Pocketful of Joules

I wasn’t planning to order a Trunk from Trunk Club. Really, I wasn’t. And then I saw Mary Poppins Returns with my friend and basically drooled over Mary’s outfits the entire movie. Then, the very next day I got an email from Trunk Club asking if I’d like a Mary Poppins Returns inspired Trunk.

Um… YES! TAKE ALL MY MONEY!

The Trunk came a few days later and it was an unfortunate mess of unflattering pieces that highlighted all my wobbly bits and none of my good bits. So, instead of subjecting myself to photographing anything and blogging about it, I just stuck it all back in the box and arranged for a pick up the very next day.

And that was it.

Until a couple weeks later when my new stylist (my previous stylist left the company, so now I have been assigned to a stylist named Amelia), sent over a Trunk preview for me to check out.

A couple of the pieces showed promise, so I declined all the items I knew I didn’t want to try and made sure to give my stylist feedback on why I removed each one. After reviewing my notes, Amelia added in a few more things to fill out the Trunk and sent it over to me.

So, was it practically perfect in every way… or was it just a bunch of pish-posh? Let’s take a look!

(1) Eileen Fisher Slim Ponte Knit Pants, $208, (2) Madison & Berkeley Midi Dress, $59, (3) Eliza J Fit & Flare Dress, $148, (4) Something Navy Midi Dress, $99, (5) Eliza J Bow Back Sweater, $98, (6) Girl Meets Glam Edith Midi Dress, $178, (7) Boden Winifred Pattern Dress, $140, (8) Vince Camuto Puff Shoulder Dress, $119, (9) Boden Alberta Ruffle Shirt, $70, (10) Vince Camuto Tie Blouse, $99 (no link), (11) 1901 Full Skirt, $89.

If you’re new to my Trunk Club reveals (you can find them all here), I don’t typically photograph every single one of the items. When the Trunk first arrives, I usually go through it and narrow down my choices to a pile of my favorites.

Before we look at my favs, here are my 7 mini reviews of the items I didn’t show you:

(2) Madison & Berkeley Midi Dress – the fit on this one was SO ODD I couldn’t get the shoulders on!

(3) Eliza J Fit & Flare Dress – Too high on my neck and it was strangling me.

(4) Something Navy Midi Dress – Super frumpy and a bunch of NOPE.

(5) Eliza J Bow Back Sweater – Why is this a crop top?! Is this SUPPOSED to be a crop top??

(7) Boden Winifred Pattern Dress – Cute and AMAZING fabric, but highlights my mommy tummy.

 (8) Vince Camuto Puff Shoulder Dress – 1980’s Awful.

(10) Vince Camuto Tie Blouse – The laced shoulders are really wierd.

Moving on…

Outfit 1: Boden Alberta Ruffle Shirt ($70) and Eileen Fisher Slim Ponte Knit Pants ($208)

Initially, I wasn’t sure if I loved this shirt or if I hated it. It’s Boden, so the jersey is wonderfully soft and the fit seems good. I get the cool ruffle down the front, but the ruffles on the cuffs are a bit…um, too ruffle-y? I first tried the blouse with the Eileen Fisher pants. I have a couple pairs of pants form Eileen Fisher and they are wonderful. This pair is a bit of a different material and would need to be hemmed an inch or so if I were keeping them. As it is, they aren’t really wowing me and I already have a pair of black work slacks that I love.

Outfit 2: Boden Alberta Ruffle Shirt ($70) and 1901 Full Skirt ($89)

I switched the pants out with this skirt from 1901 (a new Nordstrom brand of classics with a twist). I think by combining the top with a skirt, it helps keep the ruffles from overwhelming me. However, this skirt in particular is not a winner. The cotton outer layer is rather thin (and wrinkly) and feels cheap. I like the cool crinoline slip detail and the pockets, but the fit is a bit off and it’s making me look dumpy.

Outfit 3: Boden Alberta Ruffle Shirt ($70) and a skirt I own

I felt like we were on the right track by pairing the Boden blouse with a full skirt, so I decided to try it with one that I already own (from Anthropologie a few years ago). I wish I had a solid black one, but this burgundy version with the gold accent embroidery actually looks kind of snazzy with the blouse. I also tugged the sleeves up a bit so that the ruffles weren’t flopping over my hands and it made a world of difference. NOW the blouse is a contender! What do you think, should I buy it or send it back?

