I can’t bring myself to mention the ‘c’ phrase, which relates to money and the economy. We’re all suffering, even the rich folks are losing equity, shame. We have to find ways to cut the proverbial cloth, and if you don’t fancy partaking in Britain’s favourite thrifty pastime, a clothes swapping party is a fair alternative.

We held our own ‘swap party’ a couple of weeks ago. A few family members, a couple (read half dozen) bottles of cheap plonk, and some knock down party food from the other dirty word (Tesco) plus a few binliners of, ahem, quality garments (open to interpretation) and you’re good to go.

There are a few different styles you can adopt.

The Catwalk Stylee

Clothes are presented and guests try on outfits, the rest of the group can provide feedback and whoever suits the clothes best get to keep them.

The Boot Sale Stylee

Clothes are thrown onto tables in no particular fashion, distribution is a free-for-all, biting and kicking is discouraged.

The Auction Stylee

The owner presents each item in turn, describing its merits. Guests are invited to ‘bid’ on items, this can be done with vouchers or simply presenting a good enough reason why they are deserving of the item.

Ours was a huge success, I bagged a pile of, actually, very good quality clothes for the winter and saved myself perhaps a couple of hundred pounds. A few drinks, a bit of girly chat, all in all a very pleasant eveining of thrifty entertainment.