Posh Swaps Blog

9th January is the  first ever International Day of Swishing as announced by Futerra Communications, a UK sustainability communications agency on swishing.org. ‘Swishing’ is the term coined by Futerra Communications to describe clothes swap parties a phenomena that has become hugely popular all over the world. The dictionary definition of swishing is ‘to rustle as silk’ but the futerra definition is ‘to rustle clothes from friends’.

2010 looks likely to be a year where swishing will increase in popularity. It is a greay way to refresh your wardrobe without racking up debt on your credit card. It is also a great sustainable alternative to shopping, reducing the textile waste in landfill and the environmental impact of clothing manufacture.

To celebrate they will be throwing an eco-fabulous ‘Red Carpet Swish’ at London’s Swanky Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street, London. At Posh Swaps, we will be celebrating the International Day of Swishing by hosting our own online swap party or swish. There is no exclusive guest list everyone is welcome to list and swap as many clothes as they like for free. We will also be inviting our favourite Fashion Bloggers to come along and join in the swap.

Grab your warm winter coat or cape and check out these events.

New Years Swish

02 Jan 2010 12:00

Venue: 42-44 Clarville Rd, London SW7 5AW

Greetings all

We are holding a swishing event on Saturday 2 January 2010, at 42-44 Clarville St, SW7 5AW…not far from the Gloucester Road tube stop.

We are right next door to the Hereford Arms on the corner of Gloucester Rd and Clarville St.

12 midday - doors open to drop items off
1pm - doors open for browse
2pm - swishing begins!

Bring along a preloved item of clothing or accessory that you would be proud to swish with other fashionistas.

Its only £10 to get in and all proceeds go to the Ka Pai Karl Education Fund. Cash only

Even better, if you show your swish ticket the staff at the Hereford Arms, you will get 50% off your food.

We already have a stylish stock of mens and womens clothes for swish, including Helen Cherry, SNOB, River Island….

For more information, or to see pics of some of the garments already donated, contact kapaikarl@gmail.com.
Email: kapaikarl@gmail.com

Charity Clothes Swap

06 Jan 2010 19:30

Venue: Espionage Nightclub Edinburgh, 4 India Buildings, Victoria Street, Edinburgh

Charity Clothes Swap
Declutter your closet and upgrade your wardrobe on a budget!

Come along to our charity clothes swap in aid of Scottish social care charity Quarriers.

Wednesday 6th January 2009
From 7.30pm @ Espionage Nightclub Edinburgh, 4 India Buildings, Victoria Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2EX

How does it work?…
Come along to Espionage between 7.30pm and 8pm.
Bring along items from your wardrobe you no longer need. These must be clean and in good condition (please no dirty or damaged clothes)
Hand over each item to the registration team on arrival in return for a swap token.
Pay your entry fee of £5 (This allows you from 1 up to 5 swap items – any additional items are charged a £1 per item swap fee)
You will then be able to get a drink at the bar until 8.30pm when you will be given half an hour to browse items.
At 9pm the swap begins and you can take any items back to the registration team and exchange them for your tokens.
Items must be exchanged for tokens.
Items are exchanged on a first come first serve basis.
Once you have finished swapping you and your friends are free to relax in the bar.

Hope to see you there! Email me for any further info.

Email: lynas21@hotmail.com

International Day of Swishing’s Flagship Event

09 Jan 2010 15:00

Venue: Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel, London

International Day of Swishing’s flagship event.

We at Futerra are overjoyed at how fabulous all of your swishes are looking. We are also excited to announce that January 9th 2010 is officially the first ever International Day of Swishing.

There are now Swishers all over the world from South Africa to Belgium and New Zealand to Japan.

To celebrate we are throwing an eco-fabulous ‘Red Carpet Swish’ at London’s Swanky Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street.

There will be music, alcohol, fabulous people and fabulous clothes. As well as being able to upgrade your wardrobe without risking the chaos of January sales, you will also be able to relax and enjoy one of London’s most exclusive venues.

The event is free of charge.

Doors will open at 3.00pm and Swishers will have an hour and a half to drop off clothes and relax with a cocktail.

