Swishing

Have you ever 'swished'?  Well, neither had I until the other night but I tried it and it was fun!  According to the fount of all knowledge, Wikipedia, 'Swishing' refers to swapping an item of clothing, shoes or an accessory with friends or acquaintances.  I'd not heard of it before, but some of the young women at our church, St Peter's in Shipley, decided to hold a 'swishing' party to raise funds for our youth work. (We employ a full-time youth worker and run holiday clubs, community events and regular youth club nights, all paid for by our congregation.)

The idea was that you took along some clothes that 'you would be proud to hand on to someone else' (ie: not your oldest tat!) and something to drink, plus a monetary donation if you wished.  All the clothes were displayed and for the first hour you were free to browse and try things on.  After an hour, the Swish was declared 'open', at which point you could claim the item or items you had set your sights on... provided no-one else had the same idea.  I was very fortunate to gain a lovely easy-fitting cotton twill jacket in a soft sage green (see inset pic), which is as comfortable as a second skin.  From The Earth Collection, it's ethically made too, so I can feel doubly happy.  I managed to offload a pair of rather nice taupe shoes which I'd worn twice and which pinched unbearably (bad shopping error), and a silk chiffon skirt that I wore to my daughter's graduation but that I have quite simply grown too fat for.  (Middle-aged spread!)  It's kind of heart-warming to know your well-loved things have gone to good homes.