swap 'til you drop

Ever heard of swapping? No, we're not talking swapping spit OR just switching clothes with your roommates every once in a while, but a mad dash of hundreds of people swapping their unwanted swag. If you haven't heard of swapping or attended one, you should probably stalk out your next/nearest clothing swap (hosted by the lovely Swapaholics) and GO.

I had heard of these swaps MANY times, but unfortunately every time one was being held in Boston, I was at school in Virginia (way to cramp my style, education). Anyway, I saw info on the Swapping Uncapped Boston swap (that went down this past Saturday) on JenLovesKev, and bought tickets IMMEDIATELY.

I had the baby seester tag along for some swapping sister-bonding time.

We got there an hour before the swap, so we grabbed some of the free Vitamin Water and Pinkberry (omg. yum.) and camped out on the floor.

Other anxious swappers.

Awesome Vitamin Water installation art.

Barely any room to stand! Giving my sister a prep talk on how to avoid getting her tiny 5 foot self completely trampled.

Got my swapping tote (and hiking backpack) ready to fill to the brim with finds.

The loot.

Overall I scored: J. Crew matchstick cords, some great Limited brand flares, cropped olive chinos from Banana Republic, a J. Crew top, a J. Crew cardigan, a LOFT cardigan, an Ann Taylor sweater, a cropped burnout butterfly sleeve top, AND a military style jacket. AW YEAH. (or in the words of Borat, GREAT SUCCESS).

But seriously. Best $8 ever spent. You only have to bring a bag of your own clothes, and for $8 you got unlimited swapping, Vitamin Water, and Pinkberry ... not to mention what doesn't get grabbed goes straight to Goodwill! Talk about a win:win.

Don't be fooled though - swapping isn't for the faint at heart. There's no time to browse or question, just go with your gut and grab as much as you can! And while it's mostly everyone for themselves, I did pair up with some people - for example a girl and I had "control" of the pants table so we asked for each other's sizes and passed whatever we found over to make things easier.

So next time you find yourself in a clothing rut, consider swapping! It's a 30-minute rush guaranteed to get you great finds. Plus, didn't you know that swapping is the new shopping? Let's be real.

(For the Swapaholics' recap as well as other bloggers' recaps head here. And then pinky promise me you'll make your way to a swap sometime in the future.)

xo, Meaghan