Week-End Round-Up (Or: The Swap Must Go On!)

On Saturday, I decided to ignore the ridiculous virus that had started it's attack on my body a few days prior. It was on this day that I had planned a clothing exchange and, come hell or high water, the swap must go on. I didn't score what I call a "wow piece" this time around but most of the girls did and so I was thrilled!

Claire, from South Side Soaps, was able to make it out, this time.

When only three of us remained I pulled out the bin of "clothes that will one day fit" and had the girls give it to me straight-up. I managed to get rid of a few pieces, both by giving them to my guests and by donating them to charity. It's amazing what some more wine and a few honest girls can help you work out. Here's my new chum Nova, in her new, cropped Forever 21 tuxedo jacket I only ever wore for a photo shoot, four years ago:

My daughter on the pile of leftovers, at the end of the night:

Some buttons I took from a vest I will be upcycling:

And this is how my sick self spent Sunday and yesterday:

Today I'm back in the office. I'm hoping I get a lot of my strength back soon as I have an article to submit and a clothing collection deadline that is fast approaching!

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Today's Look

Snippets of today's outfit:

Coat: No tag. Exchanged at a craft fair for something vintage from my booth
Purse: Clothing swap. No tag.
Top: Dickie's top from a clothing swap.
Skirt: Smart Set. On sale for $12 over a year ago
Ankle Boots: Forever 21. On sale for $20
Tights: Fleece-lined and on sale from a shop in Ottawa. $5.
Scarf: H&M. I have no idea when I got it. It's the same as the one I bought but with no hole. 

Not bad for $37.

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Scores From My November Clothing Exchange

almost two weeks ago, i hosted my annual winter clothing swap. everyone scored several great pieces and, as usual, we all had so much fun, laughing, drinking wine, trying on clothing and catching up. anything we didn't want was donated to a verdun family that recently lost everything in a fire. 

this year, a few of the girls stuck around afterward so that i could photograph them wearing their favourite acquisitions. we picked up some chinese food, drank more wine, touched up make-up and then shot away. 

this is my chum, jessie, who fell in love with a vintage, blue velvet jacket (you'll see more of this jacket in a it):

and here she is in a lovely, ankle-length, zebra print dress by b starlet. we lacked room to shoot the whole dress but i'm sure you can tell by this bodice that this dress looks fantastic on her!

jasmin, a new friend and the latest addition to our swap crew got her hands on this military-style dress by toska that i had thrown into the pile:

she and this dress compliment each other so well!

jasmin also found this h & m jacket that looks like it was made just for her:

here are jessie and jasmin in their gorgeous finds:

this is sophie, who has been with our little group for a couple of years, now:

she fell for this cute blouse from collectif, a french rocka/psychobilly clothing company:

being a horror fan, she was also quite happy to come across and claim this diy, friday the 13th top:

my daughter, as usual, left the living room, giggling and exclaiming "yes!" and "score!", with a huge pile of clothing in her arms. unfortunately, being that she is twelve and neck-deep in her oh-my-god-ew-don't-take-a-picture-i-hate-it phase, you'll just have to imagine the band t-shirts, skinny jeans and hoodies that she acquired.

given that i was hosting and photographing, i did not give myself time to prepare for being on the other side of the camera but two of my favourite items are this lovely, silk, floor-length holt renfrew night dress:

and an only slightly-faded version of the spy dress, which i'd had my eye on for the longest time. here it is worn by bernie dexter for pinupgirlclothing.com:

i've already packed away at least ten items for the next exchange, which will take place in february!

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My Spring and Fall Jacket Collection (And How The Whole Thing Cost Me $131).

as temperature lows have been holding steady below the zero mark, with the exception of that one, freakishly warm day last week, i've been once more hit with the sad realization that it's time to put away all of my lighter jackets until march. every year, when i store my jackets and again, when i take them out, i get rid of a few pieces. i'm happy to note that, in the last two years, i've been feeling the need to purge diminish, as i have been building quite the little collection and i am very pleased with it.   the best part is, the grand total spent on these pieces was $131 plus tax. 

i bought this lovely houndstooth jacket a few months ago at the friperie renaissance, in verdun, for all of $6. it's still a bit tight around the shoulders but, given how my weight has been fluctuating, i've decided to keep it. 

i'm getting tired of animal print, in general, thanks to it having exploded in mainstream fashion over the last few years and that's too bad because a lot of my rockabilly and psychobilly clothing is now this close to actually annoying me. anyhow, i've decided to keep two of my animal print jackets (i got rid of the other three, last spring).

i got this jacket as part of a trade made at a craft fair, last fall. i met a really good friend of mine there and i believe i got this jacket in exchange for a vintage, art deco necklace i was selling. it may have been two autumns ago. (it's one of those friendships that feels like it's been a part of my life for much longer than it has and so i'm losing track of time). 

