Swap ’til You Drop

Spring is sneaking back into the Lowcountry and with each sunny day we inch a little closer toward that inevitable, annual closet clean-out  — a tradition shared equally by both rich and poor, young and old. So, clean out those closets, bring your gently used, decent name brands clothing and accessories to the Re-Trend Clothing & Accessories Swap at Mellow Mushroom in Avondale from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, 2014 and leave with some new-to-you styles that might have otherwise ended up in landfills.
Re-Trend is a guerilla clothing swap run by a local fashionista set on keeping her closet fresh and unique! The swap began three years ago after a couple of ladies found themselves asking each other: “Where’d you get that dress?” only to discover they shared a passion for buying used and wanted to not only swap with each other but with the entire community.
In March 2011, the first Re-Trend Swap was held, and welcomed more than 80 swappers. Since then, Re-Trend has been held about four times a year at various locations, including local restaurants and bars, the Charleston Green Fair, Charleston County’s Earth Day Festival, and now the upstairs of the Mellow Mushroom in Avondale.
When asked her favorite Re-Trend find, West Of sales manager and Re-Trend founder Lindsey Chambers says, “It was a cotton French Connection dress with pleated full-flair skirt, crisscrossed back with an exposed zipper beaming with bright orange and red flowers.”
Re-Trend welcomes women’s and men’s clothing of all shapes, colors, and sizes, as well as shoes and accessories such as purses, belts, and scarves. All they ask is that the clothing be clean and free of holes or stains. If you arrive with items that are too worn, they can be placed in our “free” bin and cannot be counted as one of your items.
There’s a $1 entry fee to participate in Re-Trend. You take the number of items you bring, UP TO 8. If you want more items than you brought, you may purchase extra items for $3 a piece. Swappers are welcome to stay as long as they like during the three-hour period, waiting for new items to arrive and taking advantage of the food and drink specials Mellow is offering exclusively to the swappers, like $2 cheese slices (The Cheesy Couture), $3 specialty slices (Haute Hawaiian, Vintage Veggie, Retro Chorizo), and $4 house liquor, wine, and craft draft beer.
 
Re-Trend’s next swap will be held Sunday, March 30, 2014, 5-8p.m. at Mellow Mushroom in Avondale, 19 Magnolia Road. For more information, email retrendswap@gmail.com, call  530-0877 or find on Facebook: Re-Trend.