I Came to Get Down - Shelagh

This marks the third time I've put up a photo of Shelagh looking good. It is a reflection of both my limited socializing and of her consistently awesome fashion. I admire Shelagh's long legs and her willingness to experiment with pieces, themes, etc. If you're wondering how you can start to get fashionably weird and awesome like Shelagh, wonder no more: go to a clothing swap. I first learned about organized and public clothing swaps through Wendy Tremayne, founder of Swap-o-Rama-Rama. I like her model of incorporating sewing stations and screen printing, but you don't need all that stuff to have a great swap.

Here's what you need:
1. A time and place-- I prefer places that are not someone's house as then the swap can be advertised more publicly
2. Enough word-of-mouth and advertising to get a diverse group of people.
3. A pick-up truck or several friends to haul the leftovers to a thrift store. In my experience, there are always leftovers.

Back to Shelagh, who posted this smart advice on the wall of an upcoming swap in Knoxville:

From personal experience: the fastest way to make sure you need to take what you find involves 1. wearing a unitard or just getting close to naked 2. drinking a beer to help dissolve inhibitions about wearing said unitard 3. keeping your eyes on the prize(s) 4. (optional) involve a friend for assistance with stripping down, building up new outfits and getting some advice on new items.

The aforementioned swap is on Sunday, March 4th at the Birdhouse, a community center in Knoxville, from 3 pm until people tucker out. All sizes and genders welcome. Don't bring: underwear, furniture or large things that are not clothing. Do bring: a bag (or 2 or 4) of your clean unwanted clothing, adult beverages if that's your thing (see rule 2 above), and a friend.