Closet Swap

Just the way it never rains when you have an umbrella, you’ll never run into people if you look fantastic. But go outside in pajamas, and you’ll run into every ex you have.
― Tim Gunn, Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work

 
What Tim neglected to add is that that ex might also be looking extra delicious right now. The grass always seems to be greener on the other side of the fence, both in relationships and in fashion. We all covet things in our girlfriends’ closets while we look in our own, and want to burn everything because we’ve worn it all to death. Autumn and I have a solution for this problem: The Closet Swap Party.

You get to shop without spending a dime and get to save that dime for a rainy day.Bear with me. This exercise fulfills many functions. First, you get to kick to the curb all the things in your closet that you stare at and think, “I will never wear that again.” Second, you get to shop without spending a dime and get to save that dime for a rainy day. Third, you get to try on all the fabulous things that your friends were staring at in their closet. (See point number one.)

It can be just the right pick-me-up for the winter doldrums while giving you a whole new wardrobe for spring. Afterwards, you can have a group garage sale or donate everything to charity. Over the years, we have been privileged to give to many wonderful charities, and since we have tons of girly clothing, we tend to give to charities for women. Some of our favorites have been:

• Soujourn Women’s Shelter
  A battered women’s shelter in Santa Monica
• Donate My Dress
  Give your formal wear to girls for prom (lots of local options for wherever you live)
• Solutions
  Helping under priviledged kids in our hometown of San Diego go to college with clothes for college and job interviews
• Good Shepherd Shelter
  Provides assistance to women who are seeking protection from an abusive relationship or transitioning into personal independence. They support the women and their children in breaking the cycles of abuse. Part of their programs include assisting these women in becoming self-sufficient via vocational training.

So, get together with your girlfriends and enjoy a guiltless day of shopping. Let us know if you’ve ever thrown your own clothing swap and how it all turned out in the comments below. Meanwhile, enjoy some scenes from our last clothing swap!

Photography by: Rubbermaid | Vanessa Maldonado

This month, Move LifeStyle is exploring the good and bad sides of life’s downpours. “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you’ve gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton

Author Description

Jenn Wong

Jenn Wong - the Urban Ninja - is the publisher and host of Way of The Wong, a contributor to the LA tech blog lalawag, and has covered the LA cocktail community in Angeleno Magazine. You can find her online @wayofthewong | @wayofthewong on Instagram

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