Trunk Club Box #3 Reveal

Box #3 is here and it was full of lots of goodies! I had requested in my last trunk white tops for layering and fun flats. This was a follow up trunk because I needed bigger size shoes, and my stylist was also waiting on a vest to come into inventory to send me. She added some other items in as well to round out the box. Lots of items are available at Nordstrom, which has free shipping and returns. I included links to those items, so shop away if you see something you also love!

Let's start with the vest, layering tee and pink shoes!

Trouve Layering Tee - $49 - Keep! At first I picked this up and was like whoa, this feels like a stocking. Then I put it on and was like this is the comfiest thing ever to layer.
Pleione cotton Twill Military Vest $88 - Keep! Love this color and that it's not the typical army green everyone else will be wearing.
Sam Edelman 'Reyanne' shoes $109.95 - Return. I do like these, but I only have room for so many shoes in my budget and closet and I picked another pair from the trunk.

NYDJ Fairisle Car Coat $198.00 - Returned. This was very nice and thick. It was way too big on my arms though. Would have been a nice option to wear to/from school pick ups instead of a bulky jacket.

Treasure&Bond Long Sleeve Rib Tee $49. Returned. I hate ribbing I've decided.

Steve Madden 'Fausto' flat in Navy $79.94 - Keep. Loved these! My wardrobe is tons of navy, white and gray so these will work out perfectly and get a lot of use! I love that I can easily slip on and off, and these scream fall without being a boot, because I have to remove my shoes for daycare when I go into the infant room.



Pleione Black Openwork detail short sleeve blouse $49.00 - Keep. I liked how I could dress up jeans with this top. Lightweight and easily layered.
Madewell 'Ryder' long cardigan $98.00 - returned. I loved this, it was so soft, loved the length, but I have something very similar in my closet. I do like this better than what I have but I can't justify the purchase.

Two by Vince Camuto Space Dye Cowl Neck Tunic $69.00 (on sale for $35.40!)- Keep. This is one of those items I saw in my trunk and was like ummm ok I'll give it a try. Alone, it looks just ok. But then I layered, and layered, and layered and it can go under like 50% of my items so it's a keeper.

Ok I'm calling this section things I hated:

Chelsea28 Pleated Hem Sweater $89.00 - Returned. Too big on the sides for me. The back was open and split and showed just the lace detail and I don't like that look at all.
Splendid Lightweight Chest Pocket Shirt $88.00 - Returned. This was thin and the pockets on my chest I wasn't a fan of. Don't need more attention there. I did like the length of it.
Free People 'Love" split back sweater - $68.00. This was ribbed. So besides it looking like a trash bag on me it had ribbing. No thanks!
Steve Madden 'Sunshine' Flats $69.95 - Returned. I'm glad I got to try these, because these lace ups are on trend right now. But I hated the gap on the side of my foot and the lace up looked sloppy on my flat feet.

This category is called items I want but can't justify buying:

 NYDJ Maroon Jeans $114 - Returned. I just bought a pair of maroon leggings so I'm staying away from this color jeans. I do love the color and the brand though!
cupcakes and cashmere 'renley' Plaid Notch Collar Coat $175 - Returned. If I worked in an office I would buy this. I just don't go anywhere to need a ne nice coat. I loved the colors, they are perfect this year with the navy and maroon. I would recommend if you are in the market for a jacket. It was heavy and soft!

That's it for this box! What do you think? If you like the styles I get in my box, sign up for your own with my stylist HERE!

Trunk Club Box #2 Reveal (Bonus: Find similiar styles for less!)

Ready for another reveal? I'm excited, this trunk had so many great finds, it was hard to pair down what to keep!

Just to recap how Trunk Club works:

1) Sign up and discuss your size, price range, style with a stylist.
2) Receive a trunk preview with items you stylist selected.
3) Keep the items in the trunk or swap them out. If you swap them out, the stylist will add a replacement (but you won't have any say over that shipping).
4) Receive a trunk and you have 5 days to try on the items and return. 5 days is new - was 10 last month.
5) You will be billed for any items you keep! Just give feedback in the app as to why you are returning items so your stylist knows for the future why things didn't work.

I did a major closet clean out (Shop my closet on poshmark!) and sent my stylist a wish list of fall items. My list included: flannel shirt, utility vest, white shirts for layering, athlesure wear, fun flats.

I know that some people shy away from Trunk Club thinking it will be too pricey. I think this depends on stylists, but a lot of feedback has been that Trunk Club is offering core higher end brands. In this post I did my best to find similar cheaper items on Amazon so you can get the look of my trunk for less!


