My Swish Afternoon

Today I went "swishing". Before last Friday, I had never even heard of swishing, and now I think I'm addicted! My bestie Fran posted an interview with the founders of My Swish on her blog, and after reading about the idea I knew I had to go!  

Fran's interview was timed perfectly, as it coincided with the My Swish event planned for today at Hotel du Vin in Brighton; giving me two days to sort through my wardrobe and decide which pieces didn't get worn as often as they deserved, and would be better off being loved and worn by someone else.


"Swishing" is essentially a clothes-swapping party. You bring along your unwanted clothes and get given a number of "points" for each one, dependant on their fanciness on a scale from Primarni to Armani. Other people bring their unloved clothes, and the team hang them up on clothes rails whilst the "swishettes" eat complimentary cupcakes. Then you run around and grab anything beautiful you can find, and pay for the clothes with your points. Simples. 


My Swish turned out to be everything I expected it to be (and my expectations were pretty high!); a whirlwind of emotions*, an icing-covered indulgence and (most importantly) an utterly brilliant afternoon. 


I went on my own, and got chatting to lots of lovely women during the event. The en-mass changing room was full of ooh-ing and aah-ing over the pieces other women had managed to grab hold of, and look fabulous in, whilst the women waiting outside squealed with delight at anything rejected from the changing room, as it meant they could try it on themselves. 


The whole atmosphere was inviting, indulgent, and charged with excitement. I know very few women who don't like shopping, afternoon tea, or spending time in beautiful hotels, and the combination of all three was heaven. The complimentary afternoon teas were provided by Roses All Over - a vintage china hire and event styling service who added gorgeous and welcoming touches to the beautiful venue, including stacks of vintage Enid Blyton books and antique soft toys.  

Some of the beautiful china available to hire from Roses All Over. *swoon*

I felt strangely proud of how much everyone liked the clothes I had donated- my "Bumble Bee dress" was hung in pride of place for some of the photographs taken for the Daily Express, and I felt an oddly compelling need to tell people that the clothing they'd picked up used to be mine. 


Even though I missed out on a few beautiful pieces I would have loved to bring home, I still managed to find some gorgeous tops and jumpers, including a jumper that is quite possibly the awesomest knitwear I've ever laid eyes on:

My new Owl Jumper. Oh hell yes. 

The owls are also sparkly. SPARKLY.

Hootiful and adorabowl

The icing on the (complimentary) cupcake was that My Swish held the event in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust- a charity very worthy of support indeed. 


A wonderful day, some great new clothes, and all for charity too- I for one will certainly be keeping a beady eye on the My Swish twitter feed for news of the next one! 


*I'm going to be honest here- it's not likely you'll be able to grab all of the things you've been lusting over, so prepare yourself to lose out on a few pieces. But rummaging for other equally lovely things is all part of the fun!