot behind them, ready to become their personal shopping bag carriers. I look at my tiny little handbag and feel ridiculously ill prepared.

After dropping off my unwanted clothes, I join the queue nervously clutching the swishing rules. They are very straightforward: everybody must bring at least one item, there will be a sneak preview where you can look around but not yet take any clothes, and once the swishing gets going, you can take as much as you like. I am however slightly worried by the last rule that says ‘no scratching, spitting or biting’. What have I let myself in for?

During the preview, where everybody gets to have a look at what’s on offer, I spot a fabulous 70s halterneck dress, a beautifully made brown leather clutch and some great white heels in my size, which I casually shove behind some jackets in the hope no one will find them. There are rails and rails of clothes, rows of shoes neatly lined up and belts and scarfs hanging off the walls. Futerra, who have set up the swishing party as part of the V&A’s Ethical Fashion Day, have also prepared style booths where expert advice on picking and wearing the perfect item is on hand.

Once the doors finally open, everything seems to be over in a few seconds. I can’t remember where I’ve hidden the white heels, and the 70s dress is long gone. I grab a black and red patterned scarf, which turns out to be Armani. Wow! Soon the V&A’s corridors are lined with swishers showing each other their finds. There’s a really friendly atmosphere, no shovelling or pushing past, and I am pleased to see my 80s jumper wasn’t one of the few left items.

To me, a total shopaholic, the swishing was a great event that gave me the thrill of bargain-hunting and retail therapy but also allowed me not to compromise my ethical and environmental standards. With almost 2 million tonnes of clothes and shoes ending up in UK bins each year, swishing is quite simply an alternative way of consumerism, one that allows us to get a whole new wardrobe without overspending, be it our budgets or our planet’s resources. As Lucy Shea from Futerra says: “Swishing is for women who want to look good while saving the planet.” Well, if saving the planet means shopping for free, I might just have to swish more often. Life can be so hard…

Must read: Real women do vintage at Swish

Judy, once a Selfridges personal shopper and TV fashion stylist, now runs Britain’s biggest clothes swapping website Whatsmineisyours.com. Three years ago she set up The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair, a vintage fair with a whopping 40 plus stalls, which has brought affordable vintage fashion as well as reworked clothes and accessories to the north of England. The Fair is launching new ‘Make, Create and Customise’ areas at each event, tapping into the current ‘make do and mend’ vibe.

Lena: Hi Judy. Erm, yes, I have to admit to being over-excited about talking to you. Private time with a vintage style queen! So, Judy, it’s credit crunch time. Do you feel that vintage fashion is a real alternative to pricey high-end highstreet and designer fashion?

Judy: Absolutely! We’ve seen a huge increase in people coming to our Fashion Fairs. They still like their high street shops but are tired of seeing everyone wearing the same things. From vintage stores and at our Fairs they can pick up individual items such as a fabulous original 60s shift dress for £15 to £20. All of our stalls are price-checked to make sure no one is charging more than they should.

» Next page: Come on, Judy, what’s the real difference between vintage and secondhand?

]]> http://www.greenmystyle.com/greenmystylecom-meets-judy-berger-vintage-guru/feed/ 0 http://www.greenmystyle.com/swish-swoon-swap-at-vas-ethical-fashion-day/ http://www.greenmystyle.com/swish-swoon-swap-at-vas-ethical-fashion-day/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:49:43 +0000 greenmystyle http://www.greenmystyle.com/?p=1509 If you fancy trying out a clothes swap party, or you’re looking for eco style inspiration, you simply must head down to the V&A on Sunday, November 9 for Ethical Fashion Day.

By the look of the packed schedule, you’re guaranteed to come away with new ideas, skills, friends and even some gorgeous new items for your wardrobe.

Swap your unwanted chic items at a Swishing party, learn how to redesign your own clothes and hobnob with eco pioneers and top model Erin O’Connor.

Join in the debate on the future of sustainable fashion with Caryn Franklin, Katharine E Hamnett and Lucy Siegle. Or, sit back and enjoy a little eco style on the catwalk, directed by fashion designer and London Fashion Week Esthetica curator, Orsola de Castro. Swoon over the new collection from From Somewhere, pictured here.

