Twelve years ago I went with some trepidation to my first Naked Lady Night. I knew only the friend who invited me, had just a few paltry clothing items to contribute, and I was unsure how I fit in with the all female, childless crowd swooning over piles of their discarded clothes. I was also instantly hooked. That night for the price of a few tired shirts I came home with two remarkable vintage overcoats, including one heavy black coat made in England with lovely grosgrain trim that still hangs in my closet and comes out every winter for dress-up occasions.
In the years since, Naked Lady Parties have become the easiest and go-to reason to get anywhere from 4 to 15 gals together to eat, drink and be merry, not to mention shed weary or wrong clothing items in exchange for new-found ones. It's the primary intake source for all the clothes that get into my wardrobe; with multiple social circles concurrently hosting, it's like an ongoing walk-in closet with a harem of personal shoppers at intermittent disposal. And it's a godsend for my kind who cringes at the sensory overload of choices and price tags in a store.
Naked Lady Parties happen in many ways. For kicks I googled it once and found that in some circles they are even big-time fundraisers: attendees pay an entry fee and contribute a specified number of clothing items in exchange for another specified number. There are sometimes rules. My Naked Ladies tend to be clothing stews piled in the middle of a room with a perimeter of eager gals all around it picking at things until there is a keeper in hand. My rules are the same ones I learned on that first night - no insults, no elbows, no greed. The way I see it, even leaving with one awesome and coveted item is a successful score. But I have also attended a Naked Lady that tarried over cocktails for a long while before getting down to business in the living room where clothes were methodically sorted into type: tops, skirts, pants, dresses, intimate, coats, accessories. To proceed, each item was held aloft and anyone with interest tried it on; the general consensus of appreciation awarded the item to its new owner. There is something to be said for the instantaneous honesty of strangers sizing up a garment for size, style and general attractiveness on you. But it's also a bummer of a way to lose something you really wanted.
The jury is still out on whether I would pay to go to a Naked Lady. It's hard to pay for things that you already have access to. As a social event I love the way it circulates and encourages friends to be vigilant and intentional about what comes in and out of our homes. The unclaimed clothes pile is always high, and there is great satisfaction in unloading extraneous things; I favor donating the surplus to a clothes closet in my neighborhood where migrant and farm workers can choose clothes vs. sending to a thrift store for resale.
The folks who are swooning over a $25 admission ticket to raise money for something noble and leave with a few nice new things.....your swoons are valid.
But I'm a purist: one naked lady's trash is another naked lady's treasure.