Outfit 4: Girl Meets Glam Edith Midi Dress ($178)

When I saw the preview of this Trunk, this dress was the one that I was most excited to try on. I love a good v-neck combined with a fit-and-flare cut. The fabric on this dress is also a bit fancy, so it would be great for a dressy work day with a blazer. The skirt is extra full and swingy and has those all-important pockets. The sleeves are also a great length to hide my tattoos. The only problem is… it’s pink. I’m not really a pink person. Also, the bust is a smidge tight. So, sent a quick message to my stylist and apparently Trunk Club also has it available in navy and additional sizes! I’m thinking navy would look so much better with my hair color and I could add a fun pop of color with my shoes or even a cardigan. What do you think, should I exchange this one for the navy version and try two different sizes?

Trunk Finalists
Okay, so if you’ve been playing along that leaves me with just two favorites from this Trunk: the Girl Meets Glam Edith dress (but in Navy) for $178 and the Boden Alberta Ruffle Shirt for $70.

I posted both items on my Instagram stories over the weekend to get some feedback. For the shirt, the voting was 47% said to buy it and 53% said to pass. For the dress, the split was 53% buy and 47% pass. So, now I’m even more confused… should I just send everything back?

I’d love to know what you think! Leave me a comment below!

If you want to have Amelia style a Trunk for you I have her linked to my referral code here:  https://www.trunkclub.com/invite/QZFJ33 (Please note: if you use my referral link it will cost you nothing extra and it earns me a small amount to go towards items in my next Trunk).

1/15/19 Update – The People Have Spoken. Thank you all for your comments! I sent back the whole Trunk without buying anything. Once it gets to them, Amelia will send me the Girl Meets Glam Edith dress in Navy (in two sizes). I’ll keep you posted!

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Trunk Club, I pay for any clothing I purchase with my own hard-earned money. If you enjoyed my review and decide to try Trunk Club for yourself, the biggest compliment you can give me is by using my referral link. Thank you to anyone who chooses to click through and support my shopping addiction! This post contains ShopStyle affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

I put together my very first Clothing Purge Report at the beginning of April as part of a Selling Clothes: Where, How and What post. I thought it would be interesting to do the opposite of a ‘haul’ post and show you all how items leave my house. I liked it so much that I decided to do a bimonthly Clothing Purge Report and kept that up for the rest of the year.

In case you want to revisit any of the posts, you can find each of them here with a breakdown of what I sold and for how much:

• Clothing Purge Report: April and May
• Clothing Purge Report: June and July
• Clothing Purge Report: August and September
• Clothing Purge Report: October and November

Since I didn’t do a specific December sales post, here is that information:

Sold on Poshmark in December:

• FitBit Alta and Wristbands: $65
• Tribe Alive Clutch: $17
• Dr Martin Floral Boots: $60
• Lucky Brand Booties: $40

I decided to switch to an Apple iWatch in September, so my FitBit Alta was just sitting there waiting for some love. I ended up selling it on Poshmark to a woman who bought it for her daughter’s Christmas gift. The Tribe Alive clutch was in a FabFitFun box and after months I hadn’t used it, so I listed it and sold it. I thrifted the Dr Martin boots for $20 in the spring and never reached for them, so they got listed and sold too. Same goes for the Lucky booties… liked them, but didn’t love them. I do love getting $40 for them though!

Total Poshmark sales for December: $182 before Poshmark fees (20%)

Sold on Facebook Sale Groups in December:

• Anthropologie Hemant & Nandita Dress: $45
• Anthropologie Meadow Rue Polka Dot Blouse: $28

I’ve had both of these items for a few years and wore them a few times. I no longer considered them favorites, so I listed them and sold them in an Anthropologie purge.

Total Facebook sales for December: $73

Now that 2018 has passed, I wanted to make a cumulative Purge Report that includes all my purging activities from April – December.