Greenmystyle.com will be there, camera and notebook to hand, reporting back on the best bits of the day. And it sounds like there will be several.

Here’s the itinery:

Ethical Fashion Day at the V&A
Sunday 9 November 2008
10.30-17.00
Sackler Centre

Swishing with Futerra
10.30-12.00 – Drop Off
Lunchroom 1, Sackler Centre
From 10.30am-12 you hand over your chic clothing and get a ticket to take part. From 12-12.30 you can check out the pieces of clothing up for the swish, but not touch (oh, the meanies!). 12.30-14.00 – go get ‘em girls!

Ethical Fashion on the Net
10.30-16.30
Digital Studio, Sackler Centre
Access up-to-date info from fashion ranges to fashion issues
Free, drop-in

Build a Sustainable Fabric Dress
10.30-16.30
Design Studio, Sackler Centre
Draw designs and messages on swatches of hemp and attach them to a life-size dress frame to create a dress. Watch the dress grow over the day.
In collaboration with Environmental Justice Foundation and Loop Fabric
Free, drop-in, in collaboration with Central Saint Martins

Reinvention: Cut and Sew Workshop
10.30-12.30 & 13.30-16.30
Art Studio, Sackler Centre
Bring your tired, out-of-style clothes and regenerate them with the help of experienced dressmakers and a pair of scissors.
Free, drop-in, in collaboration with Central Saint Martins

Style Surgeries
Seminar  Room 1, Sackler Centre

How We Shop: Slow Fashion Fast Fashion
11.00-11.30
With Mo Tomaney, Consultant and Research Fellow in Ethics and the Clothing Industry for Central St Martins.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available from 10.30 from the Sackler Centre ticket desk.

Restyle Your Wardrobe
13.00-13.30
In collaboration with Ethical Fashion Forum
Free, ticketed. Tickets available from 12.00 from the Sackler Centre ticket desk.

Hot Eco Fashion Labels on the High Street
15.15-15.45
With Rosie Budhani, Ethical Fashion Consultant.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available from 12.00 from the Sackler Centre ticket desk.

Style Booths
12.30-14.00
Lunchroom 1, Sackler Centre
Personal advice on how to wear your Swish
In collaboration with Ethical Fashion Forum, Central Saint Martins and UCA Epsom
Free, open to Swishing ticket holders only.

The Ethical High Street Debate
14.00-15.00
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
Designer Katharine E Hamnett, broadcaster and journalist Professor Lucy Siegle, Research Fellow at Central St Martins Mo Tomaney,  and founder of People Tree Safia Minney  discuss the challenges for the shopper and the shop on the ethical high street with chair, fashion writer and broadcaster, Caryn Franklin.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available from 13.00 from the Sackler Centre ticket desk.

Fashion Show
16.00-16.40
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre
Presented by Orsola de Castro, fashion designer and curator of Estethica at London Fashion Week.
Showing designs from Stella McCartney, Junky Styling, Noir and t-shirts made for the EJF by designers including Allegra Hicks and Giles Deacon.
In collaboration with Equa, Quintessentially Models, Jocelyn Whipple, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles Consultant and Matilda Lee, co-organiser of Estethica at London Fashion Week and author of Eco Chic: the savvy shopper’s guide to ethical fashion.
Free, ticketed. Tickets available from 13.00 from the Sackler Centre ticket desk.

Find out more on the V&A website

Free dresses - no wonder they're smiling

I hope that headline caught your attention, because I’d love you to take a look at this post. Clothes swapping is fast gaining pace as the coolest and greenest way to stay stylish. We’ve all been doing it for years with our friends, but now we can do it on a much larger scale thanks to the emergence of party & swap nights.

If you fancy giving it a go, and you have at least one good quality item of clothing or an accessory to swap,head down to Swap Till You Drop on August 13th, at Sway Club, 61-65 Great Queen Street, London.

Find out more about Swap Till You Drop at www.swishing.org