Clothing swaps

It was only last year that I learned about the delightful and money-saving event that is a clothing swap. The premise is simple: you go through your closet and take out all the clothes, shoes, and accessories you never wear any more (or have never worn, period), but that are still in good enough shape that someone else would want to wear them. All of your friends (those who wear similarly-gendered clothing, at least) do the same. Then you get together in someone's living room, preferably with drinks and snacks, and swap! Everyone takes a turn presenting their old clothes to everyone else, and at the end, you all leave with a new wardrobe for free. Give the unwanted items to a convenient thrift store, and you're set!

The great thing about the clothing swap is that it works even--or especially--when people are all different sizes, as long as the disparity isn't too big between one person and everyone else. One obvious reason to give clothes away is that they're too big or too small, so what doesn't fit you might fit your friend a size or two off. So it can also become a satisfying way of saying f*** you to a clothing industry that a) wants you to buy the latest fashions each season, and b) can lead to an obsession with sizing.