Happy February! Has post-holiday cabin fever gotten the best of you? Get your girls together for a closet swap party and kill two birds with one stone— hanging out with some of your favorite people and enjoying some (free) “retail” therapy.
Brittany Baker and I did just that earlier this winter as part of our “Dressing For Your Authentic Self” collaborative series. ICYMI be sure to check out Part One posted in January, where we started Brittany’s journey to “closet peace” with a total closet review, edit, and rebuild using her personal style statement.
After a good purge session, Brittany had more than a few items to resell, donate, etc. We figured this would be a perfect time to co-host a closet swap party, allowing Brittany to see her old pieces off to good homes and the opportunity to “shop” without spending. In order to ensure that she didn’t end up with more “closet clutter” in the form of impulse grabs (easy to do when everything is free), Brittany once again utilized her personal style statement to guide her choices.
Brush up on all the details of how to throw your own closet swap party here, but these are the four general basics:
1) Invite with expectations: cap attendance at a reasonable number to allow for easy shopping and trying on, specify types and season of clothing/ accessories, consider also capping the amount of items each person can bring and whether they should be folded or hung.
2) Have a “leftovers” plan: decide if you will take on donating items not spoken for by the end of the evening, or if everyone will need to take their items back. Make sure to also note this on the invite!
3) Set up: create a boutique feel by using a mix of hanging and folded clothing, as well as accessories and jewelry. Bring out extra mirrors and designate a couple of “fitting room” areas around your house.
4) Make clear the ground rules: who gets to go first? How many items can each person take the first time around? There are lots of different ways to successfully facilitate, but you’ll want to let everyone know right away to avoid a Black Friday type massacre (which would be really awkward since y’all are supposed to be friends).
Brittany walked away from the party with a few solid pieces that both fit in with her personal style statement and complimented her current wardrobe quite well, for FREE!
Next on our agenda was to create a game plan for maintenance of Brittany’s fresh wardrobe, including how she can make money off of pieces that no longer serve her but are still in awesome shape, as well as focusing on a few key tips for shopping more mindfully.
We can’t wait to share these next bits with you, just in time for spring cleaning! Keep an eye out for Part Three, and be sure to follow us both on Instagram for the latest on our journey and every day inspiration.
Related posts:
“Dressing For Your Authentic Self”
“How To Host a Closet Swap Party”
xoxoxo— Samantha