Whether they came for the delicious baked goods by the girls of Ryburn 102 and BakedBy2Kates (excuse my shameless self-promotion), the bumpin’ playlist put together by the lovely & hip Kiana, or the beautiful dresses available for swapping, the women (and few brave men) of Davidson definitely showed up last Tuesday for the hugely successful launch party and dress swap. The 900 Room was decked out with balloons and streamers while a rotating slideshow of images from the HerCampus Davidson page played against the back wall. With the doors of the room left open, the rest of the Union could not avoid hearing the songs of Icona Pop, Kelis, and Amy Winehouse, or the chatter of a bunch of girls as they discussed dresses, sweets, and the newest publication on campus.
The party was the brainchild of Jessie Li and Kiana Barry, who creatively introduced Her Campus to the student body here at Davidson with a dress swap. Most people didn’t know what a dress swap was before the party, but it ended up being a huge hit. For those of you who are still dress swap virgins, here’s how it works: it’s basically like borrowing a dress from your friend’s closet, but your group of friends is way bigger and the selection of dresses is way more diverse. You bring a dress or multiple dresses from your own closet that you’d be willing to share with another student. All of the dresses are put on a rack, each with the contact information for the dress owner, the due date, and any special washing instructions, and any of the party-goers can “check out” a dress. It’s a really cool way to find something new to wear for upcoming formals without having to spend any money, or to try something different that you may not usually pick out for yourself. About 10 minutes into the party, I overheard someone asking if there could be another swap next week. Based on that comment, I’d say it was a success.
The dress-swapping was accompanied by an array of baked goods to keep everyone’s energy up. The girls of Ryburn 102–Norma Barksdale, Jennifer Kades, and Eleanor Christopher– and BakedBy2Kates–Catherine O’Donnell and myself– provided a delicious menu of mid-morning treats. The spread included a chocolate peanut butter pie, raspberry dark-chocolate pie bars, apple-caramel tarts, and turkey Gouda biscuits, and there were only crumbs left by the end of the hour. The event also featured a raffle for a to-go box of raspberry dark-chocolate pie bars, which the lucky Charlotte Marx-Arpadi won.
Many people were initially drawn in by the food and music, but ended up staying to look through the dresses and check one or two out. Even more importantly, the party attracted a good amount of potential writers for HerCampus Davidson and got the site on even more people’s radars. It was loud, fun, and the perfect way for HerCampus to make a entrance onto the Davidson scene.