Trying on the Winter Drape Fit

Drape fit is a clothing subscription service that I have been trying out. It is my third fit and we are slowly edging into something approaching understanding. In my last two boxes, I ended up with one item from each, one a dress and the other a shirt. The shirt has in fact become my go to work meeting shirt and I absolutely love it.

This month i am not keeping anything.

One of the reasons I wanted to try out this service was because it was one of the few that had a plus sized section and I thought it would be nice to try. My plan was to go a year on the subscription level as it was and then change a few things in my profile and to play around with the service. While you can get a monthly Fit, I get my subscription quarterly, mostly because I simply don’t need that many clothes. So once a season is fine for me.

I am going to go in after my third fit because I think I am a smaller size than the clothing they are sending me. With one exception all of the shirts they sent me were enormous with no definition and actually made me look heavier than I am. I do actually have a waist and curves. These shirts for the most part made me look like a giant square.

So the size will need to be reconfigured. In addition they have multiple tiers for price range as to how much you are willing to spend on a single item. They do let you go by item. In your profile they will ask how much you would be willing to pay for a blouse versus an overcoat (or outerwear), shoes versus pants. I really like that because there are certain items I am willing to pay more for than others. For this first year of testing I went with the lowest price on all of the items.

The most expensive item in my box this month’s box was $30.75. The garments are pretty much what i would expect in the $28-30 range. They are good basic items. I don’t actually need any good basic items though. Those I can generally find in stores near me. what i want is something I can’t find in stores near me so I think instead of letting this set of settings play out for another month, I am going to adjust things when I go in to adjust my measurements. I’ll keep you posted on what I change and how then we will all see how things play out.

With each fit there are seven items. You can choose accessories as an item. I chose no accessories and this is the first time they sent me an accessory. It is a tennis bracelet. Since I knew I was sending it back I didn’t take it out of the package. It is the first time they have sent me something in a category I told them i didn’t want. I suspect it has something to with the idea of a little sparkle for the holiday season.

with the items comes a bag. As all of the items this month are going back, you can see that they do indeed all fit inside the bag quite easily. In addition to the bag there is one piece of paper breaking out the cost of each item and a slip of paper that tells you how the stylist paired the items. This month there were two pairs of pants and two shirts that paired with each pair of pants.

I have trouble finding trousers I like because I am very picky. I figured a company with the entire world to search would have better luck. Thus far that has not proven to be the case as all of the trousers have been miserable failures. I think because of my weight they assume that I want only jeggings style of pants. The problem with these is that to get the crotch to sit correctly I have to pull the pants up a lot further than my waist which means I can’t really tuck the shirts in because the waist is too high so they have to hang their tent like even though some of them are designed to be tucked in so they don’t make you look bigger than you are. If you lower the waist to the appropriate waist location then the crotch hangs low and your butt looks droopy. Even with the pants pulled up the leg is too long and while I have no problem hemming pants (and in fact learned to sew just so I could hem my trousers) this is not material that takes well to hemming.

So the two trousers were a bust, and yes I do know that high waisted pants are in fashion but I personally do not think that the waist band of your trousers should be touching the bottom of your bra. That is a little too high waisted.

I do like that the trousers were paired with the shirts. This fit they got the colors right for the most part (I didn’t care for the plaid patchwork shirt although ironically that was the only shirt that fit me correctly. I love that they picked up the jewel tones that I like. And finally there were no butterflies or flowers on the clothing. I don’t know why people insist on putting butterflies and flowers on plus sized women’s clothing. A lot oft the time the butterflies end up looking like Mothra and the flowers make me feel like a circa 1970s couch. All of the cloth for the shirts was that cotton rayon blend. It feels soft to the touch and wears well. It is also what most of the shirts I can buy locally are made from.

Like most things I suppose you get what you pay for. in the price range I gave them I got the same moderately priced clothing I can get anywhere. I think that more than anything means I need to increase the scope of the price range. I feel a little better about doing that now that I know how easy it is to return items and now that the stylist is actually sort of edging into things where the color range is more my thing. So we will see how the changes made after this fit affect what is sent to me. I will say that while not unique, the pieces sent to me are all of good quality. As they are similar to pieces i already have though, they are going to be sent back and hopefully soon I will have something I would never have found for myself. which is, in my opinion, one of the benefits to this sort of service.

