The best thing I ever did for my closet

I've always wanted to have a chic sense of style-or at least to dress to most flatter my personality and body type. Unfortunately, I don't naturally have an instinctive eye for style and fashion changes so quickly it's hard to keep up with the latest trends. Living in a rural area and having 3 boys in tow, I don't go on clothes shopping sprees in stores often either. That narrows down my fashion options to taking a chance on pieces found online and hoping they'll look great on me (which happens maybe a quarter of the time!). 

Needless to say, my wardrobe hasn't changed much since before I got married because updating it just takes too much effort and money I don't seem to have lying around.
 

 
 

 Enter Thred Up, the best thing that's ever happened to my closet! It's like a thrift store online but filtered out for the best quality and brands. Thred Up is beautifully curated and organized well-making for a great shopping experience. 

I love browsing the editor's picks and seasonal collections! Another great feature is being able to create and save your own customized collections  (eg. By size, category, brand, etc.) to view clothing in. I can easily fill up my shopping cart with great fashionable finds and look forward to receiving my polka dotted box in the mail! 
 

 

The boxes are always packaged with care and style, making "opening the mail" a fun experience! It is true that some pieces show wear but that's something I just expect when it comes to used clothing. Not every item is a keeper, but you really have nothing to lose with their 14 day return policy! ;) 

But what makes Thred Up really worth regularing for me is the fact that they not only sell used clothing but buy them as well! The process couldn't be easier and is more convenient than taking my used clothing to Goodwill. Thred Up offers free "clean out" bags  on their site that they quickly mail out to you. Just fill up the large, polka dotted bag with your best quality, preloved clothes and stick it back in the mail. The shipping is on Thred Up! The great customer support team will let you know when they bag is received and gives an estimate on when to expect an offer of payout. I will say,  since I've been buying and selling with Thred Up since they launched, I have noticed them get more picky about what they accept. On the buyers end, their pickiness is reassuring that they're  trying to offer the very best quality used items!

 

It always makes my day to get the email letting me know how much store credit I got from my latest haul! It's so fun to have some motivation to "recycle" pieces in my closet. I have been working my way thru Tiny Twig's  No Brainer Wardrobe  workshop and have been slowly trying to narrow down and polish my wardrobe along the way. As my vision for my signature style materializes I can easily go onto Thred Up and search for the pieces I need to compliment and complete my wardrobe. Not to mention, Thred Up has a great selection of children's clothing as well. I have found some awesome pieces for my little men's wardrobes!

I think you all will love Thred Up as much as I do! Here's $20 to go towards your first order ;)
 

Cheap Chic-not really my style after all

I've always enjoyed the "idea" of fashion and am drawn to vintage styles, so when I was given the chance to check out the 40th Anniversary Edition reprint of Cheap Chic: hundreds of money saving hints to create your own great look, I thought it would be a fun source of inspiration. While this fashion guide does have some neat tips, I don't find it to be a super relevant style primer for me, personally. 

                           

 

 

 Apparently Cheap Chic was the premier fashion guide in the 70s and many fashion icons (including Tim Gunn, who wrote the foreword for this reprint) still consider it to be so. This book was a hard to find, eBay treasure as the first print editions became rarer and rarer. There is a lot of excitement about it coming back into print and being available to the new generation of fashionistas. Fashionista, I am not, but after having a baby 6 months ago, I am trying to reconfigure my personal sense of style. 

  I appreciate the helpful primer on assembling a basic wardrobe of interchangeable solid color t-shirts, good fitting jeans, a wide skirt and adding to high quality jackets, accessories and boots to elevate the style. These are principles I can apply as I continue towards a simplified "capsule wardrobe." I also found the info on calculating cost per wear when contemplating a real investment piece to be useful as well. The section on second hand shopping- where to shop and what to look for, also had so timeless tips.

 

 Overall, I just felt like Cheap Chic just wasn't relevant for the stay at home mom trying to cultivate an affordable yet classy wardrobe. The themed styling-such as Western and Ivy League-and what to buy when traveling abroad lists are just not applicable to my life and style. Also, I don't follow high fashion to really appreciate the designer profiles. There are a couple nude photos I was not expecting to find nor really added much to the book's appeal to me.

 

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.