Jeffrey Campbell "Sansa" Flat $130 (starting at $18 these flats have fun floral prints!)
RETURNED. Sadly I couldn't fit these on my feet! The reason I asked for flats was because my feet have changed since pregnancy and I have confirmed my suspicion.

Zella "Just Perf" crop Leggings $62 (check out Yoga Reflex. Tons of fun colors/prints and very affordable! I have a few pairs, the quality is very nice, starting at $15.)
RETURNED. I'm going to wait to lose more weight before buying more work out leggings. I already have quite the stash!

Vince Camuto "Earina" Perforated Flats $109.95 (cheaper, similar option here by Vince)
RRTURNED: Once again, my feet were too wide. These are awesome shoes! I really was surprised by how much I liked them.

Current/Elliott "The Infantry" Army Jacket $268 (similar option from Levi's for $99)
Madwell Long Sleeve Slub Crewneck Tee $32
RETURNED: The jacket was too oversized on me. I'm holding out for a utility/army vest. The crewneck tee came up on the sides a little which was not flattering for my post C-section stomach.

Zella "Turn Around" Hoodie $64 (The fun part of this is the cut out detail. Find a option from Zumba starting at $20 with a different kind of cut out)
Zella "Move It 2" pants $74 (check out Danskin starting at $20)
RETURNED: The top was ok until I looked at the back. Yikes - does not look on me like it did on the picture of the model. I really liked the pants but they were too tight in my thighs. I asked for a bigger size in my next trunk.

BLANKNYC Suede Moto Jacket $148

Halogen Modal Jersey V-Neck Tee $32 (American Apparel starting at $10)

Halogen "Bristal" Ankle Strap Pointy Toe Flat $90

RETURNED the jacket. It became cropped when I zipped it up and wasn't flattering. Otherwise it was so soft and great quality! KEPT: The V-neck tee. Super soft and great for layering! RETURNED the shoes. AHH was on the fence with the shoes but didn't need them for $90.

Pleione Split Neck Mixed Media Tunic $59
RETURNED: I did ask for white shirts to layer but this was too big to put under other clothing. Also, seems to wrinkle easily and I don't have time for that!

Halogen Sleeveless A-Line Top $69
RETURNED: Very think and stiff. No where to wear this. Would look great under the moto or jean jacket though. Just not what I needed at this time.

Rails "Hunter" Plaid Shirt $148 (similar from Rails for $75)
KFTK "Helena" Denim Jacket $74.50 (Similar from Levi's here starting at $30)
KEEP KEEP KEEP! The shirt was so soft. It's definitely $$$ but I plan to wear it a lot. And finally a dark wash jean jacket that isn't cropped. My stylist sent a size up on this which I would have never thought to do but I did enjoy the extra room.

 
Check out Trunk #1 here.


If you liked the items in my box and are thinking of giving it a try, click here. It will put you in contact with my stylist and you can get started on a trunk of your own!

Please note, links may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small percentage of a purchase. This allows me to continue offering this blog. Thanks for your support. All reviews are my own and I am not compensated for my opinions.

Playroom makeover!

With two kids I need to get this shit out of my living room.

I think that's how all ideas for a play room begin, give or take the number of kids.

First, I purchased a bookshelf from IKEA and filled it with these adorable storage containers from Sprout. You can find a variety of animals, the colors are vibrant and your kids will love the animals. They are pretty big and I was able to categorize things like one for little people, one for blocks, another full of puzzles. My daughter even climbed into one. Even after purchasing the boxes, I went back and ordered bigger bins, like this one from Sprout. Turns out I had more things to stash away. Different animals are different prices on Amazon and they seem to change here and there. I went with the cheaper items since my kids don't care either way if it's a fox or a monkey on the bin.


 We also grabbed a nice little sofa from Ikea that turns into a sofa bed. It's pretty awesome, easy to pull out the part to make a bed. And for $599 you can't beat it - it's called FRIHETEN. Put it on top of this rug we scored for $15 and it just screams playroom.

 

 In the end, this is what we ended up with. The other tan chair was an older purchase from Ikea, and the end table was also from Ikea, it's on wheels which is great because it can be moved around easily for the kids to lean on or use to rest their juice cup.

What do you think? Any must haves for your playroom? By the way, these pictures aren't great, but it was totally destroyed immediately and I'm not cleaning up to take new pictures. You know how it is.

Trunk Club Review - Trunk #1

I decided to dive into the world of shopping services. I had started using Stitch Fix when I was pregnant and I received 3 boxes from them. I was overall happy, but didn't feel like the stylist was truly reading my notes to her. Last box I asked for a "bachelorette party" theme and received a maxi dress, cardigan, two casual tops and a bag. While the items were my style and very cute...none of them were going to be scoring me any free drinks on my weekend out.