Let’s Talk Drape Fit

Drape Fit is a styling service/subscription. For $20 per box you can have eight items sent to you to try out. The items are based on your quiz and you have the option of purchasing none, one or all of the items. There is a discount if you purchase all of the items in the box (25%). I chose to try them out partially because the price is decent (if you take off the 25% and add in the tax the entire box would cost me $185.68 which would not be bad for 8 clothing items. I also chose to try them out because they have plus sized clothing, so their items fit me.

This is my second fit and so we are in the tweaking phase. I love that when you receive the box, you can go in to the website and review each item individually so the stylist knows what you liked and didn’t like about each item. You can also request specific items. And you can choose how often you want the box. I receive this box every three months, mostly because I tend to evaluate my wardrobe on a seasonal basis and that is when I look for new pieces to fill it out. Because the weather hasn’t turned yet, I haven’t gone into my closet for adjustment yet, I’m waiting to do that when I return from my mom’s house actually. I’m also hoping the weather will have cooled down enough to make looking at my fall items easier.

the items arrayed and awaiting the trying on phase

My first box everything fit me but only one item was really in my style. So I reviewed the items and made a note of the items that I thought I might need. For me, that is heavily on the trouser side of things. I have plenty of shirts and sweaters but tend to lack the trousers. So in this fit I ended up with three pairs of trousers.

Included in the box is also a slip suggesting pairing of the items so I paired the items. While the above photo shows the items laid out this is the items paired as the stylist intended.

The first set is a set of maroon high waisted wide leg palazzo pants that match the short sleeved blouse and the black boho shirt. Of these three items I really only liked the boho shirt, which unfortunately fit me in most places but was too tight across the stomach. I could have made it work, but I know I would simply hang it in the closet and not wear it because it was not comfortable. Which was a shame as I liked it. It was also one of the few items that had the problem of being too tight anywhere. Most garments suffered from too much material.

The short sleeved shirt fit well and actually fell nicely, but it is essentially a t-shirt with capped sleeves and an eyelet back. It is nice but it wears more or less like a t-shirt. And I don’t really want t-shorts in a box like this.

The pants of course were what I was most interested in. I did specify that i like wide legged pants, which I do. And these are. They are also made of t-shirt material which makes them feel (and look) like pajama pants. They have a high waist, which is not my thing. And then there is the length. Here is the thing. If the material is good, I can hem the pants. If they are only a little long I can wear them with heels. These are lounge pants. Which means they are not going to be worn with heels and even if they were they are still too long and it isn’t the kind of material that takes a hem well.

I know that is a lot for a pair of pants, but in previous profile and review I did mention that I liked the color maroon and that I liked wide legged pants. I didn’t say anything about the waist or material. So this time I did mention that and we will see if it inspires change.

The plaid trousers I had the most hope for as they looked nice and they paired with all of the shorts, including the russet colored shirt with the ruffled sleeves.

The pants fit well in the waist, but would have needed to be hemmed. I chose not to keep them because they were a bit tight in the calves. The shirt looks extra frumpy because it is not tucked in, but it could not be tucked in. It was way too long and it was a thick material. While the pants fit, they fit with me inside them. They would not fit the extra material of this shirt. Hence the very frumpy look. The pants were almost but not quite there. I like the color of the shirt but little else.

While the length was a problem for me the ruffled sleeves were a bit of a bust as well. I like short capped ruffled sleeves but these were a bit much. The double layer looks nice on the sleeve, but underneath the arm there is so much extra material that it just felt like bunched up cloth underneath my arm. If they adjusted the under arms it would have been better, but I know I wouldn’t have worn this shirt due to the way the sleeves felt, even if the length and thick material preventing it from being tucked in didn’t send it into frump city.

In this box they included what they are calling a black cardigan. It is open in the front and has pockets at the right height and it is a nice long length. It is however made of t-shirt material. I have a couple of these that are actual knitted sweaters and I far prefer them.

Since I have them in sweater versions I didn’t see the point in adding the t-shirt material one. It is thin enough to be relatively pointless.

