KEY POINTS:
If you want to know what your friends are really like, hold a clothing swap. You'll find that the greedy friend comes with a pile of stained T-shirts and leaves with your best designer frock.
The unpopular colleague will prove he's not all that bad by being
completely reasonable about what he trades. The argumentative pal will drive a hard bargain, holding a glass of wine in one hand, while she holds out for the best possible trade.
And the sweet girl will have all her nicest garments dragged out of her unprotesting grip by the manipulative friend of a friend you never really liked that much.
In fact, you should probably have Cyndi Lauper singing about how people's true colours come shining through in the background.
Of course, uncovering your friends' and neighbours' true natures is not the only reason to hold a clothing swap. Or a bitch'n'swap, as one seasoned swap organiser calls it.
There are plenty of other, perhaps far worthier motives. The best one of all is the fact that, on the whole, clothing swaps are an easy way to make your wardrobe more environmentally friendly.
Rather than buying brand-new or getting a quick, but potentially eco-unfriendly, fast fashion fix, you find yourself some new clothes via your tasteful and stylish friends.
You also get rid of some of those nice but never-worn items from the back of your cupboards and, hopefully, trade them for something you will actually wear.
Another good reason for holding a clothing swap is that, far from being some dowdy hippie get-together, fashion swap meets are rapidly becoming rather trendy ways to socialise.
You'll make new friends, bond over your favourite labels and leave wearing each other's shoes.
It's already something of a phenomenon in Britain and the United States. British fashion columnist Jess Cartner-Morley wrote, "it brings together ethical shopping with bargain hunting, and fast fashion with vintage clothing, with a dash of MySpace-generation online networking added to whip up the waves a little more".
Welcome to this year's hottest fashion trend: swapping instead of shopping.
And it's going mainstream, as demonstrated by a collaboration between Visa credit cards and British clothing charity, Traid.
They organised a central London swap meet, enlisting the aid of celebrity swappers like Kylie Minogue, Naomi Campbell and Mischa Barton, who donated clothes alongside fashion designers such as Alice Temperley and Giles Deacon.
Also based in England is the popular website, whatsmineisyours. With more than 20,000 members worldwide it's meant for online swapping, rather than shopping, and was set up British fashion stylist Judy Berger. In Britain, swapping has become so fabulous that some swappers have re-named it "swishing".
More of the same is happening in some of the hippest clubs, bars and pubs in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Kid you not, it turns out the several female DJs are using their night-time venues to host day time swap meets - complete with drinks and dancing, in some cases.
But of course, you wouldn't just do it because it's environmentally friendly and trendy, would you? As various swappers have commented, you're likely to find something different from what is so easily available down at the local mall.
Plus a swap can assign a fairly high retail value to something that's handmade - the scarf you knitted or blouse you sewed - which it wouldn't necessarily get if you tried to sell it online or in a secondhand store.
And finally, it's a more personal way to look fashionable. As another satisfied swapper says, "part of the fun is seeing clothes you've loved go to a good home. I went to a swap and found a great bag. But the nicest thing was seeing someone else grab some gorgeous shoes I'd loved but never worn - you know, bought in a sale, slightly too small. It was great seeing them go to a good new home."
So there you go. Environmentally friendly, creative, different, cool, enjoyable, sociable - and there's even celebrity endorsement. What more could a potential swapper ask for?
Rules of engagement
Invite as many people as you think the venue can stand. Friends of friends may bring treasures you never thought you'd be swapping for.
Ask would-be attendees to bring a bottle or maybe some snacks. It's a social occasion as well as a swapping expedition. And if your main motivation is environmental, you could always politely request that invitees bring organic food and wine.
Consider working out a grading system of some sort as this can help to avoid potential arguments about the value of certain garments.
A grading system can be as simple as asking the attendees to separate their chain store purchases from their garage-sale-standard, stained T-shirts from their more expensive designer outfits. Have a separate area for each category: anything worth more than $100, in the left corner, for instance.
Or it can be as easy as specifying what sorts of garments attendees should bring. Is this a designer label-only swap or a chain store swap?
At the other end, a more complex grading system could involve working out what each garment is worth then handing out tokens - you could use Monopoly money or pieces of paper, anything that the swappers can use to buy other garments.
In the Visa swap in London, people dropped off their clothes and in return were given a Visa card loaded with credits according to what their swaps were worth. But obviously you need a judge who knows a little about what certain labels are worth.
Alternatively, you can just let everyone come to their own arrangements. For instance, if you want her grey dress and she wants your blue shirt, you're sorted. If she doesn't want anything of yours, you both may need to bring in another swapper.
Don't rule out the cold, hard cash option, either. If swappers can't come to an agreement but they still want to trade, then money should be considered.
Have plenty of space to display everything.
If you're doing all this at someone's home, it's a nice idea to have a couple of areas where people can try on their would-be swaps. But a lot of overseas swaps don't provide changing rooms - people measure clothes simply by holding them up against themselves or trying them on over other things and leave virtually draped in fabrics.
Don't feel intimidated because one woman's must-not is another's must-have.
Bring a mixture of items: one expensive designer dress, some mid-price chain store garments and a few older things means you have all your potential swaps covered.
Some swap organisers have found people try to renege on the deal so some have rules that say once an item is offered for swapping, it must remain available.
Let all attendees know the start time: if they're not there within half an hour with their bag of swaps in hand, then they might miss out on the best deals.
Tell swappers that if they don't want their leftovers donated to charity afterwards, they should reclaim their clothes before they leave.
Some of the larger swap meets also have sewing machines, stylists and crafty types on site. For example, if something looks dated you can engage in a quick spot of customisation. Even if you're not going that far, it's worth thinking creatively about your potential swaps - if something looks a little dated, imagine it with new buttons, a higher hemline or after a good old, punk rock, hack and slash.
