meansoybean

I ended up with 2 large shopping bags of clothing and 6 pairs of shoes to swap. At the last moment, though, I decided to leave one bag at home. I figured I would end up with too many tickets to “spend”, and I was right. I received 17 tickets and only found 14 items I wanted. But I did get rid of more clothes than I came back with, and that’s what matters. So how did it all play out?

The process is as follows: you arrive at the front table, and your clothes get sorted into two categories; for-swap or Salvation Army. You’re handed tickets for all the clothes that are deemed swappable then you’re free to sift through the racks. Once you’re done you go to the exit and exchange tickets for your new-to-you clothes.

There were also supposed to be brand new clothes from local designers hidden on the racks. That’s the twist on this clothing swap. So I was expecting to find something from Preloved, Olga Tigirlas, Valérie Dumaine, Jen Glasglow or Anastasia Lomonova. I only found one fugly piece by Preloved Handcut, not counting the one I brought in myself. I guess I was just looking for well tagged new stuff. I didn’t have the energy to look for the inside-tag of every item.

Which brings me to the selection. I was a bit worried when I walked up to the S.W.A.P Team’s location. It looked really small and there weren’t a lot of people. Five minutes into the swap, I spied the clothes I brought on the racks. I guess it’s best to go on the busiest day, at the busiest time — if you can stand the crowd. I must have spent a good 90 minutes looking and re-checking all 10 racks. Since the attendance was thin, there were that many “new” clothes being added to the racks.

I kept finding stuff that wasn’t supposed to be there, according to the flyer. Gym clothes, unstylish pieces (think grandma style) and stuff with rips and stains. I guess it depends who’s manning the front table and how picky they are. I was actually surprised at which of my pieces ended up in the Salvation Army box. I didn’t argue with the verdict, a lot of them were wrinkled but otherwise fine. Oh well.

These are the highlights of my haul: 3 pairs of NWT Fairyesque bottoms. Apparently they retailed for about $120 each back in the day. I also scored a pair of over-dyed black GAP jeans and a Simons/Twik black twill blazer which are totally me.

Overall, it was a good experience, and the music of Picnik in the background certainly kept me moving. I just hope next time it’ll be bigger and better. I think it can be very much hit-or-miss, but if you don’t have too many tickets to spend, you’ll walk away feeling fine. They told me that there will be another swap in Spring 2010, so that’s when my remaining bag of clothes will come into play.