The striped pants I liked with the exception of the waist. They were a little long, but they were the sort of long that could easily be worn with heels, so i was happy about that. The legs were also wider and they didn’t much anywhere. The material was of decent quality as well. It was a sort of light weight cotton.

It is just the waist. I don’t mind the tie, but the bag waist just adds mass to my midsection that really doesn’t need to be added. It fit well but I just didn’t like that extra bulk. Trust me I have plenty of bulk on my own and don’t need clothing adding more.

I know about this time you are asking yourself if there was anything I did like and the answer is yes. The final item in the box was a dress. It is a simple black dress that fits really well. I pulls in at the waist to give form to the garment and it has a loose skirt. the material is also of good quality.

Clearly when I actually wear it, I will put some shape wear underneath, but i do like the way it fits. I also like the length. It comes to just above the knee which is a good length for me, especially when I am in heels. I like the black because it suits me and i can always use a simple black dress.

It is the one item I purchased from this box. Despite the fact that there were issues with most of the garments, I feel I am getting better with each box. The suggestions that I had from my first box were taken into account here and the second box was better than the first. I am a little disappointed that it wasn’t more fall themed in the item selection. I suppose the maroon and russet, as well as the plaid paint were kind of fall-ish. But short sleeves and t-short material isn’t really going to be helpful once the weather turns. In truth this dress will only see a little bit of use right now.

Once the weather turns it will be set aside until the spring because of it’s length. (I don’t like cold legs.) heavier materials for the season would have been preferred. However I am over all pretty happy with the box, even if I am keeping only one item. Everything more or less fit, even if it wasn’t my favorite. And it is better than the last box. If this trend continues I will be happier with each box and who knows in the future, I may end up keeping the entire box.

So I took out the dress, packed everything up in the provided bag and sent it back. I paid for what i wanted to keep, even before I sent the provided bag through the mail system so I don’t have to worry about when the charges might come. I like having that control. I have also sent in detailed reviews and am awaiting the changes Drape fit makes to my next box.

Unboxing The Underclub for July 2022

We have reached the second full week of the month and subscription boxes are starting to arrive. The first to arrive is The Underclub. I love this subscription for its size inclusivity, they go from XS to 4X I believe. There is also no upcharge for larger garments. All of their sizes are the same. It is also the same in the store too. You don’t have to go off to some small dark corner or their on-line store where a few items marked plus sized live, often with an extra charge for the size increase. Nope, the whole website features everything in every size.

I also love the underwear and the quality of it.

I am on the Underclub’s one pair per month plan for $15. They have different tiers where you can receive more pairs and possibly even a bralette. For me one pair is plenty. I love having pretty underwear. I know that may sound a bit strange to say. But I have started loving it more as I have been working out more.

inside the package the underwear is contained in a small bag.

Here’s the thing, when I wear pretty underwear I feel confident and pretty. It doesn’t matter what else is going on. It is an instant confidence boost. It doesn’t require anyone else to see it. I know it and it makes me feel good. It always has. when working out, it is best to wear plain cotton undergarments that have few if any embellishments. when lace becomes sweat soaked it can turn into sand paper really fast. There is exfoliation and then there is lace burn around the legs of your bikini underwear. Not fun, recommend avoiding.

Also there is the extra laundering of workout underwear. I put it on to work out. I finish the work out and it, along with my other work out clothes, go into the laundry, a fresh pair of underwear going on with the rest of the post shower clothing. So work out underwear needs to take a beating.

There is something magical about coming out of a post work out shower and putting on a nice, lacy pair of underwear. It feels like a reward for putting in the effort. As silly as that sounds, it is my daily reward to myself. and when you are doing long haul weight loss those little rewards come in very handy.

But lets look at this month’s pair. The photos wash out the color a little bit but this pair is a light blue lace. They are bikini style and have a scalloped lace edge. I love the look of a scalloped lace edge. I have to admit it.

As always I inspected the pants when they arrived, looking for loose strings and missed stitches. There were none, I then sent them through the wash and inspected again. Still no problems. These are very well constructed garments. This pair has an added cut out detail in the back. For some reason the last few pairs I’ve received have had this. I’m guessing it is a popular design. I have to admit I like it more for practicality than looks (although it does look nice). Some of my lacier underwear can be hard at first to tell which is front and which is back. These you can tell the difference blindfolded.