The first Swish will run from 4.30 until 5.30 and then another cocktail break will be followed by more Swishing and you guessed it, more cocktails.

We will be following a points system. Designer items will be given 15 points, vintage 10 points and other items 5 points. Swishers can then take away items equivalent to the value of the items they came with. Items will be assigned points at the door by our fashionista Swishing attendees.

We will have style advisors in the form of London’s next big designers. Students from London’s top fashion courses will be on hand to offer style advice and basic amendments.
Numbers are limited so arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Email: LucyWarin@Futerra.co.uk

Dolly Mixtures

14 Jan 2010 17:00

Venue: Electric Circus, 36-39 Market Street, Edinburgh

DOLLY MIXTURES (weekly from 14th January, except 28th)
doors 5pm, £3 in advance, £6 on the door for the whole evening – call 0131 226 4224 for group bookings
Beat those January blues with high tea, cocktails, swishing/clothes swapping, tribute acts and party tunes till the wee hours.
Bring the girls along for some high tea nibbles, teapot cocktails or a nice bottle of wine and have a rummage through our stalls of vintage clothes, hand made jewellery and cute crafts. Bring along a quality unwanted item from your wardrobe and when the bell rings swish away!
Then settle in for a top night of entertainment! A sensational sing-along with a top tribute act every week, then kick off your shoes and have a dance with our party tunes dolly mixture djs till it’s time for bed. This is set to be the finest ladies night in town!
Live sets – 14/01 – Madonna, 21/01 – Robbie Williams, 4/02 – Abba, 11/02 – Kylie
Drinks from £1.50

Email: solen@theelectriccircus.biz

New Year Swish Party

16 Jan 2010 18:30

Venue: withheld…

An excuse for a New Year clean out and a fresh wardrobe for 2010!
Bring along at least one, and no more than 10 items (clothes,bags,belts,accessories,jewellery, scarves etc) for the swap.
Nibbles and some soft and alcoholic drinks provided.
Arrive by 18.30 - the swish can only start once everyone is there!

Email: zogmeister75@hotmail.com

Swish For Victory

17 Jan 2010 13:00

Venue: Jacobs Well, Trinity Lane off Micklegate, York

Got some gifts for Christmas you didn’t really want? Swish them in York to raise money for the WI and York’s local women’s refuge!

Email: newyorksisterhood@googlemail.com

Winter Clothes Swap Southampton

20 Jan 2010 18:30

Venue: The Art House, 178 Above Bar Street, Southampton

Come along with women’s, men’s and children’s clothes as well as accessories to our seasonal clothes swap at The Art House.

Entry is by Magic Hat (donate what you can towards the running costs of The Art House).

Email: info@thearthousesouthampton.co.uk

Dolly Mixtures

21 Jan 2010 17:00

Venue: Electric Circus, 36-39 Market Street, Edinburgh.

DOLLY MIXTURES (weekly from 14th January, except 28th)
doors 5pm, £3 in advance, £6 on the door for the whole evening – call 0131 226 4224 for group bookings
Beat those January blues with high tea, cocktails, swishing/clothes swapping, tribute acts and party tunes till the wee hours.
Bring the girls along for some high tea nibbles, teapot cocktails or a nice bottle of wine and have a rummage through our stalls of vintage clothes, hand made jewellery and cute crafts. Bring along a quality unwanted item from your wardrobe and when the bell rings swish away!
Then settle in for a top night of entertainment! A sensational sing-along with a top tribute act every week, then kick off your shoes and have a dance with our party tunes dolly mixture djs till it’s time for bed. This is set to be the finest ladies night in town!
Live sets – 14/01 – Madonna, 21/01 – Robbie Williams, 4/02 – Abba, 11/02 – Kylie
Drinks from £1.50

Email: solen@theelectriccircus.biz

Cambridge Design Collective and Cambridge School of Art Clothing Exchange

23 Jan 2010 11:00

Venue: The Shop 18 Jesus Lane Cambridge

The clothes exchange returns to The Shop for a second time!
• Clear out your wardrobes
• Spring clean your closets
• Exchange unwanted Christmas clothing and accessories!

