Clothes swapping

My friend Judith, seen here celebrating the chance encounter between matching  top and booties, hosted a clothes swap over the weekend. Clothes swapping, beyond the gathering of women sorting through each others' clothes in search of something "new," all the while helping each other decide whether to acquire the garment (nothing is at stake, really, it's a perfect exchange of well loved but no longer wanted goods), gives one a chance to sort, triage, discard, PURGE. I had gone through my entire winter wardrobe before the swap, forced to face my inability to resist the acquisition of second hand clothes, an addiction to the used and abandoned. I went home with more of these lovely frocks, but this time, they each had a story, a non monetary value added that clothes acquired in shops, anonymous, hanging, do not have (yet).

One black, mid calf dress was recognized as having belonged to another friend who had moved away. It became a stand in for this friend, but also a symbol of the whole exchange, as it changed hands (and body) once again.

 Clothes swapping is also a therapeutically supportive moment. The body is exposed to others, but others do not judge it. It is the body that we have, to change according to our individual will, not to the will of the clothes that are not fitting us.

 Friend Julie was noticing, as she was trying clothes on, how the design of clothes is dictatorial and misogynistic. Why does this skirt open up all the way to my upper thigh? Why does this tee-shirt cling around my waist to the point where every bodily roll protrudes? The solution to this quandary lies in layers.

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 Yet, when it came to a pair of Fluevog, high heeled shoes, several women took delightful pleasure in looking at themselves in them: it was noticeable, the leg is elongated, the look, elegant. Yet, the shoes did not find a new owner. Off they go to a consignment shop where, perhaps, somebody with few steps to take in their daily perambulations will acquire them.

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   Happiness is gathering, laughing, and being supportive of each other's body (image, be damned).

Happiness...is a new jacket.

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Part of my new loot: A J.Crew blouse and a chocolate brown cashmere cardigan, worn with an old CP Shades Skirt and Frye boots. Scarf from a local store called Folk that is now closed, after forty years of selling eclectic clothing from all over the world.