My Swish in Brighton

It may have taken me a 4 hour round trip to attend this swish plus 30 minutes (and an arm and a leg to park) but was it worth it?... Yes it was! After checking in my 15 mainly high street items, I relaxed with a nice cup of tea in a vintage china teacup and a decadent handmade cupcake and allowed the electric atmosphere of the event to wash over me. As I wandered around with my camera before the swish opened I spotted the following gems: A brand new with tags Jaeger dress worth £250, an LK Bennett stunning red dress with the tags on, hunter wellies which were the subject of much excitement and a Mulberry bag. Obviously to play fair I couldn't rummage before anyone else but these bits were the subject of much flaunting for the national press- and rightly so!

When the swish opened, as it customary at these events, chaos ensued. Women clamoured for the rails and crammed their feet into idolised shoes a la Cinderella! I managed to nab the coveted Mulberry bag much to the disappointment of many other swishettes but the Jaeger and LK Bennett dresses evaded my grasp!

Hands were flying everywhere and clothes were being hauled of the rails in sheer triumph as ladies managed to find a treasure! There were shrieks of delight all round as every swisher bagged themselves a lovely new wardrobe in exchange for items that had been languishing unloved in their own closets, ready to be loved by someone else!

In addition to the gorgeous tan leather Mulberry bag, I found a stunning All Saints sequinned top and a brand new with tags Jasper Conran designer dress! I'd also found several more lovely items including some Calvin Klein jeans, a brand new debut dress, a Fiorelli bag and a lovely summery Monsoon dress but alas my 160 points didn't stretch far enough so my shortlist had to be culled! They did however, stretch just far enough to add a pair of Cath Kidson pumps to my loot! Bargain!

The bonus about events run with a points system as opposed to 1 in 1 out, is that they are fair and encourage better quality garments to be traded in. The better the items you bring, and the more of them you bring, the better the clobber you can check out with. After attending upwards of 50 swishes since they began, this is definitely the best system in my opinion. In addition, swishes run like this allow you to trade up your wardrobe. For example, I took 14 high street items and 1 designer item and got 4 designer items in exchange. A fair swap in my book! Likewise you may have been given the aforementioned Jaeger dress as a (generous) gift yet not have had anywhere to wear it. In exchange you may be delighted with 5 high street items that you'll wear forever! As the swishettes checked out, there was an excited buzz as everyone gossiped about their gorgeous new garments and when and where they were going to get their first showing!

Huge thanks to all at My Swish for a fabulous event. I'm already looking forward to the next one!