Monday 25 February 2013

Swap Till You Drop

I'm still seething about Mud Jeans and their verging-on-ripoff denim rental scheme (that last nearly got autocorrected to scam. Whoops.) So it's interesting to read about another new venture that seems to be much more sharply in tune with the eco-aesthetic.
RockMyClothes is a startup that's designed to free your wardrobe, by opening it up to a new audience of interested fashionistas. In essence, it's an online version of the M&S shwopping idea, or Patagonia's eBay shops. Only here, there are no restrictions on brand. It's an upscale internet swap meet, where rather than putting your stuff up for sale, you simply offer it in exchange for an item you've fallen in love with on the site. There are items to buy if nothing rocks your boat in the shopping areas, and money-off vouchers for your favourite online retailers. The site is also looking to host swapping parties. Clothes-swapping parties, you dirty-minded bunch.
It sounds like fun, but at the moment there's a fundamental problem at the heart of RockMyClothes: there doesn't seem to be anything on the site to buy or swap. There's quite an entertaining blog, and some of the discount vouchers look useful, but I can't see anything in the shopping or swapping areas at all. I'd imagine this should change as the community grows - after all, it only launched last week.
I'm going to be charitable. There's a neat idea at the heart of this venture, and early glitches are to be expected. If nothing else, RockMyClothes is a bold experiment that deserves to succeed, and it's one that I'll be following and reporting back on for you. Let's wait and see what happens when they get some clothes on those virtual racks...
RockMyClothes

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