In addition to the exchange, a range of exclusive accessories made by ARU BA fashion students will be on sale and a team of stylists and customisers will be on hand to help you fit and transform your swaps.

The details…

Delivery of clothes – from 11 – 12 pm on Saturday 23th January at The Shop.

Clothes exchange from 12.30 – 2pm

Selling off unswapped clothing from 2 – 2.15pm

Admission £2 per person, £1.50 CDC / Shop members

Further details vist www.cambridgedesigncollective.org

Email: enquiries@cambridgedesigncollective.org

Dress ‘n Gown

29 Jan 2010 19:30

Venue: The Georgian Hotel, Coatbridge

Deafblind Scotland is a small national charity that works with adults in the community who have lost, or are losing, both their sight and hearing. We are the only Scottish charity dedicated to enabling deafblind adults to regain a place in their communities. Deafblind people often become very isolated due to their problems with communication, information and mobility – and we work tirelessly to change this.

We would like to invite you to attend our Dress ‘n Gown Party on the 29th January 2010. We will be inviting ladies to join us for a night of fun, fashion and clothes-swishing! It is a fun and novel way to get a new wardrobe without using your credit card.

We ask ladies to bring 3 quality items of clothing or accessories to swap!

Email: events@deafblindscotland.org.uk

At Posh Swaps, we love ethical and eco style so were delighted to see the brand new EmmieJay websitewith a great selection of ethical accessories. We met Mary Jane Sweeting at the clothes swap party in Bath where she had a stall selling her gorgeous goodies and we couldn’t wait to see what else was on offer on the new website.

 Everything in the collection is selected for both its qulaity and individual style as well as its ethical credentials which include sustainable materials, recycled materials, made locally and Fairtrade.

Some of out favourites are these retro style Eel skin purses made from a by product of the Korean food industry, super soft sustainable bamboo socks that will keep your feet fresh all day long and clothes made from upcycled fabrics.

Eco fashion is a bit of a trendy buzz word at the moment with so many clothing companies describing their clothing as Eco fashion. Some companies promote themselves as selling only Eco fashion whilst others have a small range of Eco fashion clothing. I would consider Eco fashion to be clothing that in someone has less environmental impact that the equivalent piece of conventional clothing. Obviously the lesser the impact the better. So how as a consumer can you decide what is important in terms of Eco fashion. Here are just a few considerations that may help.

Sustainability - this describes the use and renewal of resources. Is the clothing using resources that can not be easily replaced. This would include many synthetic fabrics which are made using oil a resource that will eventually run out. Sustainability considerations also include the use of landfill to dispose of waste. Clothes that have a longer life cycle are generally more sustainable.

Pollution- the release of chemicals both as gas, solids or liquids into the environment can be damaging to flora, fauna, Eco systems and the people living nearby. Pollution can be caused by effluent from factories where clothes are manufactured, pesticides used to cultivate cotton and dyes, chemicals washed from textiles that have been disposed of in landfill sites.

Carbon emmissions - global warming is though to be caused by the build up of green house gases. This includes both carbon dioxide produced when fossil fuels are burnt and methane released when natural textiles break down in landfill. It is important to consider how much energy has been used to manufacture a piece of clothing (its carbon footprint) this will include the energy used in transportation and again it life span. If clothes last longer, less clothes need to be made and less end up in landfill.

The environmental impact of a piece of clothing does not end with just these factors though. Through out its life a piece of clothing will probably be washed, cleaned, dried and ironed numerous times. In order to really minimise the environmental impact of a piece of clothing, you should also consider how these processes will affect the environment. For example, dry cleaning a piece of clothing will have quite a big environmental impact. A piece of clothing that dries naturally easily and doesn’t need ironing will be a good Eco friendly choice especially if washed at a low temperature.

Clothes swapping, buying and selling second hand clothes is a great option for those looking to help the environment. It increases the life cycle of each item of clothing, reduces landfill and reduces the amount of new clothes being bought therefore reducing all of those other impacts. For those living on a budget it also offers a low cost alternative to fast fashion (which is usually bad for the environment due to the way it is made and its short life cycle), that allows them to regularly update and refresh their wardrobe.