Recap | SATC Clothing Swap Party

So, say you’re me, and have way too many clothes.

Some are from college (or before…yikes).
Some are hand-me-downs from your mother.
Some are pseudo maternity clothes.
Some still have the tags on.
Most don’t actually fit, one way or the other.

And even though your closet is completely full, you still continue to buy new clothes. Because you have a problem.

The sensible thing would be to implement a self-imposed new clothing ban until your closet is properly taken care of. The fun thing to do would be to invite your girlfriends over to trade all of your unwanted clothes, therefore re-cluttering your closet with awesome new finds (that were essentially free… kind of).

I went with the fun way.

Saturday evening I hosted a Sex & The City themed Clothing Swap Party with six of my favorite people. I wrote about my inspiration and the guidelines to hosting your own party last week, so I’ll spare you the details and only share my updates. I spent the better part of Friday transforming my basement into a boutique, which is the equivalent of building an adult-sized fort.

I asked my guests to separate their clothes into four categories: Carrie (trendy), Miranda (buisness), Samantha (party/night out), and Charlotte (basics). The premise of this idea was great. It was fun to see what character each guest identified with, and it made sorting clothes WAY easier upon the guest’s arrival.

The execution, though? Not so much. Those $3 tension rods in my windows literally snapped in half under the weight of our clothes.

Oh well. Next time, I’ll go with shower curtain rods for durability. 😉

bacon wrapped pineapple bites | recipe
cheesecake cups | recipe

cosmopolitan | recipe

When everyone arrived, I took their clothes and filled up the boutique while they nom’ed in the kitchen (can you believe that the above photos are only MY clothes? told you I have a problem). Once everything was ready for shopping, we all went downstairs to the boutique together.

This is where I completely deviated from the original plan.

But first, a Cosmopolitan. That’s Amanda, the expert martini maker.

I partnered each of my guests up with someone of an opposite style. Every person was to pick out clothing for their partner, so that we would all try on items that were outside our normal comfort zone. We collectively agreed that if more than one person wanted an item, they would have to compete in an America’s Next Top Model-style walk off.

It. Was. Hilarious.

This is our very own Samantha Jones.

I swear, it was like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. We are seven women, of all different sizes and heights, and it seemed like everything fit everyone. I don’t know how, but my own pile was filled with everything from size 0 through size 10.

Popular items of the night? Those neon heels, a new-with-tags blue dress, and some super-soft coral MC Hammer pants. And sequins, obviously.

Bethany put a bird on her head.

By the end of the swap, three things were happening:

1. The dressing rooms were forgotten. Half naked women were digging through stacks of clothes in the middle of my basement.

2. Everyone was hiding their piles of clothing. The thieves were rampant.

3. We all had on the most ridiculous outfits we could find.

Obviously no SATC party is complete without a viewing of the Sex & The City movie, so we ended on that note… while stuffing our faces with brownies, cheese and meatballs.

In all, I’d say the party was a success. Everyone left with a pile of new goodies, and a local thrift mission is about to receive four huge bags of donation. Win, win for everyone!

Shopping, cosmos and great friends? I’d say there is no better excuse for a little girl’s night in.

“They say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style.” – Carrie Bradshaw