Feminist, Fat and Fabulous Blog: The Swap

Our clothes swap took place on the weekend. It was at my friend’s place, and let me tell you — if I hadn’t have gotten a lift there, I would not have been able to cart all my stuff with me.

I have a LOT of stuff.

To be fair, it wasn’t ALL mine. Some was my sister’s and some was my mother’s. And there weren’t just clothes! There were bags and scarves in the very large, lavender-scented garbage bags.

Seeing all that stuff laid out on the lounge chairs (according to the articles of clothing they were – i.e. skirts, tops, jumpers etc) made me realise just how much STUFF I have. It actually made me feel a little bit guilty. The conspicuous consumption I seem to regularly go through each season has made me think.

I do have the privilege of being able to accrue a large wardrobe. I know others do not. Not just the monetary privilege, but also the body privilege. Despite identifying as fat, I still fit into mass market clothing, and clothing in straight-sized stores. I know some people don’t have either of those options.

Which is why I think clothing swaps are a great idea.

A whole range of sizes, different styles and types of clothing and a complete stringent rule that there is to be no body hate when trying clothing on, is a great, worthwhile idea. It gives people the chance to get a whole new wardrobe, without spending a cent. And when the clothing left over is donated to charity, that’s even better.