The Sip and Swappers before the shopping frenzy. (Photo: Elayne Klasson)
Probably because I am still attempting to be a nonshopper, I jumped when Lee Kantor sent me an invitation to her highly anticipated "Sip and Swap" event that she has held for the past 30 years, beginning when she lived in Los Angeles. She tells her loyal following of repeat attendees to leave both wallets and checkbooks at home, as all items will be swapped, not purchased.
Here’s how it works.
Lee invites people who she thinks would like to clean out their closets. She then sets up empty racks in her home. (This year Lee has a brand-new puppy, so we assembled at the beautiful Buellton home of her good friend, Kathy Mann).
Twenty-five of us arrive recently, all lugging arm-loads of dresses, shoes, purses, jeans, skirts, blouses and knick-knacks. The adage applied that someone else’s trash becomes another person’s treasure.
With military precision, Lee and her army of helpers took each arriving person’s stuff and arranged the items into artful displays. In no time at all, the house looked like a well-stocked department store. There were racks of dresses of every size and color, coats and outerwear, lovely skirts and blouses, neat stacks of jeans, purses, scarves and shoes.
Quickly walking through the displays, I couldn’t help but notice designer labels on many items. This was not some ordinary garage sale. Some mighty good stuff was being unloaded. But before I could get too excited and be reinfected with my previously described shopping bug, Lee rang a bell and firmly announced, “OK ladies, no shopping yet. Clear the area.”
It was not yet time to shop or swap. First came the “sipping” portion of the afternoon.
In Kathy’s kitchen, there were delicious nibbles: quiches and cheeses and dips and smoked salmon. This was accompanied by red, white and bubbly wines. Lee said we had one-hour to snack and socialize. She herded us into the kitchen, making sure there could be no cheating by getting to the goods early.
What could we do? So we sipped!
The combination of 25 women being barricaded in the kitchen and then being given great quantities of wine, ensured anticipation. I felt like I was in the "Bachelor" house for women of a certain age. Instead of waiting for our date with the Bachelor, we were waiting for our date with the free goods.
Lee Kantor is a petite blond woman, but not to be messed with. She didn’t ring the shopping bell and release us until the designated moment. And then, well, it was like the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
When Lee opened that kitchen door, you didn’t want to get in the way of these shopping-deprived women who’d had a few glasses of wine.
And shop we did.
Dressing rooms were provided, but women simply grabbed for the good stuff and deposited their finds in a pile under a paper labeled with their name on it (which Lee had thoughtfully provided). After the designated time for shopping elapsed, Lee rang her bell again. And that’s when things got interesting.
It was time for Show and Tell. It turns out you aren’t allowed to keep your selections without modeling them to the group. If someone else challenges your discovery, they also got to model it. Then, the original owner made the decision: Who wore it better? This was better natured than it sounds.
The group freely gave their opinions, but there was a lot of generosity and trading back and forth. I lost a lovely beige cashmere sweater, but was allowed to keep a luscious velvet scarf.
“It looks so pretty with your hair,” said the group.
One was Glitter, a 70-year-old former stripper from Los Angeles. True to her name, Glitter went for anything that sparkled.
At the end of the event, hard-working Lee gathered all the items not carted off by her guests and gave them to local charities. She donated over 14 cartons of goods to People Helping People and almost as much to the Santa Ynez Valley Hospital Auxiliary, Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society and to the Music Academy of the West.
What a day. I shopped until I dropped, didn’t spend a dime, cleaned my closet, and was able to do some good as well. Sign me up for next year!