the other animal print jacket i'm keeping (although i haven't worn it in over a year and i've only worn it two or three times in all so i should reconsider this, next spring) is this one that i bought at the le chateau warehouse for $25, about 5 years ago. a part of the reason i like it so much is the detailing in the fabric, seen in the second photo. it's such a fun texture, even if i have to be careful to not hook it onto anything sharp or protruding:

i, of course, have my harrington. i keep it out all winter, though, because i sometimes wear it indoors. 

i had three aviator jackets but gave a matte, leather one to my daughter. i'm keeping this one, that i bought on sale for $15, about three or four years ago:

this warmer one, on the other hand, i will be selling as soon as i find the clearly detachable, faux lamb collar that came with it. i bought it on sale for $30 and wore it once. 

i have one blue jacket and i bought it in a large store downtown that sells a lot of hideous things and plays their techno music way too loudly. they stuck the rack in the entrance, by the sidewalk and it caught my eye as i was walking down ste-catherine west, last spring. i bought it for $15. it needs a little love (and some buttons) but i'll deal with that when i pull it out again.

i love both of my red jackets but i must admit that i have not worn this first one in a long time. i bought it a few years ago, on sale, for $15 and i put it on once or twice, last spring. this will pain me to share but i bought this one at the same store as that blue one. what?! they sell cute, $15 jackets! 

(i have the exact same on in black and that one is staying my closet for the odd, warmer day). 

this other red one i scored in july, at the "take off your clothes" swap team event i mentioned here so, i got it for free. it appears to be vintage and comes with a great little sash that always slips out, hence why it is not in the photo. (i'm going to have to find it before i store these or it will nag at me!). the sleeve length and large buttons are great for pulling off the perfect, early 60's look. it's light and pretty and i feel great in it!

my absolute favourite spring/fall jacket score of the year was bought just two weeks ago, for all of $10 at la friperie renaissance, in verdun. i can barely express how thrilled i am to have found this. it fits perfectly and i feel beautiful and confidant in it. i'm only sad that i found it so late in the season and i can't wait to wear it with some elbow-length, leather or crocheted gloves in the spring. the photo doesn't show you just how awesome it is so i'll post a photo of me wearing it, in the spring. 

my prized cape:

i want to mention two more coats in this post. firstly, a moment of silence, if you will, for what was my favourite spring/fall coat (that looks much better when on an actual person than it does on an emaciated mannequin). i wore it for years and now it is frayed, missing buttons, ripped in the shoulder... it's a mess. i will give myself one more week to decide whether or not i love it enough to unsew it and use the pieces to draft myself a pattern for a new one. a reincarnation of sorts... *sigh*

and, finally, a sneak look at a coat that deserves its own post. it's vintage (the only time i wear fur) and was given to me. this one needs to be shot outside, on me and with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. 

i will create a similar post when it is time to put away my winter coats, in april, but for now, this is it. 

...i do also have two prefectos or leather, motorcycle jackets but i'll be painting those over the course of the next few months and i'll share the results with you when i'm done. 

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swapping: part three. attend a public clothing exchange

for the last two years, i've had the honour of volunteering for the s.w.a.p. team, at their large, annual, public swap at montréal's place des arts. i've emceed for two years and this year i also hauled boxes, picked up hangers and placed clothing on racks (which makes looking fresh and well-kept at the mic a bit of a challenge but i think i managed okay...). 

i'm not going to elaborate on the organization itself too much, as it already has plenty of media coverage and i would like to side-step the possibility of getting any information wrong. let me just say that i love, love, love these events and that i have always found incredible things to take back home with me!

i strongly suggest that you look into who might be doing this in your town-- it may even be the s.w.a.p. team, as they have been growing bigger and bigger since their start, years ago. find a public clothing swap or get involved with organizing one or help out at one. you'll be diverting clothing from land fills, sending some to charity and you'll be avoiding mass-made clothing, which comes with all sorts of moral and environmental baggage. do eet!

look at some of the great stuff i scored, this year:

i have since reconsidered these insane red heels and they're in my box of stuff to swap with my friends, later this month. i wore the crap out of the studded flats and have yet to wear the other three pairs but am looking forward to it. 

i carried this little clutch around all summer. (the sunglasses were purchased on ebay and are vintage).

i've already posted a photo of this jacket (okay, so there is a whole post about it) but i love it so much and so here it is again. 

i acquired so many other great items, including a polo ralph lauren sweater, a great, distressed union jack purse and tons more. my daughter and i actually brought over one hundred items home, this year. that said, i still wish i'd reacted faster when i saw two mat and nat bags comes out and be placed on a table in front of me. i was so tired and was thinking of the next thing i had to do and someone i know scored them. it hurt for about a week, i tell you...

photo one- taken by ian woo and found on the swap team's web site
photo two- found on annex vintage's blog
other photos- taken by me

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swapping: part two. 5 reasons to swap before you shop (a recap)

for the last two years, i've had the honour of emceeing a large, public, clothing swap, hosted by the swap team (more on that in the next post). partly because of that role and partly because of the clothing exchanges i host at my home, i was asked by cult mtl to create a top 5 list on why you should swap before you shop. i wish a different photo had been chosen from the selection offered (the photo used was taken right after the great gazebo collapse of 2009 and when my yard had yet to become the lush, green haven that it is now) and that the comment about "crowding a bitch" had been left out (it was sent as a funny text message between friends and not as part of the piece but ended up generating a few laughs so fine...). aside from these two elements, which i got over relatively fast, i am pleased with the message, in general, and i stick to what i wrote. 

