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 It can be anything from an outdated pair of high-top 80s sneakers or the latest bag that just didn’t go with that all-important outfit.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

Every couple of months or so, if you’re lucky, you’ll hear about a Buy My Wardrobe event happening in London. Each time, 20 Wardrobe Mistresses are chosen to sell the contents of their wardrobes to the public. But hang on, it’s not as desperate as it seems; these women are very carefully selected creatures. These women have the most fabulous designer label filled collections you’ve ever seen, and they’re selling it all… to you.

To give you an idea of the sheer glam of these ladies, past Wardrobe Mistresses have included ex Publishing Director of Elle magazine, Elaine Foran, Gucci Group Executive Mimma Viglezio and TV presenter Giselle Morley. The utter chic of it.

With ‘mistresses’ being selected, it all sounds a bit like some kind of secret S&M club we know, but don’t worry. The only leather you’ll be wearing is vintage, and the reason it’s all so hush hush is because none of the most stylish women in London want to share this exclusive money-saving party. Too late!

There is a £5 entry charge for the event this Saturday 25 July, as well as 100 VIP tickets which entitle you to a glass of champagne, a sneaky hour long preview of the collection plus an exclusive tip-filled presentation by a make-up artist or stylist.

You can expect vintage and designer labels galore, from Chanel bags and Jimmy Choos to Vivienne Westwood suits; everything will be on sale for the fraction of the price that it should be, thanks to these generous ladies.

If the huge bargains and breath taking vintage cuts are all a bit too much, there’s always pampering rooms where you can be treated to manicures or threading or something just as glamorous. A group of celebrity stylists and beauticians will offer half hour consultations for a tiny £25, proving it’s not all about the clothes, but looking good in them too. In the past stylist Zoe Lem took part, and as she polishes Elle Macpherson, Robbie Williams and Cat Deeley to perfection, her advice is gold dust as it is, let alone when surrounded by gorgeous vintage clothes.

If it sounds like a dream weekend to you, make sure you buy your VIP ticket (£20) and get there for 12pm or just head down to Adam St Members Club in West London from 1pm – 4pm and buy a ticket on entry for £5.

BuyMyWardrobe.com

Adam St Members Club,
9 Adam St London WC2
12noon till 4pm 25 July 2009

VIP Preview 12pm-1pm £20
Door Entry 1pm-4pm  £5

Victoria writes: Join Team Green Britain today to celebrate Green Britain Day, and show your support by joining thousands of people taking action towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

The day is gathering momentum as celebrities, designers and Olympians join forces to take action towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton launched the campaign last week wearing this fabulous Union Jack dress. Especially designed for her by established British designer Wayne Hemingway using 100% recycled fabrics, it has serious vintage and design appeal. Love it!

Joined by her fellow Olympians today, Victoria Pendleton will be calling for everyone to help work towards lowering Great Britain’s carbon footprint by the time the 2012 Olympics arrive in the capital. Developed in association with The Eden project the Team Green Britain website is packed with help and advice on how to get involved. We love the idea of throwing a bring and swap party. Check out the homes and garden section for more info and ideas.

So show your support and join thousands of people take action towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Go team Britain!  (You can put your pom-poms down now).

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Mary’s Living and Giving Shop is inspired by Mary Porta’s latest television series and is open for three weeks only with the aim of selling second hand clothing to raise money for Save The Children. Grazia was asked to fill the charity shop with donations from both the high street and designer pieces, making it a cut above most charity shops.

Celebrities such as Peaches Geldof, Meg Matthews, Jamie and Jools Oliver plus Luella Bartley along with the Grazia team and members of the public have donated their unwanted clothing which will be for sale at a fraction of their original prices. You’ll be able to get a designer handbag from £50 and must-have dresses with a high end label for £20. Items noted so far include a Mulberry ‘Bayswater’ bag, a shocking pink Marc Jacobs dress from Brix Smith-Start and a striking Twenty8Twelve leather jacket handed over kindly by Sienna Miller.

Even the big name stores have got involved to donate items some of their items including Matches, Harvey Nichols, French Connection, Oasis, Gap and Topshop. It seems like a celebration of the high street with a subtle ethical twist. Grazia is encouraging people to ‘Shop Neutral’, which is the fancy term for guilt-free shopping that allows you to help out others at the same time as treating yourself to new things. The idea is to get people into the habit of donating old items when buying new. Although it isn’t an eye-opening look at mass-produced high street clothing, it’s certainly a well-heeled step in the right direction.

If all those fabulous incentives in the guise of designer labels with bargain bin prices aren’t enough to entice you, the Grazia fashion team will also be on hand to spoil you rotten with their expert advice and style tips.

On the first day alone the temporary store managed to raise over £10,000 which is the equivalent of saving over 2000 children. That’s an impressive reason to shop, but no need to stop; Grazia has asked for the donations to keep rolling in as they’ve got a lot of fashion hungry canvas shoppers to fill over the next few weeks.

