Clothing Swap Fashion Party for Tweens and Teens

All teenagers really want to do when they get together is hang out and talk about fashion, right? I discovered this whenever my daughter would have friends over. They would disappear into her room and only when they emerged for food, would I glimpse the wreckage of the clothing bomb that had apparently detonated in her room. With that truth in mind, we (the incredibly fashionable Jenifer Sult and I) created this fun teen party idea: A fashion party that was also clothing swap "shop"! The girls enjoyed an afternoon of fun food and refreshed their wardrobes with "new to you" clothes and fashions inspired by their friends.

Here's how it works:

Invitations and printables (tags, food labels, stickers etc.) were created and printed. (You can purchase the customizable Word templates seen in this post from my etsy shop here or make your own.) Be sure to include a note that the gently used clothing is meant to give away. The items that aren't "purchased" could be donated to your local thrift shop.

The Swap: "Fashion Bucks" are used as currency. Each article of clothing donated to the shop was worth one "Fashion Buck", which could be used to purchase another item. We had a few girls shop at a time, while the other girls munched on food and gave advice on what was looking good. Shopping bags with their names on them were prepared in advance so their "purchases" could stay organized.

The Fun: Aside from the swap shop, the girls played some fashion games too. We brought out a dress form and some fabrics (scarves and tissue work too!). The girls teamed up and created new fashions on the form and were awarded honors such as "Most Creative", "Hot Off The Runway" or "Ready To Wear".

The Food: We went for all hand-held foods, preferably in miniature since that's "so much cuter!". Mini sodas and water bottles with coordinating labels, veggies in cups with ranch at the bottom for dipping, miniature tea sandwiches, mini cupcakes and of course a huge jar of candy. It's a party afterall!

The Decor: Our inherent theme was "fashionable use and reuse". We decorated with fabric and paper scraps and focused on a modern and edgy urban look. The swag was made with fabric scraps cut into strips and tied together for length. We painted a thrift store oval frame shiny black and used black cake stands and white food trays. We cut up some old fashion magazines and made risers by covering shipping boxes and a swag of origami balloons for the front of the table too.

This particular party was featured in the August/September 2013 issue of Kiki Magazine (another gem for your fashion-loving girl). Many thanks to Karyn Hlad Miller for her incredibly photography and delicious cake and cupcakes. Also, thank you to Laura from Pallet23 which provided the coolest urban setting for the party (did you see that cool graffiti wall? What an incredible backdrop!).