Review: Brickworks Community Clothing Swap

Photo: Ashley Wallis/info.evergreen.ca

The Basics:

$3 gets you entrance to the 2 hour event, and you get a ticket for each item you bring to be redeemed for a new swap item, to a max of 12. Anything extra was $1 per item. 

Pros:

Nice space - the Brickworks is a nice venue in general, and the swap took place in a spacious  room, with lots of light. 

Relaxed vibe - there weren't many people in attendance, which meant that although the clothing selection was on the small side, the energy was very laid back. 

Well organized - clothing was organized by gender, with a third section for children's clothes. Women's clothing was also sorted by item - dresses on one rack, jackets on another, and tops and bottoms each had their own tables. 

Cons:

Difficult to get there. I lucked out with shuttle buses, but the Brickworks is definitely a trek for those of us who don't drive.

No mirrors or change rooms - many swaps don't take place at change room-friendly venues, but it would have been nice if there had been a mirror or two.

Clothing didn't seem to be filtered - I came across a number of items with stains, sweaters with pills, and a few old bras in the mix.

Good for:

Small sizes - the most interesting selection when I arrived was in the 0-2 range.

Basics

Kids clothes

Bad for:

Vintage and other unique eye-catching pieces - the selection may have been more interesting at the beginning of the swap, but by the time I arrived, it was mostly jeans, T-shirts, and casual tops and dresses in solid colours. 

Brought:

5 items

Left with:

6 items. The best find were a pair of near new H&M gladiator heels. I also got a hot pink sweater dress (which I'm on the fence about), a pair of lilac wide-legged 'inspiration' pants that don't quite fit yet,  and white loose-knit v-neck sweater. A lavender T-shirt and ill-fitting striped jersey blouse will be returning to the swap pool. 

Charity element:

leftover clothes were donated, and money raised went to Brickworks community projects

Overall:

This is an annual event, and I will likely check out the next one. As is usually the case with swaps, I think it's probably better if you get there early ( I arrived 45 minutes in to the event, this time). Even though I didn't find much, I can't really complain about spending $4 to get a cute new pair of dressy summer shoes. 

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