Sunday, August 28, 2016

My experiences at clothing swaps

First off, let me just say that I think that the concept of a clothing swap is amazing. In case you have never been to one, I'll briefly explain. You gather a big bag of your old clothes and bring them to an event called a "clothing swap". Once you are there, volunteers will take your clothes and put them out on tables with all of the other clothes. Or, sometimes you place your own clothes on the tables. Usually you have to pay a few dollars to attend.

One of my friends is huge into clothing swaps, sewing, upcycling, you name it! She has "mad crazy skills" when it comes to finding stuff! I was hopeful I would be as lucky. Sadly, I wasn't.

The first clothing swap I went to took place at someones house. She was kind to let strangers into her home. There were about ten of us. We all dumped our bags of clothes into the middle of the room, on the floor, and then proceeded to dig through the pile hoping to find stuff. This was not a very positive experience for me. Unfortunately, I was a bit heavier at the time and everything in the pile was rather tiny. So basically, there was hardly anything I could even take. I think I might have left with a couple of things that I parted with soon after.

I didn't go to another clothing swap for several years after that! Then last week I decided to give it another go! It was held at a place called "The Anti-Café". So basically, it was a large property downtown Montreal where the first floor is a "café", and the clothing swap took place upstairs in a large room.

The café idea is quite an interesting idea, actually. You pay for your time at the place (including the swap). I think it was $3 an hour. So you can go and participate in the swap, and then when you are done you can go and have a coffee. It was kind of like going into someones kitchen, rather than a restaurant. There was a large table in the middle of the room full of snacks you could help yourself to. There were also drinks, like iced tea. There was a person there who would make you a cup of fresh coffee - however you liked it (latté, cappuccino, etc.). So it was quite nice to sit down and enjoy refreshments after. Quite a bargain for $3.

I think I only managed to get about ten items of clothes, half of which I didn't end up wanting, which I then brought to another swap! You are probably starting to get the idea of how swapping works! I think these clothes are doing a lot of traveling!

Yesterday I went to my third swap, not my favourite one at all. I went with my boyfriend, who was very sweet to accompany me, given that he wasn't very interested in going! He said that he had no interest in digging through a large pile of used clothing trying to find something he likes that fits!

My clothing swap buddy was actually volunteering at this event, so she basically got first dibs on the good stuff. Consequently, she left with a huge bag of stuff. I left with three small tank tops. I arrived with three large bags full of stuff!

The place was held in some kind of building that looked a bit like a school. We walked down a long hallway and were greeted by a lady at a table who explained how things work. She said that the price was "a suggestible donation $3 each". So that meant that my boyfriend and I had to pay $6 total to even see the room full of clothes.

Once inside we quickly realized that we would probably not be staying long. It was super hot in there with little in the way of ventilation.

There were two rooms. One room had a large table full of mens clothes, and other tables full of books and toys, and baby clothes.

The other room had about six tables of women's clothes. One of the tables was pants (which I don't have the patience to sort through, given the fact that I hardly ever find pants that fit me new!) Another table was full of sweaters (which given the extreme summer heat was a turn off). That left about four tables to look through.

I was elbow to elbow with strangers as we sorted through the messy piles of clothes. Most of the stuff looked old. I mean, I know it's used, but it just looked very used indeed. It didn't take me long to go through the whole room. Most things turned me off quickly based on colour, style, or texture.

The men's table was the worst. It was a large table up against the wall so only about ten people at a time could look through the stuff. The clothes were all mixed up, and there was a cloud of dust hanging above the pile! I did finally manage to squeeze in and try to sort through the stuff, but my nose was getting itchy and there was just too much variety. As in, hardly any of it looked like what my boyfriend would want. He patiently sat on a bench by the door and waited for me. I didn't find anything for him.

So in the end, it hasn't really worked out to be particularly beneficial for me. At least in terms of what I have picked up and what I've spent. I think I have better luck at charity shops where the clothes are sorted properly, are hanging on racks and in slightly better condition!

Will I attend another clothing swap? Well, at this point I've now given away all of my old clothes, so I think it will be a while before I even have the option! Unless my friend gives me a bag of stuff to bring. Which is quite possible, since she goes all the time!

However, I feel that after three swaps and coming home with so little, that maybe it's not really my thing. I like my clothes to look at least slightly new. The clothes I saw looked like the worst stuff in my wardrobe, the stuff that I've worn for the last five years, that I might have bought second hand in the first place!

It also might be a bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I guess if you have a lot of patience, and are willing to spend a couple of hours sorting through piles of (not necessarily clean) clothes, then you might be rewarded with some good stuff.

Good luck with that!