And while i don’t take my shower blindfolded sometimes I don’t have my contacts in while in the shower so orientation by touch can be somewhat important. (Because a lot of my exercise is outside sometimes sweat mixed with sunscreen can cloud up my contacts, so I take them out for cleaning or replacement before the shower, in case you ae wondering).

I really like this pair and all told The Underclub is one of my favorite subscriptions. The garments always fit perfectly and they feel good to wear. I have never had a pair that wasn’t worth the subscription fee, and July’s is no exception.

Unboxing the June 2022 Underclub

That’s right, the June subscriptions have started to arrive. Well, the first of the June subscriptions has arrived anyway. And there is no surprise that it is The Underclub. While the Underclub has several different subscription tiers, including one where you can add a matching bralette, I have the single pair for $15 per month tier.

And honestly, I have never regretted it. Every pair I have ever received from them has fit perfectly and has been high quality. And as I have had this subscription for well over a year at this point I can say that the underwear wears well over time. Most of the pairs I have received are still in rotation in my drawer.

The only ones I have had to release from service have been because I lost enough weight to go down a size. My earlier subscriptions were a size larger. While a few of them i can still get by with there were a few styles that just didn’t do well with a smaller me. I’m sure they too would have lasted longer, but they just no longer fit.

I went onto my member page and adjusted my sizing (it took two seconds) and now i am back to the right sized underwear. I know I say this each time this subscription comes in, but one of my favorite things about this subscription (besides getting a fabulous pair of undies each month) is it’s size inclusivity. They have XS and XL (I was a 3X and am now down to a 2X but they go all the way up to 4X) and in their bralettes, their XXL goes all the way up to a 40DD. As I am a 40D this really helps me out.

And, here is the best part. The XL (or XS) aren’t in separate sections. That’s right, you don’t have to go diving into a small section of the site and looking at the limited options that might be available in your size. Both their subscription and their store (where members get 20% off) have every item and style in every size.

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it is kind of a big deal. Especially in underwear. There are many places that either don’t stock my size apparently in the belief that if you are over a certain size you should just go commando, or it feels like they make the decision about what styles you should like based on only offering you certain styles. which is not only annoying in general when I am trying to shop, but something I also find very condescending. After all the general public isn’t going to even see my underwear, why should they get a say in what type i should wear?

So the fact that The Underclub is so size inclusive means that this is a subscription (and store) I really enjoy. Plus I love pretty underwear. If I am wearing pretty underwear, I feel pretty. And I know some people use that as date underwear, but let me tell you pretty underwear has helped me feel better about even bad work meetings with overbearing bosses. Just knowing I am wearing it makes me feel good. And sometimes that little boost can really help.

And June’s pair is very pretty. I am really happy it is since it is my Birthday Month and i like thinking that my birth month is special. This month’s selection is a pale pink and is in the style called Lanya Lace Cheeky in Peach Whip. I suppose it could be called peach but I always think of peach as having a little more orange tone to it. This is a delicate pink.

While the color is pretty, I also love the scalloped edges to the lace. For me scalloped edging always makes the underwear feel a little sexier to me. I think partially because my work out undies are all Hanes cotton with the straight edging on the legs. The scalloped edge makes them feel that much different from the work out pears. The lace of these undies are soft and not at all scratchy. The waist band is satin covered elastic that feels quite durable so I am sure it will last just as well as the other pairs I have received.

As always, when i received the subscription, I checked over the pair for loose threads and stitches. I found none, then I sent them through the wash and checked again. Again, there were no problems. And yes I know it sounds like a little much, but I just can’t shake my grandmother’s voice from my head. She always did the same thing and I find that even though she is long gone, it is still habit and I am unable to resist checking them again for loose threads after the first wash. It was her quality check system. And it has become mine.

The Underclub passed. I’ve never had a pair from them that didn’t.

This month’s selection is perfect for me to celebrate my birthday month. They are pretty and I will feel pretty this month when I wear them. And in addition, I will feel pretty many more months to come as they continue through my rotation.

