One rare sunny day in Jakarta—which was around 2 weeks ago by now—I finally went to another TukarBaju event. It’s been such a long time since the last time I went—which was actually 7 years ago—and when I found out that they were going to hold another one, I decided to go.
If you don’t know, TukarBaju is a community initiated by Zero Waste Indonesia that holds clothing swap meets every now and then. They would often announce their next event a few weeks prior, allowing interested participants to collect the clothes they’d want to swap in time to attend the event.
The last time I went was their last instalment before the pandemic (I believe), but they’ve actually held it a few times in the past 3-4 years. I just haven’t been able to join for whatever reason.
I’m so glad to finally be able to go again, although I think the organisers have since changed, since I don’t recognised any of the committee members.
One rare sunny day in Jakarta—which was around 2 weeks ago by now—I finally went to another TukarBaju event. It’s been such a long time since the last time I went—which was actually 7 years ago—and when I found out that they were going to hold another one, I decided to go.
If you don’t know, TukarBaju is a community initiated by Zero Waste Indonesia that holds clothing swap meets every now and then. They would often announce their next event a few weeks prior, allowing interested participants to collect the clothes they’d want to swap in time to attend the event.
The last time I went was their last instalment before the pandemic (I believe), but they’ve actually held it a few times in the past 3-4 years. I just haven’t been able to join for whatever reason.
I’m so glad to finally be able to go again, although I think the organisers have since changed, since I don’t recognised any of the committee members.
📷 ASUS ZenFone 10 50 MP f/1.9, (23.8 mm lens)
Swap Again, at Last
The swap meet is held at La Moringa this time, which is a Moringa-specialty restaurant located at the heart of Kemang, South Jakarta. The event is actually also equipped with a Moringa Whisking Workshop, but anyone who wants to come just for the swap meet is also welcome. There’s an entrance fee for each option, of course. I picked the latter, because I’m not too interested in moringa to begin with—plus, my walet was already begging for mercy by this point. There were 3 time slots to choose from, and I chose the one at around 1-2PM. Needless to say, the event ran a little late as is the custom in this godforsaken country (lol).
Prior to the event, TukarBaju also provided us with the guidelines that we should follow for the clothing swap. For instance, only certain types of clothes are welcome, and there are criteria that need to be met for the clothes to be eligible for swapping. Once we arrive at the event, committee members will check the clothes we bring to ensure that they pass the benchmark they’ve set. Out of the 4 items I brought, only 2 made it to the swapping pile. These two clothes were then transferred into 2 tokens—which would allow me to swap the same number of clothes. When the time came, we were ushered into the clothing room, where we were free to roam about and choose the kind of clothes we’d want to bring home.
Thrifted shirt + skirt | hand-me-down jacket + ASICS shoes | Merchfirare tote bag | old socks
The swap meet is held at La Moringa this time, which is a Moringa-specialty restaurant located at the heart of Kemang, South Jakarta. The event is actually also equipped with a Moringa Whisking Workshop, but anyone who wants to come just for the swap meet is also welcome. There’s an entrance fee for each option, of course. I picked the latter, because I’m not too interested in moringa to begin with—plus, my walet was already begging for mercy by this point. There were 3 time slots to choose from, and I chose the one at around 1-2PM. Needless to say, the event ran a little late as is the custom in this godforsaken country (lol).
Prior to the event, TukarBaju also provided us with the guidelines that we should follow for the clothing swap. For instance, only certain types of clothes are welcome, and there are criteria that need to be met for the clothes to be eligible for swapping. Once we arrive at the event, committee members will check the clothes we bring to ensure that they pass the benchmark they’ve set. Out of the 4 items I brought, only 2 made it to the swapping pile. These two clothes were then transferred into 2 tokens—which would allow me to swap the same number of clothes. When the time came, we were ushered into the clothing room, where we were free to roam about and choose the kind of clothes we’d want to bring home.
