Clothing swap parties have become popular in recent years as frugal and fashion conscious men and women find that trading clothes is a great way to update a wardrobe for next to nothing. For those of you who are not into attending or organizing these parties, it is possible to trade your gently used clothes from the comfort of your home. Here are five websites that help you achieve this.

Swapstyle

Swapstyle is a fairly old clothing swap site that has a large number of listings. It is open to those in the United States, Australia, and Europe. You have to post a picture of the item you want to swap and can also set a sale price for the item in case someone wants to just buy it. There is a fee to become address verified and there is a fairly rudimentary ratings system. Basically you can give a positive "token" for someone who sent something good and a negative point for someone who did not keep their promise.

Rehash

Rehash is a site where you can exchange clothes and also textbooks. It works like SwapStyle, but it is a little easier to use in my opinion. You can sign up for an account and put in a short description of your item with several pictures. Then you can specify if you would like to trade with everyone or locals only. You can also put up what you are looking for. When you bid on an item you can drag and drop the items you are willing to trade, and then if the bid is accepted you can negotiate with the other "Rehasher" how the swap should be conducted.

Dig N' Swap

Dig N' Swap is another simple site that works like Rehash or SwapStyle. It does not have as large of a selection as the other two sites, but it is free and pretty easy to use. All you have to do is search and bid on the items you want and negotiate a swap. The downside to this site is that it seems to be somewhat neglected so you may not find what you want.

thredUP

thredUP is a brand new site available to those in the United States that has a different approach to the clothing swap. You do not have to upload any pictures or deal with any descriptions. Instead, you simply fill in a few details about the items you want to trade such as brand and color. Then you can order thredUp envelopes and the website's algorithm will match the swaps for you. It is sort of like a clothing lottery, but you can set your clothing preferences in your profile and hope for the best. You can also review the items you received and receive points that you can redeem for more envelopes and other gifts. Right now the cost is $25.00 for 3 prepaid envelopes, but new users will get the first three envelopes for $12.50. I personally think that the price for the envelopes is a bit steep considering that the service is only focusing on shirts right now, but if the selection gets bigger and more valuable pieces of clothing may be swapped then it could be worthwhile. Also, it definitely takes time and patience to find the things you want on the sites that require a photo and description so this site might save you quite a bit of time. Right now the site is still in testing and you can sign up instantly through my invite link. thredUP is currently offering a free envelope for each person you invite.

Closet Infinite

Closet Infinite is a service that is only available in Singapore right now, but the concept is fairly interesting. Basically, people could donate the pieces of clothing they no longer want for a 6 months subscription to the Closet Infinite clothing rental service. The donated clothes or accessory is not returned, but the donor would have access to borrow all of Closet Infinite's inventory of donations. Supposedly the company is working on an international version, but I imagine it is not too hard for someone to set up a similar service in any country.

Generally it is good etiquette to trade items that are in good condition. If you do decide to trade items in person then it is probably safer to do it in a public place, and if you do mail items then you should check if the shipping costs are worthwhile. Sometimes it may be cheaper to just buy something at a thrift or consignment shop. If you do need to clear out your closet and get clothes that are "new to you", then clothing swapping is definitely a budget friendly way to refresh your wardrobe.

Have you ever swapped clothes on these sites or at a physical party? How was your experience?

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