For online shoppers, sizing and quality issues are some of the biggest problems that come with buying online. A product photo doesn’t tell you if you’ll like the feel of fabric against your skin, or if the fit will be flattering. Online styling services like Trendsend and Trunk Club solve these problems by allowing customers to try clothes on before buying them. Their stylists choose clothes for you and then ship them to your home, where you get a period of time to try them on at your leisure. These services are perfect for busy people who still want to be well-dressed.
I recommend Trunk Club over Trendsend for most people. That being said, both of these styling services send clothes that reflect your personal style, and both of them are great at personalizing orders. Trendsend is a styling service founded by Evereve, a clothing store that caters to moms who want to stay fashionable even when life gets hectic. Trunk Club is a Nordstrom company with a wider target demographic, and they carry a lot of styles, from understated chic to edgy rocker fashion.
How Do They Work
Trendsend and Trunk Club are both styling services. At their best, they’ll match you with clothes so you can fill your closet with pieces you enjoy wearing.
Trendsend
Trendsend asks all new users to fill out some basic information about their sizing and fashion sense. You can even upload a full-body picture of yourself to give your stylist more to work with. I highly recommend adding a comment to your style profile. My stylist took my comments to heart and themed my whole box around the vintage aesthetic I described.
After you take their styling quiz, your Trendsend order should take around a week to arrive. You can’t preview it before it ships, so you’ll just have to wait until your box is delivered. Each shipment contains 6 items of clothing. The company doesn’t send accessories or shoes, only garments like tops, bottoms, dresses, and skirts.
Once you get your Trendsend box in the mail, you have 5 days to try the clothes on. When you’re ready to return things, make sure to check out online and then ship your returns in a timely manner. Each box comes with a prepaid shipping label, so you don’t need to worry about paying for the return shipment.
Trunk Club
Trunk Club takes only a few days to style you after you sign up and fill out their survey. Before they ship your Trunk, they ask you to approve the contents. You can reject items in your box, if you don’t want to bother trying them on.
Once your Trunk arrives, you can start trying pieces on. Each box comes with a list of outfit suggestions from the stylist. You can use those as a guide while you try things on or imagine how they could fit into your wardrobe.
When it comes time to make your returns, just pack them into the same Trunk box and add the new shipping label.
Pros/Cons
Trendsend and Trunk Club wavh have their own strengths and weaknesses. I’ll discuss the various pros and cons to each service here, so you can decide which one would be best for you to try.
Trendsend
Pros:
- Great styling without algorithms
- Bold, exciting pieces
- Monthly themed boxes
Trendsend is known for having real stylists assemble their fashion boxes. Each physical Evereve store has a stylist, and they use the items available at that specific store to create your boxes.
Trendsend has a focus on trendy pieces, and they’re not afraid to include bold items or the latest trends. In my shipment, they send coated denim, a velvet sweatshirt, and a blazer with a zip-in hoodie attachment. All these pieces are kind of quirky and unusual, so be aware that they’re great at accommodating a bold sense of style!
Trendsend includes fun themed boxes that encourage customers to have fun with fashion. You can get the leggings box, the jacket box, or even a box based on the current astrological season. Right now, it’s Scorpio.
Cons:
- Higher prices
- Limited selection
Trendsend’s clothes start at $60, but that’s for their very cheapest pieces. The average cost per piece based on the items they sent me was around $100, and I chose the lowest budget range they had to offer.
When you order from them, they’ll choose one of their Evereve stores as the source of all your styling. Since your stylist is working with the contents of only one store, the selection is bound to be limited.
Trunk Club
Pros:
- Great, personalized styling
- Quality clothes
- Lots of items in each Trunk
TC is focused on styling, and that’s where they excel. The company offers lots of opportunities to talk to your stylist, leave notes and even add a Pinterest board of your fashion inspiration.
Trunk Club gets all their clothes from Nordstrom brands, which are known for their quality. Their pieces include higher-end brands that are recognizable and respected.
Trunks can include up to 12 items. The number can be lower if you reject items from your box before it ships. Including lots of items in each Trunk means TC has more chances to add the perfect item.
Cons:
- Short try-on period
- Excessive plastic packaging
TC only gives customers 5 days to try on 12 pieces. That isn’t a lot of time, especially for busy people who are using this service to save time on shopping. You can request an extension for your try-on period, but you need to get requests approved by customer service.
Every item from Trunk Club comes in its own plastic envelope. When every customer is getting around 12 plastic bags per shipment, the waste adds up quickly. Many other subscription services, including Trendsend, choose to wrap their clothes in tissue paper instead.
How Much Do They Cost?
These two services are fairly similar in cost, but Trendsend is a little more expensive. Trunk Club has pricey items, but they seem to go on sale regularly.
Trendsend
Trendsend charges $20 for its styling fee, but they seem to often have discounts that let you skip the fee or else pay only $1 for your first box. The pieces they send start at around $60, and can go up to several hundred, depending on the brand. They include plenty of trendy designers, so don’t be surprised to see jeans that cost $195, or a sweater for $180.
Trunk Club
Trunk Club’s styling fee is $25, and they’ll charge this fee whether or not you keep anything from your Trunk. That money counts toward any purchase you make from your stylist’s selections, though.
Trunk Club says their prices range from $50 to $300 on average. The budget you choose during your style quiz will also affect the prices you’ll find in your Trunk.
What Style Of Clothes Do You Get?
Trunk Club is size-inclusive, and carries both petite sizes and plus sizes up to 24. Trendsend only goes from size XS up to size 14 or XL. Trendsend is aimed at stylish moms, but their curation is fun and trendy, and you don’t have to be a mom to appreciate what they have in store for customers.
Trendsend
Trendsend specializes in clothes that are wearable and comfortable, but still trendy. They stay up to date with fashion, so you can expect them to help you look modern and current. Look for brands like BB Dakota, 7 for All Mankind, Blank NYC, Joie, and plenty of other popular options.
Trendsend has monthly themed boxes, and they give these boxes fun names and original concepts. For October, they have Scorpio Style, which captures a “mysterious magnetism” and includes “rich reds + smoky shades in spades.” They also have Jacket Love, Fall Haul, and The Not Going Out(fit) Box. These boxes show that they really know how to have fun with clothes and fashion.
Trunk Club
Trunk Club’s boxes are made up of items from Nordstrom, so customers can expect familiar brands like Levi’s, Rag and Bone, Kut from the Kloth, and Cupcakes and Cashmere. They carry a variety of styles, but overall they’re elevated pieces that can stay in your wardrobe for quite a while.
The clothes are catered to your specific style. If you like classic looks, whimsical vintage styles, or glam pieces, they’ll include more of those. If you want seasonal attire, try their themed trunks. You can find Fall Workwear, Fall Weekend, and boxes devoted to trends.
Trunk Club’s approach to styling is especially helpful to anyone who wants to explore their personal style. You can communicate with your stylist more than most other online styling services, offering feedback on each item and even sending photos of clothes that you’ve tried on.
Final Thoughts
Trendsend and Trunk Club are two of the best when it comes to personal styling. They’ll really strive to match the style you describe in your style survey. Trendsend has highly personalized styling. They approach styling on the level of an outfit, instead of individual pieces. That sets them apart from most services, but Trunk Club is one of the few that can hold its own against Trendsend.
Trunk Club comes out ahead because they have more variety in terms of style, and they have slightly lower prices on clothes. I recommend Trunk Club over Trendsend for most people.