Thrifted shirt + skirt | hand-me-down jacket + ASICS shoes | Merchfirare tote bag | old socks
Being Good on My Own
Now that I’m single and my sister lives out of town, I have to get used to exploring the city—and taking photos—on my own all over again. I swear, I used to be super good at this when I lived in Germany and even during the very dry and dragged-out stint of my long-distance relationship with my first boyfriend. I’ve done it before, so I know I can do it again.
I guess I could’ve asked a friend to join me—which I technically did, but my friend was unable to join me—yet I also believe it’s important to get myself comfortable with doing things on my own again.
Now, mind you, the last time I went to one of these swap meets, I was with my sister and I do believe it makes such a difference. I wonder if these event were made for people to come with friends, because I would say the experience was a little lacking otherwise.
First of all, there was no changing room. We weren’t allowed to try on the outfit at all—which, as I remember it, was also the case last time actually. I had no problem then, because I had my sister to help me measure and give me advice on the clothes I picked.
Now that I’m single and my sister lives out of town, I have to get used to exploring the city—and taking photos—on my own all over again. I swear, I used to be super good at this when I lived in Germany and even during the very dry and dragged-out stint of my long-distance relationship with my first boyfriend. I’ve done it before, so I know I can do it again.
I guess I could’ve asked a friend to join me—which I technically did, but my friend was unable to join me—yet I also believe it’s important to get myself comfortable with doing things on my own again.
Now, mind you, the last time I went to one of these swap meets, I was with my sister and I do believe it makes such a difference. I wonder if these event were made for people to come with friends, because I would say the experience was a little lacking otherwise.
First of all, there was no changing room. We weren’t allowed to try on the outfit at all—which, as I remember it, was also the case last time actually. I had no problem then, because I had my sister to help me measure and give me advice on the clothes I picked.
That being said, now that I came by myself, it wasn’t that easy or practical an experience to do alone. Since there was no changing room, we had to measure on the spot. They were kind enough to lend us a measuring tape, although there was only one going around as I understood it. Plus, it’s not mega practical to measure with measuring tape anyway—much faster having someone else to measure the clothes against your back. But, oh well, it’s a swap meet, after all. What did I expect? An accommodating shopkeeper like in retail stores?
At the end of the day, I came home with these two pieces: a red polkadot top with the cutest peter-pan collar and a navy maxi skirt with little pearls on it. The top turns out to be much too small to fit me 😭 but I’ll show you the skirt in the next post. (Yes, I wasted no time wearing it out and about). This feels kind of funny to me, since I also swapped a top and a skirt to get these. It’s a literal, verbatim swap (lol). Other than that, let me give you a little life update: It’s been feeling pretty good for me lately. I’ve been feeling so happy, despite having no love life to speak of. There’s a new friend in my life and we hit it off straight away, which gave me such joy and pleasure. I love my friendships lately. As a woman in her 30s, having friends I can often rely on who care about my life is such a rare treasure.
If you’re interested in swap meets, go follow TukarBaju
for updates on their next meet!
That being said, now that I came by myself, it wasn’t that easy or practical an experience to do alone. Since there was no changing room, we had to measure on the spot. They were kind enough to lend us a measuring tape, although there was only one going around as I understood it. Plus, it’s not mega practical to measure with measuring tape anyway—much faster having someone else to measure the clothes against your back. But, oh well, it’s a swap meet, after all. What did I expect? An accommodating shopkeeper like in retail stores?
At the end of the day, I came home with these two pieces: a red polkadot top with the cutest peter-pan collar and a navy maxi skirt with little pearls on it. The top turns out to be much too small to fit me 😭 but I’ll show you the skirt in the next post. (Yes, I wasted no time wearing it out and about). This feels kind of funny to me, since I also swapped a top and a skirt to get these. It’s a literal, verbatim swap (lol). Other than that, let me give you a little life update: It’s been feeling pretty good for me lately. I’ve been feeling so happy, despite having no love life to speak of. There’s a new friend in my life and we hit it off straight away, which gave me such joy and pleasure. I love my friendships lately. As a woman in her 30s, having friends I can often rely on who care about my life is such a rare treasure.
If you’re interested in swap meets, go follow TukarBaju
for updates on their next meet!