I heard about Trunk Club from others who used Stitch Fix and I have been loving Nordstrom recently (can't beat free shipping and returns!) so I decided to give it a try. Upon signing up I was matched with a stylist. You can use the messenger feature on their website/app to communicate or set up a phone call. I decided on a phone call. We went over my measurements (that you add into the app) and talked about my style and what I was looking for.

I stated to my stylist that majority of the items in my closet are from Boden and that I typically will buy the same style over and over in different prints or colors if I like it. Also, a main reason for me using this service is that I'm 3 months post partum, we have a bunch of events like weddings and a vacation planned, and unfortunately my items from last summer don't fit well. With a newborn and toddler and living in the middle of nowhere, I don't have the luxury of driving an hour to the mall to shop. It becomes a whole day event. And it was time to bite the bullet and go up a size. We talked about my job and I let her know I work from home so I'm looking for casual items to wear so I can put away these black workout leggings and class it up a bit. It probably looks like I'm wearing the same pants every day but I just happen to have like 15 pairs of black workout crops, I swear!

Price list

The service used to be free it seems, meaning that for no up front cost, you received a box of clothing with free shipping to and from your house. I had seen on blogs and chat pages that they were going to roll out $100 fee to new customers. I was told that there would be a $50 deposit on my first box only and that it would be credited towards my purchase. I'm fine with that because they send around 15 items and I'm sure I'll keep a few pieces. Also, not saying people do this...but you are working with a stylist and the service is personalized. I can see as a business how it's a waste of time to pick out items, ship for free and a person not buy a single item. Just saying! Just for reference, Stitch Fix charges a $20 styling fee per box, that you lose if you don't purchase an item. And with only 5 items in their boxes it could be likely that you don't like any of them...like in the case with my "bachelorette box" - I ended up selling some items just to not lose my styling fee.


A key feature with Trunk Club is that you get a preview of your box and you can nix items right away that you know for sure you aren't interested in. I'm going into this with an open mind because I told my stylist to help me get out of my comfort zone.

Trunk upon arrival!

 When I received my first preview I had 14 items and I only selected "not to send" for 3. I gave feedback on why I did not select these items (and shockingly the reason was I had similar styles in my closet, not that I hated them!) and I gave her additional ideas of what to replace it with. So in the end I ended up receiving 15 items.

Ready for the reveal???












Swim wear:

Kept: I'm keeping the bandeau one piece and the caftan. The caftan is actually on sale for 22.80 and looks amazing over the bathing suit. Colors match perfectly. I do have two navy suits, so I'm clearly branching out with a different shade of blue. Very flattering on my post c-section tummy.
Returned: Black enchantment swim suit - ruffles weren't doing me any favors. I'm on the fence about the hat still, it's also on sale for 28.80 and I like the colors on it, but it doesn't match any of my swim suits.





Casual wear:

 

Kept:Madwell V-neck is a keeper! I'm also loving the ankle boot but I need to style it with some more items in my closet. This hat matches so many of my casual looks, maybe I need to start wearing a hat while sitting at the pool. Ok, I'm like talking myself into the hat!
Returned:  KFTK jeans. Sadly a size too small. I know why the stylist sized down, these do have stretch (I have a pair), but with just having a baby there's not quite enough stretch. This was sent in my "pre baby" size. I do like the lighter wash on the jean, I gravitate towards dark and my closet is full of those. The free people tank is so soft, the price is right, the style is great to hide post baby pooch, but over a D cup looked too frumpy and like it was hanging out too far. The Rag & Bone linen tank has so much potential, very soft, love the detail in the back, but I felt it was a little short on me.


Dresses and jewelry:

 

Kept: Jersey Maxi Dress. Love the print and the style!
Returned: The Ezri maxi is going back. Comfy, but the print was too loud for me and I thought it made me look heavy. I'm still deciding on the Kendra Scott necklace - I have the same one in white that I wear all the time. Maybe it's time to add a new one to my rotation, but at the same time maybe I'll hold out for something different.







Athletic wear:
I do crossfit and I live in leggings, this is my weakness and my stylist picked up on that!

 

Kept:Optic long leggings (right) Looks great with my lululemon singlet.
Returned: Tango and Slim Fit - these were both too big. And the Tango I couldn't really find a workout top to go with, and that's a problem when you have like 50 different options.

So in summary - would I do it again? Yes! I would love to see more workout clothes in my size with matching tops and once fall comes I'm ready to try some great jeans on - hopefully in that smaller size! Leave feedback in the comments and let me know what you think!




If you liked the items in my box and are thinking of giving it a try, click here. It will put you in contact with my stylist and you can get started on a trunk of your own!