How to Host a Closet Swap Party

Tips on how to host a successful closet swap party. Grab your girlfriends and shop each other’s closet for a fun girl’s night.

With spring FINALLY here, I decided it would be a great time to host a closet swap party and go through my spring and summer wardrobe.  Clothing swap parties are an excellent excuse to get together with your girlfriends and clean out your closets.  Not to mention, snag some awesome new pieces!

Tips for a successful swap party:

Decide what items are acceptable. Do you want guests to only bring one type of clothing- shirts, dresses, etc?  Are maternity or kid’s items welcome?  Accessories- jewelry, bags, shoes?  It might also be important to note a minimum and maximum items guests can bring.

Designate space.  Give guests room to spread out their items by clearing off surfaces, such as dining and side tables, and using bins and trunks to serve as display space.  I created a little “rack” using an old curtain rod placed over two dining room chairs.  It was super easy to set up and take down.  It was perfect to hold clothes, belts, scarves, and jewelry.  I also used my DIY Earring Holder to hold earrings.

When deciding on where you want to set up your closet swap party also think about having a space for guests to try on items with a mirror available.

Establish a system. Choose one of the following swapping strategies:

• Take turns shopping. Have a system to pick who shops first.  Limit the number of items to three per turn to keep it fair and moving fast.
• Use tokens. The host hands out a poker chip for every item a guest donates.  If a person brings 10 items, she gets 10 tokens with which she can purchase 10 new items.
• Keep the numbers even. Everybody goes home with the same number of items that they donated.

Donate! Take your unclaimed items to a local charity or women’s shelter that can put them to good use!

Looking to add to your wardrobe?  Have you tried Stitch Fix?  It’s basically like having your own personal stylist once a month (or as often as you like).  They send you a box of five items with a style card on how to wear each piece.  Keep what you want, send back what you don’t (in a pre-paid envelope)- all with no commitment to buy.  You pay a $20 styling fee that goes toward anything you decide to keep, and if you keep everything you get a 25% discount.

If you’re interested in signing up, use my Stitch Fix link. I get a small referral credit when you get your first fix.  Check out my latest fix here.