Poshmark Sales Totals:

• April and May: $129
• June and July: $207
• August and September: $174
• October and November: $250
• December: $182

Total sales: $942 (- $189 for 20% Poshmark fees) = $753.

FB Sales Group/Instagram Totals

• April and May: $515
• June and July: $413
• August and September: $331
• October and November: $67
• December: $73

Total Sales: #1,399

{Items to subtract out of this total are: postage costs, mailing envelope costs, and PayPal fees.}

Final Total of Sales for April – December 2018: $2,152!

Now, keep in mind… I’m not a reseller. These are items that I have accumulated over the years, wore a bit and then decided to resell. The majority of the time when I am thrifting, it is for me and my own personal use… not to flip for a profit. However, very occasionally I will purchase an item specifically to resell. Usually, it’s not worth it to me to do so because it takes a lot of time and effort for what is typically a pretty small profit. (Also, in addition to my sales, I donated a bunch of stuff to various thrift stores).

So, why do I share my sales with you? Because it’s a great way to hold myself accountable. Also, I’m sure that many of you have items in your closet that you no longer like, or don’t fit, or don’t fit your current lifestyle. I want to show you that there are ways to pass them along to people who would enjoy them while also giving you some spending money.

As you can see, most of the items I sell are not super pricy. Typically each item goes for between $15 – $45 with some going for as low as $10!

By continuously going through my closet and listing items I no longer love, I accumulated over $2,000. That is a pretty nice chunk of change right there! My 2019 numbers will probably not be that high, but knowing that I can easily sell unwanted items makes it easier for me to take some styling chances. If I end up not loving something, it hits the chopping block and goes to someone else who will hopefully love it more.

If you have been wanting to try Poshmark for your own closet purging needs, I just realized that they gave me a special referral code to share. If you sign up and use “PocketfulofJoul” as your invite code, you will get $5 to spend and I will also get $5 in my account. Enjoy!

Have you enjoyed my Clothing Purge Reports? Are you surprised that my 2018 total ended up so high?   

I love doing these little dressing room snaps posts. It’s like taking a friend with me into the dressing room to give me feedback! A couple days after Christmas I dropped into Anthropologie to check out their ‘30% off everything on sale’ sale and did a little mini session. Oh and I just checked and now everything on sale is an extra 40% off!

Let’s check out some of my favorites!

Pure + Good by Anthropologie Elle Space-Dyed Top (find it here)

Size Worn XL

Original price: $58, sale price: $29.95 + 30% off

This t-shirt is so incredibly super soft and drapey that I couldn’t resist it. I would have been fine with a large, but the XL gives it a more slouchy look that I like. After the sale it was $20 and I’ve actually already wore this twice with a fluffy cardigan and jeans.

Eri + Ali Rosemont Tiered Top (find it here)

Size worn: XL

Original price: $58, sale price: $29.95 + 30% off

I’ve been low-key searching for an interesting black top. I wanted something that was kind of flowy, but in a prettier fabric. This one is super soft and exactly what I was looking for. They only had a size XL in the store (there are plenty of other sizes online), but I like the way it fits.  I plan to pair it with slim work trousers and a cardigan. I also like how it is styled on the Anthropologie website where it is tucked into a high-waisted skirt, so I’ll try that out too. In the summer, this would also look great paired with some distressed jean shorts!

52 Conversations by Anthropologie Colloquial Collarless Buttondown (find it here)

Size worn: 14

Original price: $78

52 Conversations by Anthropologie is a limited-edition capsule collection featuring original prints that speak to the heart and art of Anthropologie. This shirt is 28 out of the 52 released prints. I actually picked up a few pieces from this brand to try because I love all the prints.

Typically, I would go with a size 12, but they didn’t have any in the store (or online). The 14 fit fine though with no button boob gaping issues. I love how it can be styled dressy for work or paired with jeans on the weekend. This one was full-price, so it was a bit of a splurge.

52 Conversations by Anthropologie Colloquial Tie Neck blouse (not online)

Size worn: 12

Original price: $78

I’m not sure why this one isn’t online, but it a tie-neck version of the last blouse I tried in a similar fabric. This one I grabbed in a 12 (my typical blouse size) and it fit identical to the 14 version that I tried above … which is kind of weird.