You can find Mary’s charity shop next door to Twenty8Twelve and Donna Ida on the first floor of The Village at Westfield, London.

Futerra Sustainability Communications, the originator of the current Swishing party craze, and Shoreditch Women’s Institute will be holding this first ever accessories only event. Imagine all those bags and shoes, readers! Heaven.

As well as lots of swapping, you can expect a whole heap of multi-coloured and well-heeled fun in the form of a fashion sins confessional booth, entertainment by an indie band, jewellery classes and workshops.

You might be familiar with clothes swapping, but ‘accessories only’ is a slightly different angle. Guests are encouraged to bring three items, such as hats, bags,  belts, shoes, sunglasses, jewellery or scarves which are then swapped with other people’s unwanted items.

If you don’t have any accessories you are willing to part with, you can bring clothes instead. While that might seem to defeat the object a bit,  all the left-over items will be donated to Cancer Research, so it’s for a good cause.

If you’re interested in attending, make sure you email ashleydow@futerra.co.uk by Wednesday 20 May to confirm your place.

Accessories Swishing takes place 22 May at 7pm at The George Pub, 373 Commercial Road, London, E1 0LA.

More real fashion:

greenmystyle.com writer Stacey holds her own clothes swap

Fash-pack pics at Estethica after show party

Bigwardrobe.com is the new eBay

Real style: Spotted at London Fashion Week

Swishing in Shoreditch

Penelope writes: Summer is literally just around the corner and women’s magazines are already full of articles such as ’25 Summer Wardrobe Essentials’ with the glossy pages full of hot trends and ‘must buys’. But must we? Looking through the latest Summery magazines I have found that the average ‘essential’ spend is over a not-very-recession-friendly £500.

That’s £500 for this year’s fashion. Things that next year the same magazines will be describing as on the way down and passé. The earth has a finite amount of resources, yet so many articles are aimed at making us consume more, and everything must be bigger and better than before.

The truth is, things that are described as being ‘bang on trend’ are the same things that become embarrassing when you look back at photos of yourself in the past. I am sure you are familiar with the phrase, ‘I can’t believe I ever went out in that!’ I know I am. But the ‘OTM’ fashions never have actually represented the majority of clothes that we wear every day. Most people’s wardrobes are full of clothes that were never really ‘in’ and consequently never go ‘out’ of fashion. Jeans? T-shirts? I’ve got some that I bought five or more years ago, and I still wear them. Guess what? No one has pointed and laughed (well, not yet…).

Buying clothes is, and should be, fun and wearing things you haven’t worn a million times before can make you feel better about yourself. And actually, it’s possible to buy brand new clothing without (a) depleting the world’s resources, (b) being a slave to fashion, or (c) spending a fortune. It’s all about buying ethical, classic, quality clothing that suits your personal style and body shape.

If it’s the act of shopping that turns you on, why not take a trip round the local charity shops? There are lots of good quality clothes to be found, and sometimes it’s possible to pick up a designer bargain that will make even your most fashion conscious friends green with envy. If the thought of sifting through piles of the more mundane clothing on offer in some charity shops makes you feel pale however, there’s a great boom in more upmarket second hand stores. Admittedly, more upmarket often means more expensive, but it’s still as cheap as buying something from a high street brand, and decidedly less exploitative than some of those. And you can wear the clothes with pride, in the knowledge that you’re wearing something stylish which has neither cost the earth in price nor in sustainability.

If it’s simply the fact of having different clothes that makes you happy, however, get together with some friends for a clothes swapping event. Bring some of those impulse buy skirts that never really suited you, that top you’ve never felt the same about since the day someone asked you when the baby was due and the sandals that give you blisters. Your trash will be someone else’s treasure, and vice versa. Make the night an occasion with music and a bottle or two of wine and you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with the high street. What’s more, after saving so much cash, you can splurge on one or two ethical fashion buys that will set your summer ablaze.

Want a brand new Summer wardrobe? Bring it on – the ethical way!

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Stacey writes: As a contributor for greenmystyle.com I have been to many a swishing event, but this was the first one I had decided to gallantly organise myself. My first experience of clothes swapping, or swishing as it is affectionately named, was at the V&A museum during their Sustainable Fashion event last November. Since then whenever I had heard the word swishing I was there! So with my once-loved items under one arm I was ready to find something new and exciting, and all for free.

Amongst crowds of eager swishers, it was a battle of the fittest to grab the leather jacket, those patent heels and that green tea dress before someone else did. Knowing how riotous and unruly these events could be, I was more than apprehensive when the time can to open the doors, and let the crowds devour my single rail of collected items.

When I first pitched the idea to a friend we thought it would be nothing but a great success. At a time loomed with talk of recession and credit crunch, who wouldn’t want to enjoy a bit of guilt-free shopping? Clothes swapping is truly taking the fashion scene by storm and it is an eco-fabulous way of recycling those old items hiding in the darkest corners of your wardrobe.

