The Art of Swishing - For women who love to swap

The latest trend from the UK hits the USA.
Want a new outfit but loath to splash out when every penny counts? A swishing party is a swap shop for the smart set.
"Everyone's swapping now, darling - it's so....... fashionable".

Swishing is a growing trend, where a gaggle of fashion-loving women get together, feast on nibbles, guzzle wine and swap their clothes.
Eco-fabulous recycling at its best.

It says on the invitation that everyone must bring at least one clean, good quality item of clothing to donate to the rails, but people can leave with as many items as they wish. Is this fair if someone brings just one item but sashays away with a handful of designer clothes?
Worn again

The dictionary defines swishing as "to rustle, as silk" but Lucy Shea, strategy director of green PR firm Futerra, has applied the term to clothes swapping parties - similar in concept to Tupperware parties of yore.

RULES OF THE RAIL

Bring at least one item of clothing
No claiming items before the swish opens
No fighting over clothes
Women have swapped clothes for eons, and the success of eBay shows that women will happily bid for someone else's cast-offs.
But that costs, and swishing is free.

After an hour of browsing - "of course I don't mind if you try this on," says more than one woman through gritted teeth - it's time to swish. Everyone steps away from the rails as the host repeats the rules: "Remember ladies: no scratching, no spitting, no biting. Three, two, one - SWISH."

Everyone surges forward, a steely glint in many an eye. Several people make a grab for the same item; another two swap high-fives as they clutch their chosen items; and one woman looks devastated as another snatches an item from within her grasp.

But mostly the party-goers bond as they haggle over clothes.

Reduce, reuse
Why not recycle - it's like passing good energy on. Not only are you saving the planet but you get a new wardrobe.

900,000 tonnes of shoes and clothing are thrown away every year in the UK. A clothes swapping party - whether an official swishing event or a DIY affair - can go some way to reducing this total.

Although women love to shop, many feel guilty about splashing out on new clothes.

Swishing parties are particularly significant in the current economic climate - why spend $100’s on a new outfit when you can come to a swishing party and get one for free? And, the best thing is you can have some glasses of wine, nibbles and make new friends who like you love fashion.

Swishing parties have been held in New York as well as London, and the Americans are more ruthless than the mild-mannered Brits.

While some leave the party having hit the fashion jackpot, others come away empty-handed - much like a trawl around the High Street, but with the advantage of no cash outlay.

If you are interested in coming to the first swishing party in Indianapolis to update your wardrobe both in an economic and eco-friendly way for this Autumn, the call Tina Jesson on 317 564 4619

Life before the banking system – the art of bartering

Businesses are deciding to trade with each other in a totally new and inventive way - by trading skills and services. Stage left the act of bartering, last seen before coinage and the banking system was even invented. Contra deals and the new practise of swishing is how many small businesses, solo-preneurs and individuals are surviving in a weak economy where the $dollar is illusive.

There have been reports of Website developers are trading website development in exchange of the services of their clients, such as singing lessons or access to a client database; hair dressers swopping a expensive hair treatments for advertising and groups of women trading nearly new outfits with each other.

Shows and events are starting to use conta deals to fill last minute booths, as they find it harder to fill the space by conventional means. A contra deal is based on the whole idea of swapping out one ‘this’ that the other wants needs and values.

Barter Groups are springing up everywhere as companies club together and place a value on time, product and service, to establish a common valuation system which can be traded across the group rather than just one on one so that if they don’t find a direct match for what they want in return, it can be facilitated through the group as a whole.

Using a barter or swapping strategy means that businesses can continue to develop and grow and stay in the running where they might have otherwise fallen along the way side, ceased trading or been prevented from evolving to meet the new economy.

The great thing about the small solo-prereneurial business is the ability to modify the way the business works to accommodate this model in the act of the survival. “Life will find a way" as Jeff Goldblum's character knew too well in Jurassic Park. Business will find a way of sustaining a livelihood.

Give bartering and contra deals, a go. You'll keep busy, get you more growth opportunities AND build some very strong business relationships along the way. The stronger your bond with your potential clients and advocates, the more business you will win. The business with the strongest relationships will take it all.

Tina Jesson - The Visibility Creator
www.tinajesson.com and www.whatthemediawants.com

"Tina Jesson is the ONLY British female speaker, writer & trainer who helps solo-preneurial businesses to equip them to achieve maximum 'million dollar visibility', in the fastest and most cost efficient way possible, to achieve ‘client magnet’ status & create more wealth. Don't be the best kept secret - get The Visibility Creator."

Author of 'How to Play the Property Game' and 'The Solo-preneurial Marketeer'
Founder of www.homestagerstoday.com & www.homestagers.co.uk
Tina Jesson Enterprises LLC