Posh Swaps Blog

You can sell your used and refashioned or recycled clothes on www.posh-swaps.com for free. Refashioning is a great way to create your own line of individual clothes. It is not only fun and good for the environment but it is also a great way to make money. If your old clothes are looking a bit out of date refashioning them is a great way to bring them right up to date. There are so many ways to refashion clothes including dying, embellishing, shortening and deconstructing and reconstructing them into a completely new piece of clothing.

You can also sell second hand, designer, high street and vintage clothes on Posh-swaps.com.

Set up your Posh-swaps.com account today and start listing your items.

I am a firm believer that most trends come back again and again there are very few completely new trends that appear. This means that if you love second hand clothes, no one will ever know that you are wearing second hand clothes. In teh long term look at the vintage trend, clothes from the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties regularly come into fashion. In the shorter term, the same trends come back year after year.

There really is no need to buy brand new clothes each season to keep up with fashions. Just take for example the key trends for this autumn and winter of black and white tweed.

Alexander McQueen AW09

Pringle AW09

Alexander Wang AW09

pictures from www.style.com

You need look no further than Posh-swaps.com for a great second hand version.

Black and white tweed jacket

We are so excited about our latest announcement. We have been really busy planning the first ever Posh Swaps clothes swap party. Whilst many people love swapping clothes online for it’s choice and simplicity, some also really like the social aspects of swapping and will give any reason for a good party. Clothes swapping parties or swishing have become hugely popular in the UK.

With this in mind, we have teamed up with Total Renewal and Style to Wear for our first ever clothes swap party for 17th September in Chiswick and we are sure that it is going to be a completely enjoyable event, the chance to catch up with friends and to relax and enjoy a bit of pampering. We think it will give you the chance to refresh and update your wardrobe but it is not just a clothes swapping party. The event will include a pamper treatment for each guest, a glass of wine and a fashion and beauty market. Each guest will also recieve a Posh Swaps goody bag.

For further information and tickets go to http://www.posh-swaps.com/blog/posh-swaps-clothes-swap-parties/

Top designer & stylist, Mrs Jones has created a limited edition collection of only 30 reinvented Oxfam pieces that are on sale now in the Camden High Street Oxfam Store and Oxfam online. Each piece is made from second hand clothes so is completely unique and there is certainly nothing last year about these clothes.

Tie Dye Brittania - the all English sundress in trendy denim

Hats off to  monochrome - an incredible bustier dress in black and white

Shipmate Stripes and Shirts - sailors stripes and shirty checks.

Cheeky nautical stowaway - this striped mini declares ‘genius’ across the derriere

Eighties biker revival - embellished black leather bomber with black and white patch print leggings

Even if you don’t buy any of these, there are some great ideas for DIY projects that you could work on yourself. Don’t forget you can also buy and sell refashioned, reworked and restyled second hand clothes on Posh Swaps.

Silk Missoni Dress

Do you love wearing designer clothes? Most of us would love to be able to fill our wardrobes with lovely designer clothes each season, but in reality there are only a few who actually have enough money to do so. With the recession hitting many of us and our clothes spend, don’t despair, you can still have a great designer clothes filled wardrobe without filling for bankruptcy.

Investing in second hand designer clothes or swapping your old designer clothes is a much better way to look stylish on a budget than resorting to fast fashion clothes that are not good for the environment and are sometimes produced unethically. They are often poorly made in inferior fabrics and it will show when you wear them.

Firstly you should sort through any designer clothes that you no longer wear. These can then be listed on a clothes swapping website like Posh-swaps.com. All that you need is a photograph of the item and as much information as possible about it including the size, designer, fabric and details of the condition. It can also be useful to take a photograph of the label to show that the item is genuine.

Then comes the fun part. Browse for some lovely clothes that you would like and propose a swap or to buy.

We thought we would put together some ideas on how to be thrifty and do some good for the environment. Here are our fifteen best ideas on how to look stylish, save money and even make a bit of money.

1. Of course clothes swapping is at number one. Apart from being great fun, it also doesn’t cost any money and is a great way to reduce waste.

2. Selling your old clothes, just like clothes swapping this is a great way to reduce waste and make money from something that you no longer want.

3. Buying second hand clothes. So much cheaper than new clothes, you get a lot more quality for your money by buying second hand clothes.

4. Selling refashioned or customised clothes. This is another one of our favourites, why not make old clothes into something unique and more valuable. If you are clever enough, you will be able to sell them for more than the original piece of clothing.

5. Accessorise - the cheapest way to get a new look is to accessorise some clothes that you already have. It is not about what you wear, more how you wear it.

6. Borrow clothes - if you have  one off event to go to and you need something specific to wear, why buy something new if you can borrow off a friend. Remember to always return borrowed clothes in immaculate condition.

7. Buy quality clothes that will last. If you buy quality clothes they will wash better and last longer. They don’t neccesarily cost much more than poor quality clothes.

