I decided to switch up my holiday cocktail party/girly girl hang this season and throw a different kind of party.
Of course, I did not sacrifice the girly girlness (NEVER).
I wanted to host an event that served multiple purposes:
- Foster connection with fabulous women
- Honor my love of thrifting/buying secondhand
- Help me clean out my closet (Things are severely out of hand — you see my thrift hauls! Gotta make way for more. 😏)
- Offer food and drinks aplenty (obvi)
I decided to throw a ~Sip ~Shop ~Swap Brunch — a serial thrifter’s closet clean out.
Over a series of weeks, in preparation for this extravaganza, I went through my drawers and racks and created a massive pile on the floor of my closet.
The pile was full of pieces that I still love, but don’t need to hold onto any longer.
Pieces that I wanted to go to a good home and get more quality use.
In my profession, I wear a lot of dresses to events and sometimes when I see photographs from those events, I feel like a major outfit repeater.
Several of my friends feel the same way, so I thought, why not bring all our outfits together and swap? We each get to leave with new (old) things.
Or, we might find something we’d like to gift to a loved one over the holidays (gifting secondhand is cool, let’s make it a thing!!).
The whole idea was to offer a fun way to shop for free and sustainably while also hanging out with my favorite people.
In preparation for the party, I activated my network to source portable clothing racks, extra tables, and hangers. The girlies came through.
I picked up bags of clothes from friends in advance, and two sweet ladies helped me set up the whole first floor of my house like a boutique.
The party had This is My Hobby vibes from top to bottom: The disposable wine glasses, wine charms, silverware caddy, serving platters, decorative fall napkins, party garland, and accessory display trays were all sourced from Goodwill.
I found a small storage piece in the service entrance of my friend’s condo building that was being thrown out; it displayed shoes, hats, belts, bags, and scarves perfectly.
The event came together better than I could have dreamed. I loved watching my friends connect — many meeting for the first time — and fill shopping bags with gorgeous finds.
*I’ll share an event recap reel on my instagram later this week!*
This was the best kick-off to the holiday season. I’m thinking I should make this an annual thing.
Last week’s thrifted ‘fits round-up:
*Bonus:* This sweet girlie shared pics of her party haul — how gorge?!
This is my hobby. 