You know what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? How about clothes? Vintage is a fairly new fashion buzzword and in my opinion, a great way to make old, used clothes more fashion-fab rather than trailer-park-drab. What would you rather say; “I love mixing vintage pieces with jeans” or “I love wearing these old jeans that I bought from a jumble sale (remember those) at my neighbours trailer”? Yeah exactly!
When you think of used clothes, old comes to mind. However used clothes do not have to look ratty and drab, in fact they don’t have to be that old at all. Think about how many things you’ve bought an item, worn it once and shoved into the back of your closet? Oftentimes the only reason people get rid of clothes, besides wanting to make space for new items, is because they have either worn the piece to death, outgrown it or the item has lost it’s appeal. That doesn’t mean that the appeal is lost to everyone though.
The other day I got an email from Tonia Zorbas, who is part of a great South African project called Fashion Exchange. It’s a local company that that organises clothing swapping events, where people can attend and swap their clothes for someone eles’ slightly worn clothing and accessories. Can anyone say – YES PLEASE! How many times have you wanted to grab a gorgeous top you saw someone else wearing? Well now is your chance – and you wont get locked-up for doing it either – provided you stick to the racks and don’t try bargain the clothes off people’s backs.
“I did research and found that so many great clothes are wasted each year and wanted to help people realize the wastage and enable them to do something about it. By coming to the events they are benefiting from a new wardrobe, while at the same time helping reduce wastage all in a fun and entertaining environment” says Tonia.
The company has already had two successful events, and they are holding a third one next month, on the 9th May 2009 at Cafe Sofia in Rondebosch (Cape Town). If you’re keen to swap your clothes for some (almost) new items or are curious to see what it’s all about check out thier website on www.fashex.co.za
