According to latest figures by Wrap, the average UK adult owns 118 items of clothing but has not worn 26% of them in the last year. It’s crazy when you think about how much money that is wasted on clothes that more often than not, still have the tag on.
In a bid to extend the life of unworn pieces and reduce environmental costs, Selfridges is hosting a series of pop-up swap shops where shoppers can trade no-longer-worn pieces from their wardrobe for something preloved.
And after making a visit to their Manchester store, I immediately went home to raid my wardrobe for a second time.
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In collaboration with LOANHOOD - a circular fashion community for rental and swapping - a Swap Shop is taking place across Manchester, Birmingham and London throughout the summer, offering a sustainable way to offload clothing you no longer wear, and pick up a new outfit without spending a single penny. Now that is my kind of shopping.
Before the pandemic I was a serial shopper - perhaps verging on addiction - with parcels arriving almost every single day where I’d ordered new clothes from online retailers having been sucked in by deals, discounts and trends.
But when the pandemic hit, I read a book called How To Break Up With Fast Fashion by Lauren Bravo, and went cold-turkey, banning myself from buying any new clothes after realising how damaging it was for the planet, my bank balance and my mental health.
Today, I’m much more conscious about my wardrobe, often hitting up the charity shops, scouting out cool finds on Vinted and in quite partial to a carboot, too. And when I do shop online, I’m a lot more considerate about the items I purchase, and where I purchase them from, supporting more sustainable brands and independents, too.
So when I heard that Selfridges were launching their own swap shop to help promote circular fashion, I was sold and immediately rooting in the box of clothes labelled ‘to carboot’ to see what I could trade in.
The way it works is that each customer can bring up to five items of men’s and women’s clothing worth a resale value of £50-£300 each. A dedicated team will value items in exchange for stamps based on type, brand, and condition, the stamps can be used to select new-to-them pieces from the swap shop.
I took along a blue silk Hobbs London dress, which my lovely nan had sent up in a bag of clothes to take to the charity shop. My nan has always been a fashionable lady, but like me, had hordes of clothes worn only once before being resigned to the wardrobe.
Now I can all hear you berating me for having not taken the dress to the charity shop. Fear not. Any clothes left over at the end of the final swap shop in July all get donated to Oxfam - so it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. Nan’s offloaded her unwanted clothes, I’ve got a new outfit for the next time I take her out for lunch, and Oxfam will have a whopping donation of designer goods come August.
In store, I handed over my Hobbs dress where it was checked over and awarded one stamp. The stamp system works so that anything with a resale value of £50 to £149 is worth one stamp and anything worth £150 to £300 is worth two stamps. You can then use your stamps to purchase items from the rails.
Inside the Exchange Square store, in Manchester, there were four dedicated rails split into sort-of themes, one with dresses, others more vintage, one with knitwear or heavier pieces, and a selection of mens/unisex items.
I was like a magpie towards the dresses, immediately eying up the pieces that would slot effortlessly into my wardrobe. I love anything pink, leopard print or with a bit of drama like frills or organza - and there was plenty to get choosing from.
Each piece has a label with the size and the number of stamps it ‘costs’, making it really easy to look and see what will work for you.
Among the labels were a mix of high end and vintage fashion, with brands like Ganni and Dream Sister Jane among retro Topshop occasionwear and Liberty London.
I had my eye on two or three pieces, but settled on a Dream Sister Jane black and white polka dot mini dress. Unlike shopping on Vinted or Depop, you can feel the quality of the clothes and even try them on in the changing rooms to check they fit before you commit, too.
The changing rooms had an immaculate vibe, with lots of shoppers complementing one another on their preloved picks, offering styling tips and generally making everyone feel incredible.
Despite being an XS on the label (which I am most definitely not), the dress fit beautifully and looked great with the black cowboy boots I was already wearing, so I immediately know how I would be able to style it for everyday, and for more special occasions.
At the till, I went to cash in my stamp in return for the dress, and behind me was a lady who had traded in a new-with-tags bodycon dress, which the person behind her was taking home. When they realised, there was a flurry of excitement at how this dress - left unworn for months until it fell out of favour - found a new home with someone who will wear it to death.
In the hour that I was there, the rails were ever changing as shoppers traded in and swapped items. I love that you could go every single day and see an entirely different rail to choose from.
The swap shop aims to prolong the lifespan of clothing by championing creativity and style over buying new, offering another way to revive and refresh wardrobes while reducing fashion consumption.
The whole experience was a joy, from Marie Kondo-ing my wardrobe, to searching for a new piece to trade it with. It gave such a dopamine hit, that I sat on the train home mentally thumbing through my wardrobe wondering what no longer fits and what would qualify for the Selfridges swap shop - and I’m even planning on heading back up over the weekend to trade some more items, including a velvet Topshop playsuit, three-piece pink satin suit and a pair of Hobbs trousers that no longer fit.
Following a successful event at Manchester’s Trafford Centre, the LOANHOOD pop up is currently at Manchester Exchange Square until June 11. It will move to Birmingham from June 22-25 before ending in London from 10-30 July, although the latter needs to be booked for free online to ensure a steady flow of shoppers throughout the day.
Across Birmingham and Manchester as part of the swap shops, customers can book an appointment with an Upcycler in Residence for bespoke customisations including frills and applique or to make signs of wear and tear points of pride and interest, tickets are £5 per booking and include upcycling of one garment.
In London, customers are invited to ‘Thursday Lates’, an additional series of evening swap shop slots including workshops with the Upcycler in Residence, shopping, drinks and a DJ. Tickets are £10 and go live on 16th June, with all proceeds going to Oxfam, along with any clothes left un-swapped.
This is such a fun and sustainable way to add to your wardrobe without the cost. A Dream Sister Jane dress would usually set me back around £155, so it’s safe to say that I’m feeling smug about my bargain.
As well as the Swap Shop, customers can also rent clothes from Selfridges. A study by VoucherCodes.co.uk compared the price of renting 10 popular wedding guest dress brands, including fashion favourites Reformation, Rixo, and Ganni, for a duration of four days. The study looked at three rental platforms – By Rotation, HURR, and Selfridges Rental - and found Selfridges to be the cheapest, with nine of the ten dresses costing the least on the Selfridges platform.
Anita Naik, Savings Expert at VoucherCodes.co.uk , commented: “Renting a dress from a popular designer brand for any upcoming weddings you have will not only be kinder to the planet, but can also be kinder to your bank balance – a win-win. When it comes to renting the perfect dress for a wedding, it’s important to shop around, and conduct thorough research into all available rental platforms, to ensure you’re getting the best value.”
For more information about the Swap Shop and for complimentary tickets for the London event, click here.
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