My first box from Drape Fit

I have a confession to make. I don’t like to shop. I do not like going into stores flipping through racks upon racks of clothing only to find nothing. Part of it is my size. While I am working towards a healthier me, I am still a size 22-24, depending on the garment. And most stores don’t stock a wide array of garments in my size. In addition, what they stock might not be to my taste. As a result, I purchase a lot of my clothing on line. So for me a clothing subscription seems like a great idea. It sends clothes that are in my size to me and are presumably to my taste.

The trick is finding a clothing subscription that is in my size. A while ago Drape Fit sent an e-mail to me telling me of their subscription. After seeing that they did have my size (and that in many categories I was not top of the range) I decided to have a go with it. They did send a discount code for anyone who sees this and decides that they want to give it a go themselves. It is just for you. It is DFIS10 and you can get $10 worth of credits from each purchase. And while discounts are nice, the purpose of this post is to go over my first box experience. After all a discount is only of value if the box is worth it. So let’s take a look.

(incidentally I managed to somehow delete the pics of me trying on the clothes. Which I didn’t realize until after the bag was on it’s way back, next time, I’ll make sure there is a try on portion.)

didn’t need denim but it fit perfectly so I was tempted

Drape Fit has boxes for Men, Women and Children. They have an array of sizes including Plus sized women and Big and tall men. I’m not sure how wide an array the men’s styles are but the women’s sizing was pretty broad. The styling fee is $20. They send a pre addressed postage paid bag to return what you don’t like and you have five days to try on and decide what you would like to keep.

the pants fit perfectly but I have three nearly identical pair in my closet

Because any stylist takes a while to learn about you, I never really expect much in my first box. For me the first box involves getting the sizing down and seeing how detailed the style quiz is at the beginning.

When I took the style/sizing quiz I was very impressed. While they did ask my general size they also went garment by garment. For me this is important because there are some shirts that I have to get larger depending on the style. (I am a 40 D). However if I get items sized for my bustline then often the pants are too large. With this quiz I was asked what size I took in jeans as well as slacks and then I was asked different shirt and dress styles so they had a better idea of how garment’s fit me as well as what it was I actually liked.

Just didn’t like anything but the belt. Oddly the pants fit really well but the belt was too small. I needed two more sets of holes

And here is the thing. They sent four shirts, three pairs of pants and a dress. All fit me. without a struggle or sagging. Every single item fitted me. Now I didn’t particularly like all of the items, but they fit me. And while I didn’t specifically like each item, they all fell well into the guidelines of what I said I wanted. That I sort of expected. I figured they’d send garments and then i would get to evaluate each item and then with each box it would get better as the categories narrowed slightly.

flared wide at the narrowest part of me making me look like a giant box, but it fit me comfortably

The box included colors I liked, did not include colors or patterns that I didn’t like and the only thing that they included that I didn’t ;like was a pair of jeans. (Technically I suppose they are jeggings but I asked for no denim and they sent denim. And to be fair they might have just thought of them as jeggings instead of denim.)Everything else was spot on.

loved this shirt and ended up keeping it

So did I keep anything? Yes. I kept the white shirt. The dress was fine but the slip underneath was too short and hit strangely when I sat down making the otherwise comfy dress not so comfy. The long sleeved gray shirt I liked except for the waist. I hate elastic on my wasted from shirts. I would rather tuck in a shirt or leave it out, but I just don’t care for the elastic. I also didn’t like the material. But the style was great. The yellow shirt I liked but it needed to either be a little shorter or a lot longer. The olive shirt was nice but the elastic hit right under my bust and the wide flare of the bottom half of the shirt made the narrowest part of me look wider and me a lot boxier.

needed to be either a little shorter or a lot longer but loved the color and it was super soft material I hated to send this back but it just didn’t look good on me.

With pants, the black pants were exactly like three other pairs I already poses making them fit with my wardrobe but unnecessary to add. I didn’t like the capri pants and the one think I really don’t need more of in my wardrobe right now are jeans or jeggings.

So one white shirt is added to my closet.

dress was great but the slip underneath was too short and tight which again was a shame as I liked the dress.

