The best clothing swap in the city, Give & Take, is throwing its final swap of the summer this Sunday, August 16th at 3 PM. Remember, one girl’s last season trash is another girl’s vintage treasure. As always, the swap takes place at the White Box Gallery in the Lower East Side.

If you can’t make it this Sunday, Felicia C.Sullivan wrote a great article on hosting your own swap. Three of my favorite tips:

• Set the Rules: With every swap, it’s important to lay down some rules so the girls know what to expect. This isn’t rude, at all, because your friends (as mine have) will inevitably ask questions such as: How much do I bring? How much can I take? What can I bring? etc. For my swaps I tell my friends to bring clean clothes in the condition in which they’d want to receive them (no holes, rips, etc). I also stress: no undergarments. And folks usually take the same amount as what they brought, so I wouldn’t act like the Swap Gestapo. Simply relay that anyone can come as long as they bring at least three items.
• Open it Up!: In swaps past, I’ve had the girls exclusively trade clothing. Now, my friends come with bags of home goods (candles, pots, lamps, oh you better believe they go quick!), accessories (scarves,belts, etc), jewelry, the works. The more non-clothing items you have, the easier it is when you might have a size imbalance.
• Make it Fun!: I really love entertaining and having friends in my home, so I always go the extra mile. Friends know when they come over, they’ll be greeted with a full-table of baked goods (80% homemade with some store-bought candies and cookies), a fruit bowl (for those who are trying to be virtuous) as well as a tea/coffee bar, and cold drinks. However, if you’re on a budget, a huge vat of flavored iced-tea (consider mixing your regular with the flavored ‘zingers’) and my friends loved the huge carafe of cold tap water with floating sliced lemons. Add store-bought colored chips, pretzels, etc. Go with your taste and budget, but have a fun, inviting spread. Since your friends will likely be there for a few hours changing and gossiping, you want to ensure that you have cold drinks and nibbles. My favorite accoutrements for setting the mood: Village Tea Company’s Lavender & Earl Grey loose teas, and Burn Voyage, Altru, Sweet Grass Farm, and Delirum candles.

Click here to read the rest of Felicia’s tips on throwing a successful swap.

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