Gently-used clothing swap is a hit in Seagrove

When times are tough, the tough get creative.

Just ask 16 creative gals along the 30A corridor. These women showed up at Didon Comer's Seagrove Beach home on May 28 with their best old clothes on hangers and ready for new homes. 

"We had stations for the different sizes and as we had wine and snacks, we selected our picks," said Comer of this first-time girls-only event. "Everyone was polite and agreeable and there were no cat fights for a special item."

The group behaved as ladies, she said, and in addition to embracing the concept of recycling, they also learned the rewards of sharing.

"Anything too marvelous for one person alone was put in the newly-created ‘closet' for all to share," she said. "If more than one person wanted a cute little black dress, I said, ‘How many times a year will you wear this?' And the answer was usually maybe three times. So, it went into a sharing closet at my house where it can be borrowed as needed and returned."

This unique clothes swap is the brain child of The Polka Dot Pussycats, Comer's exercise swimming group.

"One day, one of our members came over and had a large sack of almost-new clothes she was taking to the thrift store. We told her to just leave them with us, and she did. We went through the sack and everybody found something they liked. So, we decided we needed to do a clothes swap," said Comer. "People who had lost weight brought their larger sizes and those who had gained brought the smaller sizes they had outgrown. It was a huge success and we all had a lot of fun!"

In addition to clothing, the ladies also brought purses, shoes, jewelry and hats to swap.

Plans are to continue the event twice a year in May and October.