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Swap fad
Clothing swaps - the latest way to find style and help others

by Natalie O'Neill

The stylish women arrived at a posh night club, dragging laundry hampers and duffel bags. Inside, across from the bar, volunteers dumped the contents onto tables.

Piles of blouses, faded Levis and sophisticated suit coats were hung and folded. Before long, bargain hunters and fashionistas began flocking to the clothes like kids to an ice cream truck

"Those are perfect," one college girl gushed as her friend squealed over size 8 boots. A middle-aged woman's face lit up as she tried on a tweed jacket in the pink light of the club. And while not a cent was spent on fashion, everyone left with something new - or at least something new to them.

Clothing swaps, a growing phenomenon at which women meet to trade unwanted pieces of their wardrobe, are sprouting up all over the East Bay. With swaps serving as anything from hip nights out in San Francisco to fundraisers in Danville, the word is spreading.

And Suzanne Agasi, who has hosted more than 100 swaps, says it's not just about the clothes anymore.

"It's about feeling good about ourselves as women," said Agasi, who donates all left over swap clothes directly to Bay Area battered women's shelters.

The swaps work like this: Women bring garments they no longer like, need or just want to give away, and then pay a cover charge of about $20. In exchange, they get a chance to bring home goodies from other women's closets. Here, the old saying is fitting - one person's trash is another one's treasure.

As the mix of swap-goers evolves, the events are especially catching on in upscale areas like Danville.

"This all started out small in my apartment with me just inviting women I know. Now it's huge," says Agasi, who is making a go of hosting swaps as a full-time job.

Longtime Danville Ballet owner Rebecca Crowell hosted a swap last month to raise money for the Diablo Ballet, her new endeavor. Food and wine were donated, clothes were traded, and $1,000 was raised in just a couple hours.

"I heard it was the latest trend and a great way to raise money," Crowell said.

Mothers and daughters cleaned out their closets together and paid the $25 cover charge at the Danville Ballet studio in Alamo Plaza. As teens riffled through cargo pants, print T-shirts and capris, moms grazed through summer sandals, casual skirts and jewelry.

"It was like a big party," said Susan Astbury, who attended the swap to support the ballet company. "I found a darling purse I just love."

The reasons for throwing and attending swaps are as varied as the swap-goers themselves. Free thinkers come as an alternative to supporting big clothing companies. Socialites come to make friends and network. And thrifty women go just to get a deal.

No shopping experience beats the "high" of finding a free piece of fashion gold, these women say.

"I am so much more proud when I get a compliment on clothes I get from a swap," Agasi said.

But with all the fun and seemingly superficial air of a gals night out based around clothes, it's really about the giving spirit. Along with supporting battered women's shelters, the donated clothes also go to Dress for Success, a nonprofit group that provides low-income women with clothes and teaches them etiquette for job interviews.

Heather Paulson, outreach associate for La Casa De Las Madres, says that high quality donated clothes can give women at shelters confidence for job interviews and meetings with apartment Realtors.

A new outfit can help a battered woman feel beautiful and competent, she said.

"Women come here with nothing. It's usually not safe for them to go home and get their things," she said.

When coupled with the light subject of fashion and the female bonding that inevitably follows, the swaps are also a valuable way to get the word out about their cause, Paulson said.

"Domestic violence is an uncomfortable subject," she said. "But these events get people talking."

Just the act of cleaning out your closet in the name of something good can be therapeutic, Agasi pointed out.

"We all have things we buy and never wear," Astbury said.

Swaps don't just help women look good, they help them feel good. The group of smiling ladies exiting that posh club on a recent swap night would tell you the same. As they left the pink lights behind, their hearts were fuller than their hampers.