London

It’s 9pm on a muggy Thursday night and while the rest of London has turned its lights out for an hour as part of a campaign to highlight green issues, the party’s in full swing at a suite at Albert Embankment’s swanky Riverbank Park Plaza. The fashionable guests swig cava and nibble French fancies, among them a gaggle of furtive fashion graduates – sunglasses perched stylishly atop their heads – ready to get stuck in.

Lisa has her eye on a pair of nearly-new patent stilettos by Olivia Morris, Fiona is checking out a cute geometric top by Eley Kishimoto. A twentysomething in a ra-ra dress walks in, strips off and tosses the frock on to the pile along with a skinny pink belt and beaten-up T-shirt. ‘Okay, what is there for me?’ she asks rifling through the colourful pile of clothes to unearth a little Marc Jacobs skirt. She slips it over her waist to hang low on her hips. First time lucky – it looks incredible.
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London's first official clothes-exchange shop, Visa Swap, opened its door on June 16

Welcome to the brave, unpredictable and ever so slightly competitive new world of clothes swapping. Just a few days earlier, London’s first official clothes-exchange shop, Visa Swap, opened its doors on smart Brompton Road to an equally enthusiastic crowd which spanned 16-year-old students to chic seventysomethings. Only open for two days, the pop-up store (set up by Visa, in a supposedly irony-free move to encourage debt-free and sustainable shopping) was an experiment. A couple of weeks beforehand, shoppers had been asked to bring in unwanted items. Then they were awarded points – 20 for high-street tops, 100 for coats and 250 for designer handbags – which they could redeem for products when the shop opened its doors in mid-June. Leftovers were donated to charity TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development). ‘I usually shop on the high street and in markets like Camden, but I may not have to do any more shopping all summer!’ squealed Asuka Fujita, a 25-year-old, human-rights student who came away with a haul of brands such as Pied a Terre, Dorothy Perkins, Zara and DKNY. It was a phenomenal success.

Time Out's clothes-swapping party in full swing

Already big in Sydney and New York, the clothes-swapping craze is sweeping London like a well-coutured hurricane. It takes many forms – private parties, MySpace-publicised events and club nights like Favela Chic’s Swap-a-rama Razzmatazz. ‘It’s a great ice-breaker,’ says 22-year-old Deborah Grall, a waitress at Favela Chic. Started in February by four like-minded swapaholics – party-planner Daniele Mazzer Cardoso, DJ Dean Slydell, art director Nick Frew and PR Eloise Markwell-Butler – Swap-a-rama (last seen in Glastonbury) has been one of the most popular and sociable nights the club has witnessed. Washing-lines strung with retro clothes hang across the club and the DJ prompts everyone to grab new outfits. ‘The purpose is simple,’ says Grall. ‘It’s to have fun and lose your inhibitions. People change up to ten times a night – you see straight men in dresses and people wearing all sorts of outfits they wouldn’t usually consider. It’s a great way to meet people!’ The only rule stipulated is that you mustn’t expect to leave with the clothes you arrived in.

If that sounds too bonkers, you can always ask the experts to organise a formal swap party for you. Camilla Yonge, founder of London-based personal-shopping company Y Shop, hosts formal swapping parties for those who don’t want to do the hard work. Yonge will set-up an evening of swapping in the style of a sample sale for up to 30 people where guest are told to bring a maximum of ten items and fill out a form detailing which items they would like to find – which helps make things fair and prevents squabbling. This way no one ends up with Manolo Blahniks across their head…

But the cheapest – and possibly most fun – option is to organise your own party at home. Liz Matthews, a 32-year-old publicist who hosts regular swap-parties among friends, barely goes clothes shopping any more. ‘If I’m going on holiday or need a new outfit for a special occasion, I’ll just throw a clothes-swapping party,’ she explains. Matthews believes that if you invite at least ten people and ask them to bring at least five items (see tips overleaf), you’ll always unearth hidden gems. ‘We all buy things in the wrong size hoping we’ll get thinner or buy something in lemon yellow just because it’s in fashion and then never wear it – so people will generally have things in their wardrobe that will fit someone else,’ she explains. Her recent star find was an amazing pair of Gina boots which she admits she had to ‘prise’ from the hands of a fellow swapper.

Aside from being the perfect excuse to play dressing-up, clothes swapping has a serious side: in these times of fast, disposable consumerism where people can buy a dress in Primark for £3, swapping is more ethical and feels strangely satisfying. And taking your cast-offs to a party and seeing them look marvellous on someone else is surprisingly gratifying.

Back at the Riverbank Plaza, the fizz has been glugged, the cakes scoffed and the swapping completed. A group of satisfied fashionistas leave with new outfits, not a penny spent, and with that most important accessory of all: a huge grin.

Swap-a-rama Razzmatazz is held monthly at Favela Chic, 91-93 Great Eastern St, EC2 (020 7613 4228/www.myspace.com/swaparamarazzmatazz) Old St tube/rail. Read the Time Out review here. Check www.visaswap.com for more events throughout the year. Y Shop (07711 277969/www.y-shop.co.uk).

With thanks to the Riverbank Park Plaza whose ‘Romance Package’ costs £1,000 for two people and includes a private sightseeing plane ride over London with executive car transfer from hotel to airport, two nights’ accommodation, a champagne picnic supper and late checkout. Riverbank Park Plaza, 18 Albert Embankment, SE1 (020 7769 2500/www.parkplaza.com/londonuk_riverbank) Vauxhall tube/rail.

Claire Potter, 19, student
‘I normally shop in American Apparel, Topshop and Harvey Nichols, but this is a fantastic new way to shop without spending any money.’
Visa Swap swag A sweatshirt, two pairs of jeans, two shirts and a vintage dress.

May Jones, 37, journalist
‘It’s such a good idea – kind of like a jumble sale but without paying. I’m glad to see my clothes and bags haven’t just ended up hanging on the rails of some old charity shop.’
Visa Swap swag An armful (let’s say at least 15 items) of clothes.

Tina Harris, 47, lawyer
‘I was thinking there wouldn’t be much for me as I’m not your average shape but, in fact, I’ve found loads – clothes that don’t fit other people. I’ve also picked things up for a couple of friends. I think the concept is brilliant.’
Visa Swap swag A Prada jacket, a Jean Muir suit and some killer heels.