After a month of organising I was really excited to see how my swishing day would turn out. Amongst my single rail of items was a fabulous Topshop wrap dress, a vintage grey studded leather jacket, numerous lumberjack shirts and a strapless Fifties style print dress that I had my eye on, not to mention an array of shoes, belts and jewellery I had gathered throughout our week of collection.

With the thrill of bargain-hunting inside them, a small crowd had gathered and I was starting to feel quite unprepared with the small amount of clothes I had to swap. Thankfully, after the doors opened, people arrived clutching even more items to swap and I could then add them to my rail.

It seemed to all be over in moments though, and after just 30 minutes the rail has been totally pillaged. All that remained were are a few T-shirts that looked like rejects from the Eighties and a couple of pairs of jeans. Throughout the frenzy, what had I managed to grab? That strapless dress and a pair of turquoise leg warmers!

Among the people who had come to swap till they dropped was Ruth, 21. She said, ‘I got a pair of jeans, a skirt and two great party tops. This is the first swapping event that I have been to and I am really pleased with what I picked up. It is such a good idea!’
A fellow swisher Lucy, 22 said, ‘I’m really pleased with what I managed to find on the rail! I found these shoes, a belt and a gorgeous Forties dress which I’m going to customize.’ Thrifty.

From what I could see and hear people who came along were really happy with what they found hiding amongst the rail and I was just so thrilled to get people involved in the great clothes swapping ethos. It is rewarding to put on your own event and I really recommend it. Even though I enjoy a good swishing event just as much as the next person, there is nothing really like the buzz of sharing it with others who have never experienced it before.

Click the numbered pages to see more pictures of Stacey’s swapping event and see her modelling that Fifties style dress…

Anna writes: As the credit crunch tightens purse strings and shortens budgets we’re all having to find more resourceful ways to keep our wardrobes solvent. That’s why swishing is the fad of the moment. Simply get together with a group of gals to swap clothes, shoes and accessories that have been languishing in your wardrobe. After all, one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure. Best of all, it’s like shopping without the guilt of spending, and with the buzz of knowing you’re saving the planet thrown in for good measure.

On Sunday, a group gathered at Juno in Shoreditch, East London, for the latest event from personal stylist Tracey Sinclair, founder of Swapaholics.  She imported swishing to the streets of London after reading about the phenomenon in the US. There’s a raffling system in place for popular items, so there are no handbags at dawn. Biting, scratching and spitting are strictly forbidden.

Tracy had a few handy tips on how to keep wardrobes streamlined and clutter free. ‘Don’t follow fashion too much – instead stick to what suits you. Always try something on, and don’t always listen to your friends. If you’re not sure, and they convince you to buy something, it will just sit in your wardrobe. Listen to your gut instincts!’

Tracey thinks it’s important to keep your spending in proportion too. ‘Spend most for things you wear most. Look at the cost per wear – spend money on a coat and jeans that you wear all the time, rather than an evening dress that will only give you one or two wears.’

See some of the finds picked up by swishers here…

Pictured above is Turid Semb, 31
First swish? Yes
Brought: 10 items
Grabbed: spotty dress with red bow
Heard about swishing event: in a magazine

Click on the numbered pages below to see other ladies’ vintage finds

I have to admit, I was dubious at first as to why I would need Bigwardrobe in my life. After all, I already use eBay (daily as you’ll know), swap old things on Freecylcle and attend clothes swapping events in London. So why would I need a clothes swapping website to do all the fun stuff for me?

But a few sneaky snoops in other people’s wardrobes later, and I had a new style addiction.

Bigwardrobe.com is fun and also a whole lot easier, and more regular than swishing events. It fills my daily fashion desires with a couple of clicks, but the best thing is, I can get this dress for free. If you count swapping an old TK MAXX gillet for an almost brand new ASOS blue party dress as free, which I do.

The perfect solution to get rid of last minute unwanted gifts or much hated teenage wardrobe staples without paying eBay’s selling fees or postage costs, and with more focus on fashion than Freecycle. And if like me, you live in a tiny flat with no room for collected old clothes awaiting the next clothes-swap in your area, the convenience of having a constant swishing party going on in your computer is highly desirable. Instant space and instant satisfaction.

Bigwardrobe.com

You may be familar with clothes swapping parties and swishing events, but if you are over a certain height, you may not have been to one yet, as there probably isn’t much point. Everyone is shorter than you and so nothing would fit you, and you would have to leave naked.

Tall women in London are in for a treat this month, because on January 17th at The Candid Arts Trust in Angel, London, the first ever clothes swapping event will take place, and there is a height restriction on the door.

If you are under 5ft 10″ you’re not comin’ in.

These are the rules. It is £2 to enter. Bring two items to swap. There is an official start time when clothes are tried on, then hung back up afterwards. There are three rounds of swapping. This sounds like Fight Club, but with bigger heels!

For more information go to the organiser, Liz Joseph’s Tall Swap website.