For months now my husband and I have been trying to find ways for me to not only shop but also BUY something! I truly have an empty closet. Lots of people say they have "no clothes" but I'm not generalizing. I have nothing but a few ribbed tank tops and some summer nursing shirts. I'll gladly wear those, but my husband is not so keen on me wearing a ribbed tank top with a yoga skirt to a nice restaurant. Oops, another fashion don't for me.
Enter Tog+Porter. Long story short- but I basically found this amazing service when I read about Eco Emi, a natural product sample box subscription. At first, I didn't think there was any reason someone like me would use such a service because that would mean buying clothes that were not on a clearance rack at Target. However, after 3 attempts at making my clearance finds into outfits I decided that being frugal just wasn't working. If I kept all my cheap clothes, I would fill the hole in my closet but I still would not have anything to wear. There is just something about paying for a cute shirt that costs $39. I mean, if I did take that shirt home, what would I wear it with? That $39 shirt would turn into a $90 pair of pants and an expensive pair of shoes...would it not? Yeah...that wasn't going to work for me...and besides, I can't even spend an hour in the store trying on clothes if I wanted to.
What is Tog+Porter? Well, other than the best service a mom could dream of...it is a styling service. I completed a survey of my preferences, submitted my credit card information (for a deposit of $110) and waited. It was pretty soon afterwards that I was contacted by a stylist. We scheduled a Skype appointment and she really grilled me on my preferences and my empty closet. A few weeks later and my first box arrived! Now the rest of the skinny on the service- I get to buy any of the pieces that I like and send back (with prepaid label) anything I don't. I will meet with my stylist tonight to go over my box and get more styling help. I'll let you know how that goes.
On to the fun stuff....here are the NINE pieces found in my box. I must say, she did a fantastic job finding pieces that fit my style.
**One thing I will point out...obviously I could spend lots of time finding the pieces I want to buy online and probably for less. However, the styling service is free, so I feel like it is fair to purchase the pieces directly from Tog+Porter and then track down the designers to find more items...so wait...not only do I get some great pieces but I also learn of new designers that fit my style...nice.
**Other fact- while some of the pieces may cost more than I would *like* to spend...I have spent so much time, cumulatively, shopping and buying NOTHING that I love. So..to me, it is worth it to spend a bit more per piece. Before kids, I didn't think twice about buying a $59 shirt in every color at my favorite store...so why are things any different now?
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| Outfit One |
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| Outfit Two |
Outfit two: Alternative Apparel Racerback Maxi Dress- Eco Rust $59. I LOVE this dress, the fabric and the fact that it is fairly eco-friendly. It feels like NOTHING. My husband says, "Absolutely not" on the color. I think it looks OK in photos. I'm going to see what my stylist thinks...but I have already scoped it out in a plum, a greenish and a gray online...so I think I may be sending the rust back but picking up a color that is better for me. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress on. I don't care if you don't think it is flattering...I feel naked and wonderful in it and that is all that matters.
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| Outfit Three |
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| Outfit Three |
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| Outfit Three |
Outfit three: Potters Hi Low Button Down shirt $59, Splended V-neck t-shirt $49 and Level 99 Lily Straight Wheat capri/pants $98. Um no...to all three pieces in this outfit. I just threw those shoes on for fun...sorry if I ruined the outfit with them (Fashion illiterate, remember). The photo makes it look like a decent outfit but the pants have so much room and are so stretchy that I could put a couch pillow in the front and the back and you can actually see the extra room when I walk. I'm not a fan of the hi/low shirt- plus it made me hot just putting it on. The t-shirt isn't a good cut for me either. Bummer...but it was fun to try on!
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| Outfit Four |
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| Outfit Five |
OK so tell me what you think- be honest!
4 comments:
That skirt in the last photo is awesome! I think it would be so easy to make, but when can I find the time to make myself anything? Thanks for explaining this service because I didn't completely understand it!
It does look like it would be easy to make! Someday, I will try to sew my own clothes but for now, I stick with the paper exercises for practicing. :)
Sarah it's interesting your take on the whole 'buying clothes differently' thing because I just read an article on staying young looking as we age and one of the top rules was changing our style AND how much we spend on clothing. Basically It said, and I unfortunately agree, that we can no longer grab something cheap off the sale rack and rock out like we used to. We need to opt for the nicer pieces. Arg... I know this and I want to but I've never paid much for my clothes and we 're so broke I can't even shop off the clearance rack like I used to :( anyway....
See I'm oblivious to fashion. I hate spending over $10 or even $20 for anything but I already feel like buying through Tog + Porter is worth it. I feel put together despite any chaos I am dealing with. I have learned how to pick better cheap clothes by doing this service too. I won't buy clothes like this every month for much longer but just enough to get a closet going and then seasonally after that.
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