Autumn is here and with it comes a brand new set of sparkly new fashion trends. If, like me you have already taken a peak at some of this season’s statement collections, you may have been left with a serious case of closet envy.
Last week I stumbled upon the path to guilt free shopping, so before you swap your love of Prada for Primark, check out the easy way to get your hands on this season’s most coveted items for free.
Meet Emily Chesher AKA The Swap Queen.
1) What was the inspiration behind Swapstyle?
I was a fashion design student, and I couldn’t afford the fashion items that I loved while I was on a student budget, and auction sites where still too expensive for me, so I started to chat with women from around the world in fashion forums, and would send them images of my swap items and see if they had anything they would be willing to swap in return. That’s when I decided I needed to make this accessible to the world as it was such a brilliant way to save money.
2) ) How does it all work?
You simply sign up to be a Swapstyle member, and then you create your profile page where you tell other swappers a bit about yourself. Then for the fun part where you take pictures of your swap items and upload them to the site with a description of the size brand and fabric etc. Then you are free to browse the site and send or receive swap requests.
3) How much does it cost to become a member?
Absolutely nothing, membership is free.
4) Which of your favorite fashion brands can be
found on Swapstyle?
There are so many to choose from but I love trawling the site for vintage items.
5) Who was Swapstyle created for?
Women from every corner of the globe!
6) What is your favorite thing about swapping VS shopping?
Swapping not only saves money, it also helps us to reduce the amount of waste that is created by the fashion industry.
7) What is your biggest achievement to date?
Creating and running the site with my fiancé Josh. It has been an absolute pleasure developing swapstyle.com together as we both have the same strong belief in collaborative consumption. We both love to forge new ground to inspire others to do the same.
8 Swap shops are popping up all over the web. What
makes Swapstyle stand out?
Swapstyle is the biggest and was the first clothing swap site, we are so proud to have forged the way for online swapping, and we love that it has become such a huge buzz! When we started 8 years ago, swapping wasn’t popular at all, we really
had to do all of the hard work to bring it to the mainstream and give the collective consciousness a nudge!
I remember telling people that swapping would be huge in a few years and they would laugh! Now with the financial downturn and the focus on the environment a lot of online swap sites have popped up to cash in on the green dollar, we don’t mind as in the long run its creating a whole new approach to consumption and reducing waste, so bring it on!
9) What one piece of advice would you give to
budding entrepreneurs?
Hold fast to your dreams even if others think you’re crazy. If I had a dollar for every time someone laughed at me when I first explained the concept for Swapstyle I’d be sitting on a mountain of cash. It took vision and a thick skin to create something that I knew would take people at least a good 2 – 3 years to fully
grasp.
Don’t be sacred to forge new ground, we did with swapping and now it’s the buzz word on everyone’s lips and business grads are trying to work out how they can jump on the ride. Sure that’s fine, but the real winners forge the new ground and stir things up a bit. Be a creator not an imitator.
Technology moves so fast, if you want to make a real impact you need to think to the future, imagine what people will want and need in 10 years time and start working on it now, then educate the market on why they will want it, pave the way, even if you look mad, who cares, anything else is mediocre and safe, when it comes to business follow your passion, be ethical and be fearless.
10) What does the future hold for Swapstyle?
We have huge plans that we are so excited about, but if I told you id have to kill you, and I like your blog to much!