8. Develop your own individual sense of style - you will be less dependant on following trends and so your clothes will last longer.

9. Look after you clothes - the better they are looked after, the longer they will last. Don’t let the moths get to your cashmere, your clothes lose their shape by being hung on the wrong hanger. Always follow the instructions on the label.

10. Mend your clothes - instead of throwing your clothes away if they get damaged try mending them. If they are irrepairable, you can recycle them by making them into something else.

11. Shop in the sales- look for classic clothes that will not be out of fashion next year and you could find some great bargains at a fraction of their original prices.

12. Compare prices - if you are looking for a specific item of clothing, shop around a bit. You may be able to find it somewhere else a bit cheaper.

13. Use shopping discount vouchers - there are plenty of websites with discount vouchers that will give you the opportunity for some money off.

14. Plan carefully. If you are going shopping, think beforehand about what you really need, set yourself a budget and stick to it. Thinking in advance will help to avoid those impulse buys that turn out to be a big mistake.

15. Watch out for extras associated with going shopping, like car park charges and delivery fees. If you are only buying something small these can add on a large percentage to your shop. Try shopping less often so you don’t pay out too many unnecessary charges.

picture from www.treehugger.com

Neon Floral Pattern Mini Skirt - Want to Swap?

If you haven’t had a chance to make your first clothes swap on posh-swaps.com, why not give it a try? I guarentee that you will be addicted. The thrill of recieving your first swap is just as exciting as that feeling that you get from going on a shopping spree. Actually it is a lot better as you don’t have a great big credit card bill to pay off at the end of it. It is also a great way to refresh your wardrobe so that it does not get too over crowded.

It is quick and easy to list your items on posh-swaps.com. All you need to do is set up an account (if you don’t already have one), take a photo or three of your item. Then log into your account, go to the add a new item, select ’swap it’ and complete as many details as you can before submitting. Don’t forget that the more information that you give about the item that you are hoping to recieve in return, the more chance you have of getting what you really want. If you are not really sure what you want, give a few clues like size,  casual clothes etc and state that you are happy to consider any proposals.

If you have a blog or participate in any social networks like Twitter or Facebook, you can also link to your item page to help promote it.

This week from June 22nd to 28th is Recycle Week. This is an event organised by Recycle Now each annually and is now in it’s fifth year. The theme this year is to waste less and the Recycle  Now website encourages individuals to pledge their commitment to recycling more and saving less. Amongst the suggested ways to reduce waste are reducing textile waste, recycling bottles and cans whilst out and about, home composting kitchen and garden waste, reusing carrier bags and using leftovers for lunch the next day.

We can’t think of any better way of recycling clothes than by selling them or swapping them on posh-swaps.com. It is an easy to use website, free to use and best of all you either get some money or some swapped clothes as a reward for your efforts. You can also recycle your clothes by donating to charity shops and taking to clothing banks. Another great way to recycle clothes is by making them into something new. You can turn old jeans into shorts, shorten a dress or embellish a jacket.

Clothes swapping is becoming very popular. We at Posh-swaps.com love Twitter, there seems to be plenty of tweeting going on about clothes swapping at the moment.

If you would like to receive regular updates about all of the latest clothes swaps and second hand clothes listed on posh-swaps.com, the just follow poshswaps on Twitter. You will also recieve updates on recycling, eco fashion, sustainable living and looking stylish on a budget.

We have already established that clothes swapping is a great idea because it is environmentally friendly, frugal and fun, we have also discussed how to arrange a clothes swap. If you have already had a go at clothes swapping and enjoyed it, here are some ideas for clothes swaps with a difference.

1. A children/ baby clothes swap - this is a great way to recycle childrens clothes as they grow out of them. As baby clothes are only worn for a short amount of time they are often in really good condition. If you arrange a ticket system where everyone brings a bag of clothes and gets a number of tickets in return, it will allow people to swap clothes for the right size for their children.

2. A clothes swap and customising competition - not only can you get some new clothes but you could also get a completely unique and individual outfit that no one else has. You can ask frinds to bring along a sewing kit and any old buttons, trims, beads etc that they have. Once you have swapped, you can then spend the evening embellishing your clothes over a glass of wine or two. At the end, you can show off the clothes in a fashion show and award a small prize to the best creation.

3. Vintage clothes swap - If you and your friends love vintage clothes, why not arrange a vintage clothes swapping party. This is a great way to refresh your wardrobes.

4. Themed Clothes Swaps - for a bit of fun why not arrange a themed clothes swap. Perhaps try a flowers theme or  choose a particular colour which everyone should bring clothes in. In the run up to christmas, you could arrange a sparkly clothes swap with sparkly or evening clothes.

5. Accessories swap - you could arrange an accesories swap for accessories in general or for one particular type of accessories such as shoes, hand bags or jewellery.

Let us know your fun ideas for clothes swapping.