Having been warned to "please be nice, and remember we're all friends here," some 200 fashion-conscious women waded into racks of high-end clothing yesterday afternoon — theirs for the taking — at Honolulu's inaugural large-scale "closet swap."

The concept, popular on the Mainland, offers consumers a way to clean their closets of fashionable clutter, recycle their wardrobes, pick up new or gently used designer duds and accessories at virtually no cost, qualify for a few pricey door prizes, and do a good deed — all at the same time.

Yesterday's charity fundraiser in the Manoa Ballroom of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i was sponsored by Fashionista's Market — a sample-sale company that offers designer apparel at 50 percent to 80 percent off. The clothing swap racks featured brands such as Theory, Armani, Escada, Bebe and Laundry, to name a few.

The driving force behind Fashionista's Market are two effervescent sisters — Alyssa Fung and Emi Hart — with a mischievous twinkle in their eyes and who look and sound like a couple of Asian Reese Witherspoons. Clearly, no one at the clothing swap was having more fun than this pair.

"We don't divulge our ages," said Fung, who started the business with her sister two years ago.

"I don't mind — I'm 29," chimed in Hart.

"She's the older of the two of us," Fung said.

"Although everybody thinks she's older than I am," Hart added.

For the price of a ticket — $25 presale, $30 at the door — women of all ages and sizes were invited to bring in their new or ever-so-slightly used clothes for a team of volunteer sorters to go through and select for the racks. Participants received a chit for each garment selected.

Those garments not selected, as well as all ticket proceeds, went to the chosen charity — in this instance the Child & Family Service Domestic Abuse Shelter-Leeward O'ahu. The abuse shelter also got to keep everything left on the racks after the last ticket holder had gone home.

Ann Banglos, shelter manager, said often women enter the shelter with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Until now, their selection choice has been of the T-shirt and jeans variety. There's need for more stylish clothing, for women going on job interviews or for their fashion-conscious teenage daughters, she said.

"They look at our clothes and say, 'This is what year, 1920?' So yes, definitely, I'm happy about today. I brought a truck for all the clothing. But it's not going to be big enough."

SORTING TILL THEY DROP

So many clothes were brought in that sorters practically suffered fashion fatigue. Selected fashions that weren't sorted in time to make the racks were dumped in piles on dining tables.

Throughout the sorting period participants were treated to a bento lunch and a high-end goodies raffle. Then, the clothing racks were rolled into the ballroom. While the noise level in the ballroom had reached the shouting point before the countdown, the room fell all but silent after the go-ahead signal was finally given.

Brian Ching, one of about a dozen event vendors offering everything from free cosmetic samples to gratis massages and makeup sessions, stood on the sidelines and marveled as the stampede headed for the racks at the end of the 10-second countdown at 12:15 p.m. He described Hawai'i's first closet swap as downright civil compared with similar rack raids he's witnessed on the Mainland.

"I've seen people get in fights, pull hair, get real nasty and yell mean things," he said. "But here, it's all very civilized. All you hear of the clicking of the clothes hangers."

Still, Hart admitted a little competitive spirit can be exciting during the swarm.

"I mean, that's part of the reason why people come," she said. "Our motto is 'Fashion worth fighting for.' "

Fung, who brought in six huge bags of clothing herself, refrained from making any rack selections. But she watched the frenzy with a trained eye.

"There goes my pink Arden B. dress," she shouted. "That's like a $200 item. And there goes my purple BCBG dress."

'TREASURE OF TREASURES'

While Cheryl Sandford of Waikiki was delighted with her own fashion finds, she was stunned by what her friend, Sarah Mahoney, had hauled in.

"She ended up with the treasure of treasures — a Louis Vuitton bag, and it probably retails for around a thousand dollars," said Sandford as she and Mahoney headed for the elevators.

"And we got it for free at Fashionista's Closet Swap!" exclaimed Mahoney, who could barely contain her joy.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.