Summer 2024 Swap Meet

Summer Swap Meet & Birthday Eve

Staying Cool in Cotton for the Summer Swap Meet

The last thing I did on my birthday weekend was to attend a summer swap meet with my community. This was the first time that I had attended a swap meeting in the summer time, as the last time one was held when I was out of the country attending the Jane Austen Regency Festival in Bath, UK.

In general at a swap meeting, be prepared for the unexpected but always have your PayPal/Venmo/Cash prepared in advance.  You can wear an EGL outfit to attend, but it's not required.  If you plan on trying things on, make sure whatever you're wearing wasn't too hard to put on to begin with. And if you have any friends or family interested in the fashion, bring them too. The object of the swap is for the vendors to part with pieces or accessories that just don't fit in their current wardrobe and for other people to buy their stuff. If you don't have anything to trade or sell--that's perfectly fine. Swap meets are a great opportunity to learn about available designs and try things on, especially if you're new to EGL or alt fashion. 

At this particular meeting, there were just as many vendors as the January swap, but some of them were selling adjacent J-Fashion, other alt clothes as well as loads of plushies and other kawaii merchandise and accessories. Someone brought some gorgeous gothic style pieces, but unfortunately they were too small for me. (I'm getting pretty good at eye balling if something will look right on my body type). 

For my outfit, I wanted to primarily wear pieces made of cotton while also representing my love for gothic themes and design. I started with my Bodyline Skull JSK, which if you recall, I wore back in late November 2023 at Elizabeth Park.  Instead of going with a black blouse and accents, I went with a white short sleeve cotton blouse. To be honest, I don't think this stand collar works particularly well with the dress because it doesn't quite lay right between the arm straps of the jumper skirt.  It was basically the only short sleeve cotton shirt that I own that doesn't gap terribly at the bust.  

For accessories, I chose a mixture of light colors and black. First, I tied my hair back in a low ponytail and wore a black velvet bow barrette that has a plastic black skull in the middle. For a necklace, I am wearing the Miss Point Demon Hunter Necklace, which is mainly black with a white steampunk looking skeleton on the brooch. Both the barrette and the necklace are repeating the skulls shown on the skirt of the dress. I am wearing lightweight black wrist cuffs that button around the wrist. I added a jeweled black and white striped bow to the top middle of the dress and wore a black velvet bow ring with a white pom pom in the center. Believe it or not I didn't have simple white calf socks at the time, so I wore the Roji Roji Victoria Maid socks in pink. It is such a light pink it almost reads as white in the photographs, but it is not in vain. There is light pink and purple accents in the design on the skirt of the dress as well. I could not believe how comfortable these socks are even if you have wide calves! I wore black patent low heeled tea parties to complete my outfit. Could I have upped the accessory game? Probably, but I wanted to keep it light knowing I might want to try things on later. 

A Number of Birthday Presents

Pahl got me this corset dress at the Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire. The bodice material reminds me of a really nice soft washcloth and I love the antique rose design on it. The necklace that seems to look like it was made for it I purchased at the swap meet. 

If you know Pahl, he's really into Regency fashion. The Sally Gardens elegant OP dress from Chinese indie designer Miss Point is somehow an EGL dress that looks like it should be from the Regency era. It is absolutely stunning. I don't know how I managed to get such a well matched head dress at the swap meet, but I did. It just keeps proving that someone else's pieces that they picked up that don't actually match anything in their wardrobe could very well be just the thing someone else needs to complete an outfit they already own (or were given for their birthday). 

An amazing birthday card that Pahl drew for me. The woman is wearing an EGL outfit that falls between Classic and Sweet styles.

The raspberry frosted lemon and blueberry cake that we shared with my family that I custom ordered from Sweet Poppy's Bakery

We also went to Home, which is one of my favorite local restaurants because of their delicious seasonal menu and their "living room" that mimics the inside of someone's house with casual comfy couches and low tables. I sometimes have trouble eating in traditional dining room settings because I am sensitive to fast paced loud environments. But when I'm in the living room at Home, I feel like I can eat at my own pace and have my own little space in a quieter area. I had ordered hot tea because we were caught in a torrential downpour while trying to get into the restaurant. I only briefly regretted choosing all cotton in that moment, but it dried fairly quickly. 

All the gifts and little activities we did made me feel special and very loved. It was a wonderful birthday weekend and I am excited to wear these pieces soon at upcoming autumn and/or spring events in the coming year!