Clothing swaps have become popular in this recession economy as a fun and easy way to enhance one’s wardrobe with new clothes while socializing, without spending any money.
But if one has run out of clothes to swap (or simply has a number of friends with wildly different styles or various body sizes), an accessory swap is an engaging option. Not only will the guests refrain from griping about how a pair of pants won’t fit, accessories are the best way to make old outfits appear fresh and new.
Current Popularity of Accessories
If anyone has doubts about the importance of accessories, simply open any recent fashion magazine -- or even the newspaper. Both Glamour magazine and the Los Angeles Times Image (fashion) section have devoted space to this summer’s popular trend of lightweight scarves, while the New York Times Sunday Style showed various people-on-the-street wearing hats. Additionally, for some time now, “statement jewelry” (chunky necklaces, bold earrings, etc.) has been available in both pricey and inexpensive versions.
Hosting the Swap
Invite friends and instruct them to bring any accessories that they’re willing to part with: scarves, hats, shoes (make sure shoe size is clearly marked), jewelry, purses/bags, gloves, belts and anything else that can add to an outfit.
Decide on some type of system or order to prevent out-of-control grabbing. For example, have women draw numbers to determine who gets to pick an accessory first. The person whose accessory is chosen gets to pick next. (Want a different way of determining who gets first choice? Play a game of trivia or cards -- winner gets first pick.)
Think "Out of the Box"
Remember that even accessories can be “altered” – a necklace may wrap around the wrist several times to form a bracelet; shoes or bags can be taken to a repair shop to change style or hardware; scarves can also be used as belts.
Make it Fun
Embrace the “party” atmosphere. Play music in the background during the swap, and serve easy hors d’eurves such as chips and dip, shrimps with cocktail sauce, crackers and cheese or a vegetable platter and pita bread with hummus. Just keep the food away from the goods!
Provide a digital camera (a WebCam will also do) so that guests can see how they look modeling a piece of jewelry, hat, etc. Of course, a mirror works, but some fun pictures will also save the memories of the day.
Make a pact that when guests arrive home, they'll take a photo of that "perfect outfit this bag (or shoes) will go with" so that everyone can see what they had in mind.
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