Swap till you drop
Friday, August 15, 2008
By MARY ANN ALBRIGHT, Columbian staff writerWith
fall around the corner, it’s time for Ilse Norman to update her
wardrobe. But the Hazel Dell woman, who’s studying to become a real
estate broker, isn’t hitting the mall. Instead, she’s trading items
she’s bored with or that no longer fit for clothes, shoes and
accessories that, while maybe not brand-new, are new to her.
She recently attended Fashionapolis, a
Fashionista Swap clothes exchange at Portland’s Rose Garden arena put
on by Camas resident Diana McKnight, 53. They know each other through
McKnight’s organization Professional Women’s Network NW. Norman, 37,
had been to exchanges in McKnight’s and other people’s homes before,
but never one of this magnitude.
Though she paid $25 to get in, Norman considered the price a bargain, noting that $25 won’t buy much at most clothing stores.
Though Norman’s a swapping veteran, it was
the first exchange for Portland resident Teresa Rodden. She’s recently
lost 30 pounds but doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on new clothes
until she loses another 30 pounds.
“It’s a great way to exchange clothes that
are too big for things that fit until I reach my goal weight,” said
Rodden, 41, a certified health coach and owner of the weight-loss
program Take Shape for Life.
With the economy being slow and many people
having to cut their discretionary spending, the demand for clothes
swaps is on the rise, said PDXSwap founder Kim Cameron, who dropped her
first and last names and goes by her middle name, Rae.
“I think it’s becoming a more popular idea
because people need free stuff more now,” said the 35-year-old Oregon
City, Ore., resident, an advocate for green causes and a bartering
economy.
Rae started the group about four years ago
when neighbors she used to trade with moved away. She held the first
swap in her home, and only two people came. Now, several thousand are
signed up for PDXSwap e-mails.
Swaps are organized by garment size and
neighborhood. Rae and other PDXSwap hosts hold about 10 swaps a month,
drawing up to 75 people each. There are small, medium, large,
extra-large, plus-size, all-size, kids and stuff swaps in southeast and
northeast Portland, Tigard, Tualatin and Oregon City, Ore. Rae would
like to add a men’s swap if she can find a coordinator.
“We’ve had so many men act like they’re
offended there isn’t a swap for men, but when I say, ‘Great, do you
want to host one?’ they look at me like I’m crazy,” she said.
Rae also would like to expand into Vancouver,
and self-professed clothesaholic Cherany Skelton said she’s willing to
take on some of the hosting duties.
Skelton, a 25-year-old receptionist and Vancouver resident, has been a fixture at PDXSwap events for more than a year.
“When I started going, I had just started an office job and needed professional attire,” she said.
She came for slacks and jackets but left with
much more. Skelton made new friends and completely changed her
perspective on shopping.
She used to hit retail stores on a weekly basis, but now relies on monthly swaps to refresh her closet.
Before her first swap, Skelton worried that
the clothes available wouldn’t be fashionable or in wearable condition.
That wasn’t the case.
“This is not people unloading their trash,”
she said. At exchanges, she’s picked up items by labels such as Bebe,
Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. But it’s not just about the haul. Swaps
are a two-way street. Watching someone squeal over clothes she’s tired
of is almost as great as finding something new for herself, Skelton
said.
“It’s so much fun when you see someone so
happy in something you’ve brought. When someone else can really use it,
it’s exciting,” she said.
Mary Ann Albright can be reached at maryann.albright@columbian.com or 360-735-4507. |