Sweat Swap

I made it to my first live clothing swap and lived to tell the tale. The danger was not in the form of rabid, rude swappers (it was all very genteel), but the threat of heat stroke. It was hot, hot, hot, and humid in the swap gallery.


Shirt, Converse One Star (thrifted). Skirt, thrifted, shortened, and dyed yellow. Belt, H&M. Bag, Nine West. Shoes, Franco Sarto. Earrings, Urban Outfitters.


Photos by Beefy Muchacho

I’ve heard a few horror stories about in-person clothing swaps, so I was very curious as to how the swapping would be regimented. Would my items be inspected before being permitted into the swap? Would there be tickets and turns? It turned out to be almost entirely unstructured, but that seemed to work very well. The swap was set up as follows:

1. I entered U•turn with a bag of clothing.
2. I told the greeter that I had 10 items and she wrote “10” on my hand with a sharpie and handed me 10 hangers.
3. I hung my items on a clothing rack and set the shoes and hat on a table (there were four available racks and a table).
4. I browsed (and sweated) and collected clothing.
5. I left, displaying my hand and telling the greeter how many items I was taking.

Perhaps the heat had beaten us all down, but everyone was very polite. There was no grabbing or fighting. The quality and variety of items was good. During my 45-minute stay, swappers arrived and left. The free-flow worked well because the racks were continuously refreshed with new items.


The Brush Factory was upcycling on the spot. An artist took the jacket I brought and a striped dress donated by someone else and created an adorable little frock.


I brought ten items to the swap, but didn’t expect to leave with ten. I was more interested in the experience and the people. I didn’t leave empty-handed, though. I brought home three dresses, two vests, and a scarf. Amusingly, the white eyelet dress was Londyn’s and she left the event with two of my dresses and one of my skirts.


My give (left) and my take (right).
Check out Beefy’s and Tamia’s blog entries on the event.