When I was little, we had a very thrifty neighbor. She was always passing bags of clothing from house to house for people to go through, take what they needed and leave their own unwanted clothing in. I loved the concept, but in reality there was never anything I quite wanted to wear in these catch-all garbage bags.
After I graduated from college I spent a month on a yoga ashram, Satchidananda Ashram (or Yogaville). In this yoga village, behind the modest library, was a store unlike any I’ve encountered. It was a place for guests, residents, and swamis alike to take a penny, leave a penny if you will, but applied to anything. So people would offload extra stuff, clothing they’d lost interest in, books they’d read, and other necessities and nick-nacks. Someone would organize the goods, and anyone could come at any time and take anything they needed. What a brilliant idea.
Third time is a charm. Tonight I took part in a much more refined, effective and classy version of clothing reuse. Suzanne Agasi is Founder and Director of Clothing Swap, which puts on fabulous and elegant clothing swaps in New York City and the Bay Area. The idea is that people can spice up their wardrobes while also reusing textiles that already exist, something I absolutely support.
“Be Good, Be Green, Be Glam:” How it works
Guests pay a cover fee of $30 ($20 pre-registered) and are treated to spa treatments, cocktails and food while Suzanne and her team rush around in the back sorting all the swap material. At a certain point the gates swing open and an energized mob of women (there are men’s swpas too) rush forth to crowd around the goods up for grabs and feverishly sift through for a few gems. People go home with anywhere from 1 article of swapped clothing to 2 bags filled with new duds. And it’s all free of course. Better still, the remaining pile of clothing that no one wanted goes to battered women’s shelters. To date, Agasi has hosted 150+ swaps over 13 years.
The swap I attended was an interesting mix of fashion forward females who will push past you to reach the jeans pile faster, and environmentalists excited for a wardrobe refresh, but as eager to get rid of things as to get new things, which is how I see myself. Whatever the mix, Agasi’s message about reuse is understated but clear. I would highly recommend attending a Clothing Swap, just be prepared to battle the crowds to get first dibs on the wares 
