Clothes Swishing for Operation Threadbare

On Saturday night I went along to a Clothes Swish organised by Michelle of Operation Threadbare.

As Michelle isn’t allowed to buy any clothes for a whole year (which may be partly my fault), she has been looking for other ways to get her hands on new items. One of those ways we agreed was to swap clothes – and her clothes swishes were born. This was her second, and about ten of us gathered in her conservatory for drinks, nibbles and of course, fashion.

The idea is very simple. Sort out your wardrobe (you’ll remember my Clothes Audit), put aside some decent but unwanted items (don’t fit, don’t like, uncomfortable etc), and encourage your friends to do the same. Then get together and… swish!

It was a very organised affair – clothes rails around the room had bottoms, tops and dresses on hangers with the sizes marked. After some chatting we got to work, rummaging through the rails picking out things we liked. We took over the whole house trying things on, helping each other decide what looked good – you should always shop with a friend, it really helps. We were all difference shapes and sizes – what didn’t look great on one person looked stunning on someone else. There was no fighting, although as host Michelle did get these Animal sling backs I’d taken to swish over someone else – we couldn’t argue with that!

We all managed to go home with a few ‘new’ items – I bagged myself a cardigan, jumper and some trousers which I’m pretty pleased with. It was also great seeing my unwanted items go home with other people. At the end of the evening what wasn’t swished went in a charity bag, so everyone wins. And apart from anything else, it was a really pleasant girls night in.

I’m really impressed that Michelle is still on top of this challenge nine months in – hopefully the swishing will keep her going for another three months!