...given it's relevance to this mini series, i risked redundancy and added it to the mix. 

photo source: loyushaus.typead.com (h & m has been known to destroy their overstock, rather than donate it).

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swapping: part one. host an exchange!

anyone who knows me knows that i am more or less a ninja when it comes to acquiring great clothing for pennies or less. as with most skills associated with frugality, this was born from necessity,  as i had my first child when i was 20, my second one soon after, blinked and found myself raising them alone. we didn't have very much money when i was growing up and so i wore clothing bought at k-mart and zellers... and my brother often wore his big sister's hand-me-downs. i must point out that we did live in suburbia, on the ontario/quebec border and didn't have the resources we have here, in montreal but, either way, it was horrible and i didn't want my kids getting laughed at, the way my brother and i had. 

growing up, i'd often visit my grandmother, in montreal, and she would take me to these magical places, these church basements and little holes in the wall filled with feathered hats, crocheted gloves, velvet smoking jackets and vintage mary janes. i knew these places existed and, when i moved back to montreal at 19, to raise my daughter, i was determined to rediscover these caves of wonders and find more! boy, have i ever succeeded. i'll get to that soon enough, though. 

a few years ago, while talking to my grandmother, i brought up the idea of hosting a clothing exchange and was surprised to find out that she had hosted some of her own, in the 50s. they had called them "clothesline parties" because they strung rope everywhere in the house and hung up all the clothing to be swapped on these. this motivated me even more and so i hosted my very first clothing exchange, in 2009. we had such a blast and, due to a lot of us being grown-up goths, there were some pretty interesting pieces up for trade! 

 

we even sent my gazebo frame crashing down:

i must admit that the first event was also a sale but, due to the immense variance in pricing and to everyone's willingness to simply trade, we've since stuck to exchanging. 

here is my loot from that very first swap, including a perfecto/motorcycle jacket, a pair of steve madden high-heel sandals and a cute pair of patent leather heels by torrid.  

i sifted through the leftover clothing, kept a few pieces to reconstruct or revamp and the rest went to charity so everyone won. 

the important tips to follow when hosting a clothing exchange are rather simple:

-whether you make it a pot luck or prepare food yourself, make sure there is food and that it is finger food. we're talking no mess, no stains, less clean up afterward.
-alcohol. not a must but it helps. women often have hang-ups and, after a glass of wine or two, people relax and are more likely to try clothing on and get into the general spirit of it all
-have a full-length mirror close to where the clothing is
-have a place where people can change in private. not everyone is comfortable with whipping their top off in front of friends, even after drinking wine
-keep it flowing. if this is not one of your skills, appoint one of your friends as emcee. we're talking women, clothing and wine, here. ;-)

how it works:

depending on how many women show up, you may need to have some sort of system in place. when i have over 10 women, i use the ticket system. for every piece someone brings, she gets a ticket or point or whatever other marker you want to use and each one of these can be cashed in for one item. one for one. simple. 

when we're a smaller group, it works a bit differently. each piece brought is held up for a few seconds and if only one woman wants it, it's hers. if more than one woman wants it, it gets placed in a pile (usually referred to as the "try-on pile" at first but it goes downhill from there and becomes the "kill pile" after about 20 minutes). at the end, everyone sorts through the pile and tries on whatever they wanted. i must say that i am really proud of my homegirls. aside from one tigress (she's really awesome and we love her so we joke about it but it's all good), everyone is pretty cool with letting other people get a shot at something and i must say it's really great to see a group of women encouraging each other, complimenting each other and boosting each other's egos. all of the cattiness we all know we possess is left outside for this. i love it. the last time we swapped, i was asked to present all of the pieces so that it would go faster and i daresay we'll keeping doing it that way because we were all a little stunned at how quickly we had managed to wrap it up.

since that first exchange, i've hosted these at least twice a year and we've always had a tremendous amount of fun. women have attended, left and sometimes rejoined the group (in fact, of the original crew, only my daughter and i were at the last one) and we've been able to keep it fresh and exciting, over the years. i'll be hosting another one at the end of november and will be sure to post about it afterward.

***is it sexist that i only invite women to my home swaps? it is if you say so but i do it so that everyone is comfortable and feels completely at ease. i even ship my son out for the say. i wholeheartedly encourage co-ed exchanges, if you have the space, which i don't.


stay tuned for more in this series!

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