Clothes swap parties are great, but unless there are items in your size and to your liking, you will come home empty handed. Ideally you need to find a person or group of people with a compatible style and size (or size they used to be). The forum members found just that and in the spirit of saving money and the environment by repurposing current wardrobe orphans, they started successfully swapping clothes, footwear, handbags and accessories with each other for free.

It all started when forum member Tanya received a pair of jeans in the wrong rinse and offered to send them to forum member Maya. Maya ended up paying Tanya for this particular swap because the jeans were brand new. But the incident sparked a recycling trend in the forum that is gathering momentum.

Our YLF gathering in Manhattan was no exception. Here are some of the swaps we did:

• Tanya had several ill-fitting blouses that she brought for Maya.
• Maya brought Swann Flats for me because they were too large and fell off her feet when she walked. I’ve been trying to triplicate these but my size was sold out, so I really scored.
• Laura brought a jacket for Tanya (it was too tight on her) and a coral sweater for Maya. She also brought me a pretty black skirt that will fit well when I’ve had it altered at the side seams.
• I brought Tanya a scarf that worked better with her skin tone than mine. I brought Maya a vegan yellow sling bag and my first white watch. I also passed along a funky necklace to Laura because I’m a pearl gal at heart.

It was a stylish, cost saving and win-win situation for all. Not to mention fabulous fun. Laura wore her “new” necklace that evening and on the plane back home (I love it). Tanya sported her scarf next work day. Maya instantly used her yellow tote and wore her white watch on the way out of the restaurant. It’ll be a while before I can go sockless and wear ballet flats, but I’ve been prancing around in my new peds at home.

Give clothes swapping a try with friends and family. Alternatively, post your items on the forum and it won’t be long before you’ll have takers and receive treasures in return.

Swapping in Manhattan. Sign up to the forum today to start participating in the fun online.