Twiggy’s at it; they are at it on GMTV; they are at it in Australia, New York, South Africa and beyond! But what is Swishing, that we all hear so much about? And how can you do it too?

Swishing is a posh word for Clothes Swapping! And in the current credit crunch, we can all benefit from a touch of Swishing.

We may have been down in the dumps lately because we’ve had to curb our usual spending habits for the clothes we might like to have. But don’t worry, even the most fashion conscious amongst us can benefit from a Swishing party! Your unloved item is someone else’s treasure.

So how does Swishing work?

Here’s what to do;

Get together with a large group of friends or colleagues or even open up the event to others too. Make sure everyone is very aware of the date, time, venue, ticket price & rules of the evening.

Tell everyone to bring along as many clothes they no longer want, as they can. It’s not much good only bringing a couple of items each because then you don’t have the variety and choice of clothing.

It’s quite handy to have hanging rails to display the items. But if you don’t have any, you’ll just have to get creative with chairs & tables!

You might also like to have a few drinks and nibbles around for everyone to keep up their swishing stamina!

As people arrive, take their items, note down the number of items they brought along. Then display their items with all the others. You absolutely don’t want it looking like a jumble sale so make sure you have told people that their items must be washed and ironed and in perfect condition.

At this point, allow people to browse only! No-one is allowed to claim anything yet.

Decide on a Swishing start time. Give them a 5 minute warning to start then at the starting moment, blow a whistle to signify the start and allow the Swishing to begin!

Now everyone is allowed to go around and claim any item they would like. To make it fair, they can claim up to the number of items that they brought along. For example; if they brought 6 items, they can claim 6 items. This needs to be checked before they leave – so a few handy helpers would be a good idea.

You could result in refereeing a rugby scrum if you’re not careful! But hopefully, your ladies will be good mannered. To avoid this, you could insist that only one item can be claimed at one time.

To add unbeatable value to your evening, I would advise that you invite along an Image Consultant who will be on hand to ensure that your ladies are swishing items that they will have most benefit from.

Having expert advice on hand during the evening gives your ladies the assurance that they can revamp their wardrobes with the best items from the swishing tables. An Image Consultant will advise on style and colour and accessories and even on putting a whole look together. Your ladies will love you!