The tie is cute, but isn’t really doing it for me. Between the two blouses, I liked the other one better so this one went back on the rack.

Maeve Beloved Dress (find it here)

Size worn: Medium

Original Price: $148, sale price: $29.95 + 30% off

I picked up this dress in a Medium, because there were no other sizes available. However, since it’s a jersey dress it could fit a variety of sizes. And yes, I think it is super dumb that in one dressing room session I’ve tried on everything from Medium to XL and it all fits.

I like the fit-and-flare shape combined with the front-tie detail and twirly skirt. The pattern is super cool too and I don’t really own much purple in my closet. Here is a close up of the two patterns mixed on the bust:

In this photo I look weirdly identical to my sister, Katie. I even sent it to her and said I would have thought this was her if I didn’t know it was me… genes are weird! I actually thought the sale price was $59.95 for this dress, so when it rang up at $20.96 I was pretty darn happy! I was having some second thoughts about whether I really NEEDED this, but I keep coming back to the fact that it looks cute and it was only $20… so this one is a keeper.

52 Conversations Colloquial Short-Sleeved Shirtdress (find it here)

Size Worn: 14

Original Price: $150

Once again, another 52 conversations piece that I love. This one is design 32 of 52 and I love the long shirt-dress style. Shirt dresses typically don’t fit me well because of my boobs and hips, so I was really surprised that this one was made for an hourglass shape. There were no 12’s in the store, so I grabbed a 14 to try and it fit fine with a little extra bootie room. As much as I loved this dress when I tried it on, I left it at the store and was planning to keep checking to see if it went on sale.

And then… I couldn’t stop thinking about it. AND the feedback on my Instagram stories where I shared the look was basically just “BUY IT” from everyone. So, I went online and ordered it (yay free shipping) figuring that if it isn’t actually love it can be returned. One benefit of ordering it online was that I used my PayPal account to pay for it. When I sell clothes (on Poshmark or Facebook), I typically leave the balance in my account as fun-money, so this splurge was actually kind of free!

Do you enjoy these impromptu Dressing Room try-on posts? Do you have a favorite look?

Disclaimer: This post contains ShopStyle affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

When it comes to my thrifting fun, I still make mistakes. I get a little price blind… or brand blind… and I figure, it’s SO CHEAP, why NOT get it?! But then when I get it home, it’s not love. It’s not even like. Luckily, at thrift prices it’s not a big deal when I make a mistake. Typically, I will either resell the item or just re-donate it so the next thrifterella can enjoy it.

I did my first 6 month Thrifting Update back in June (you can read it here) and thought it was a good exercise. So, I went through all my thrifting posts from July – December and picked out my 3 favorites:

{Pssst, you can find all my thrifting posts here: Thrifting Fun}

Andrew Marc leather purse, $29.99

Thrifted in August

I ‘paid up’ for this purse at the thrift store back in August, but when I did my research I found that it actually sells for $450 – $650, so that’s quite a deal! (I actually posted all about my stalking research here) This purse is so incredibly soft and buttery that I often find myself stroking it randomly. I’ve been using it daily since October and this is already one of my favorite thrift finds of all time!

Leota sweetheart neckline dress, $4

Thrifted in August

I have two Leota dresses and love them both. Well, maybe I love this one a little more since it was only $4…! The dresses are made in New York with the softest, silkiest jersey that just flows over any lumps and bumps.

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A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Sep 27, 2018 at 4:15am PDT

It’s so easy to throw this one with a pair of flats and look professional. The best part is that it basically feels like wearing pajamas all day. Thrift Score!

M.M. LaFleur Rachel dress, $7

Thrifted in November

I was flabbergasted to see M. M. LaFleur out on the ‘wild’ when thrifting and even more shocked that their sizing is so weird. This dress is marked as a size 16 but fits the same as a typical size 10/12.

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A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Nov 6, 2018 at 3:54am PST

It’s a beautiful color and perfect for a professional work look, so I was so happy to have found it for just $7!

Have you had any super thrifting winners over the past few months?