On Monday night I enjoyed a whole new kind of clothes shopping at The Clothing Exchange event in Melbourne’s Fed Square. Perfectly fitting into Buy Nothing New Month, The Clothing Exchange is an opportunity to exchange once-loved items in your wardrobe for ‘buttons’ which are then used as currency to ‘buy’ from fellow-attendees’ collective array of clothing.

Participants holding their pre-loved goods, ready for inspection by The Clothing Exchange invigilators. No trakkies or clothes which have ‘had it’ make their way to the coveted swap-shop event. I myself swapped a grey Country Road dress I had loved but worn one too many times, a fun tangerine ‘clubby’ dress from Dotti and a black lace top from Sportsgirl.

Lara McPherson from The Clothing exchange talks some basic rules of swapping such as keeping your elbows in and extending courtesy to fellow-swappers! It can be competitive amongst eco-conscious Melbourne fashionistas, you know.

With my haul of goodies from the swapper’s event – a skirt from Obus and a Minty Meets Munt black and white polka-dot top. An excellent re-invigoration of fashion and a terrific way to update your wardrobe without spending lots of money or increasing landfill. Winning! For further details on upcoming events by The Clothing Exchange, click here.