Eugh, clearing out your wardrobe - it’s the mammoth task no girl wants to be faced with. Not only does it suck on so many emotional levels but it’s also a killer cardio session, and we all know what we’d do to avoid one of those.
But if you could swap, sell and exchange your garb for cash suddenly it seems pretty easy to forget how much you once loved that sweet cashmere sweater. Fickle, SO fickle.
Here’s some of the best ways to make cash from your clothes. Who knew recycling could make us this excited?
Swish your way to a new wardrobe
Swapping clothes is such a thing now in London that there are dedicated parties known as swishing parties (nothing like swinging parties we promise).
Try out Mrs Bear’s Swap Shop at Victoria Park, it’s themed on a WWII ‘make do and mend’ ethos. The idea is you can exchange your unwanted clothing, shoes and accessories for someone else’s unwanted goods. All items are graded for fair swapping, red for high street and blue for designer. Once you’ve traded in your items for your clothing ration book you’re free to swish away.
It’s an easy way to refresh your wardrobe without shopping. Swapping is NOT the same thing you see.
Exchange it
If those pricey Louboutins didn’t quite match up to their expectations then don’t waste any time in getting them price checked for an exchange.
Plenty of one stop shops in London offer cash for designer and high street labels, but you shouldn’t expect to make more than 30% of what the store will sell the item for. That’s still more money than you’d make dusting them off for the odd Instagram upload though eh?
Bang Bang
Strut
The Dresser
High Fashion Society
Car Boot
Dedicate a day to second hand fashion and practise your bartering skills as you do it! Organising a car boot one weekend is a great way to get rid of clothes fast and make space instantly.
Chances are you won’t clear it all but you’re likely to shift the bulk. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure after all.
If you feel like you’ve got another car boot in you then do another one with the same stock but if freeing up closet space is more important, then drop off the rest at your local charity shop on the way home.
Just make sure you’ve saved enough space in your wardrobe to accommodate the stuff you’ll bring back from the hoard of other stalls #temptationwastoostrong
ASOS Marketplace
For all those looking to get their own designs out there, ASOS Marketplace is a virtual market that allows customers to open their very own vintage boutique.
A cross between Ebay and the hottest street style blogs, you’ll need to make the most of your photography skills, oh and enlist a model friend to show off the product for you (ASOS insists your product is modelled on a real life person).
My Secret Dressing Room
This site works both ways. You can hire out those designer dresses, shoes and bags that are gathering dust in your wardrobe for some dollar or you can hire other's people's wardrobes for a brand new look with the cost commitment. The great news is they also enlist My Secret Dress Room stylists to share their very own wardrobes with the rest of the fashionistas out there.
Simply register on the website, book your free photo shoot, and select the dresses and accessories you would like to add to hire out for cash. You will then be invited to meet the team, where you can star in your own private photo shoot showing off the goods, all managed by the MSDR fashion professionals. If preferred, they can also organise a model.
Once the fashion items are loaded onto the website, you can decide the hire price for your items alongside your own brief description of each piece. When an item is chosen from your wardrobe a personal courier service will collect and deliver it directly. There's literally no fuss involved. Just cash! Where do we sign up?!
Music Magpie
Don’t be confused by the name, they deal with fashion too. Decluttering has never been made easier, all you have to do is enter your clothes online to get an instant price for your stuff. If you're happy with their offered price, box up your item and send it off free of charge by post or courier. Select your method of payment and watch that bank balance bloom.
Ebay
You can always go old-school and join the hoard of fashion hungry shoppers looking to buy and sell their unwanted wardrobes.
Simply upload photos of the items you want to sell, set a starting price and let the bidding commence. Make sure to get the tag in there if it’s unworn. Bidders go cray for pristine high street buys at a fraction of the price.
Nobody would want a good piece of Zara tailoring to go to waste now would they?
This article was written by Lareese Craig. Follow her @LareeseCraig
How do you swap clothes for cash? Tweet us @sofeminineUK
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