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Fashionable, fun, eco-friendly: how to organize a swap and what it is all about

Op - and the swap turned out

With a swap (from the English svop - “change”), everything is extremely simple. Because behind a strange at first glance, the word hides an ordinary party for the exchange of clothes. I mean, sorry, the party is just unusual, because where else have you seen such parties? 

There are different versions of the occurrence of swaps, but we will consider two:

  1. The most March eight (still International Women's Day was quite recent) suggests that they were born in "mixed" boarding houses , where such an exchange gave girls from wealthy families the official opportunity to share clothes with not so wealthy friends.
  2. And the most real one refers to the post-war period , when the production of new clothes, for obvious reasons, was not among the main priorities.

From disadvantages to advantages

To be honest, the swap has no serious drawbacks. Because this is a voluntary event, to which - if we are not talking about friend-friend swaps, but swaps in general - you don’t even have to bring anything. On the other hand, the last point is, in a sense, the desired shortcoming, because if everyone decides “oh, you can wear nothing, it’s not scary,” then it will not be a swap, but a failure.

But the advantages of the swap are many. We list the main ones:

  • Firstly, you will finally be able to part with things that, for unknown reasons, it is a pity to throw away, but which you do not wear and will not wear.
  • Secondly, you can replenish your wardrobe (it is possible that even with the one you have long dreamed of) and you will not pay anything for it.
  • Thirdly, you will get as many pleasant impressions and positive emotions from such not-quite-shopping as you get from a real one (and without annoying “can I help you with something?”)
  • Fourth, you can do a good deed if you plan a “bonus program” in the form of donating things that were not useful to anyone to a charitable organization . And, of course, you will help to do a good deed to others.
  • Fifth, you and your friends will just have fun together.

5 tips to organize the best swap

Like any event, a swap requires organization. So if you decide to take it upon yourself then:

  1. Decide on a platform. Do you want to arrange a swap in your apartment? No problem! In the country? Even cooler if the weather allows. Well, if there doesn’t seem to be a suitable place, and it’s cloudy / damp / rainy outside, chip in with your friends and rent a hotel room. Beautiful photos "in the interiors" will be a nice bonus .
  2. Designate a topic. Swapping everyone in a row is also fun in principle, but the swap will be more effective if you discuss the topic in advance. It can be only clothes, only bags, only jewelry, or, say, only dishes (oh yes, this is also possible). By the way, if you have more than 6-7 people in the company and you don't want the swap to turn into a dump, limit the number of "lots" that each person will bring with them. For example, five is neither too few nor too many. 
  3. Take care of the food . Again, it is not necessary to order catering at all (although if you want to, why not). Delegate the task to the most economic of you and offer all possible assistance. And do not worry about finances, because small sandwiches, fruit and a couple of bottles of champagne are not expensive at all.
  4. Warn about the rules. Be sure to explain to your girlfriends that things should be “presentable”. That is, not with tags, of course, but clean and ironed when necessary. And once again remind that it's great if everyone can bring at least something.
  5. Turn on the music. An unobtrusive playlist of light jazz and pop music not burdened with intelligence in the background will turn even the most modest bachelorette party into a wonderful party. You'll see, you'll definitely want to make swaps a good tradition (then let us know how it went).