In the questionnaire you could pick a budget. I chose no garment over $50. My most expensive item was $32.75. (I also chose not to add any accessories like jewelry, shoes or handbags.) While I might bend on the jewelry at some point I need to whittle down my shoe and handbag collection before I look at adding to it. The lowest priced item was $25. over all I would say the pricing was spot on. With the white shirt my guess was $30-$35 and it was $27.50.

And the cost was easy to see as they sent a sheet breaking down each garment. In addition there was also a list from the stylist stating which items she saw paired together and explaining why she sent them

I was very impressed with the sizing and the quality of the garments as well as the pricing. If you choose to buy the entire selection sent to you then you get a 25% discount on the pricing. To be honest, while this box wasn’t exactly there, it wasn’t that far off. I could easily see a time when I would purchase the entire box.

And once I received the box and tried everything on, I went onto the website and reviewed each item and in addition to reviewing them I let them know what I was keeping and what I was returning. I then chose to go ahead and pay for the item I am keeping, which meant that I controlled when that charge went to my account. I wasn’t sending in the box and letting them process the return and then realize I kept something and then waiting until they charged my card.

I did that on the site before I even sent the box back. It took less than a day for the charge to appear. As I have had trouble with waiting for charges to go through before, I really liked that aspect of the box. Over all I was very impressed with my first box and can’t wait for my next. This box has the subscription option of once a month, once every other moth or once every three months. I chose every three months, because I think quarterly is about right for me. As I purge some of my older garments from the closet, that might change, but for now I am happy. And if I decide I need more I can always request a style box whenever i want one sent to be regardless of the schedule. It seems very flexible and I am interested to see how this subscription progresses. For now, I am sending most of the clothes back and keeping one very nice new shirt.

If you try this out, don’t forget you can get $10 credit for any item you purchase with the code DFIS10. Happy shopping!

Unboxing The Underclub for May 2022

The Underclub has been one of my favorite subscriptions. For $15 per month you receive one pair of luxury underwear. There are different tiers of course, different prices and one I think where you receive three pairs a month. There is even a new bralette subscription available. For me, the one new pair a month is absolutely perfect. It is a once a moth treat but I never feel like it is too much.

Many of you may realize that thee was not an unboxing posted for April. It isn’t because I took a month off, it is because my subscription was never sent. Apparently the package was never picked up. So I am trying to work that out with The Underclub. I know they are changing over their website at the moment and I think because of this communication is slow, but it is progressing. I will keep you posted on how that plays out.

One of the reasons that I adore The Underclub is that they are very size inclusive. They have the extra small sizes as well as the much larger ones and it is easy to adjust the sixing of your subscription. I went from a 3X down to a 2X and it was just a few clicks and the changes were made. I also like that everything comes in this wide size range. You can go on find something you like in the main store and not be shunted off to a small plus sized section with a limited amount of products. And they have some adorable things in their on-line shop in addition to their subscriptions (members get a discount of course.) Some of their sleepwear and cami sets are just fabulous.

This month’s pair of undies comes from their own line of underwear (The Underclub brand). They do have other brands as well. I really like the quality of the Under club pieces. As usual. I opened the subscription as soon as it came. The package is a simple plastic mailer that easily fits in the mailbox. After opening I inspected for loose threads and pulled stitches. I found none. Then it went in the wash and after coming out, I inspected it again, still no pulled threads or dropped stitches.

This set is a lovely deep purple with a really nice pattern to the lace. The material itself is whisper soft and the underwear fits perfectly. (the lace is also see through, which is why there are no try on pictures, I love you but there are limits to photos I am willing to post). The waistband is fitting but not too tight and it falls in just the right place to be comfortable wearing all day. There is a little cut out in the back as an added decorative element. I think it looks nice which is a good thing as I have seen this detail appear more and more lately. Over all I am very pleased with this set and am already looking forward to next month.

Of course hopefully April will get sorted and that will be here as well. I will definitely keep you updated on the customer service and missing subscription replacement policy. As they have been really good with everything else I am interested to see how that works out. For now, I am enjoying May’s subscription and happy to keep the Underclub subscription in general.

Unboxing The UnderClub March 2022

Ah the beginning of the month and the arrival of one of my favorite subscription boxes. Or bags I suppose as the Underclub subscription arrives in a discrete plastic mailer. I love this subscription for many reasons. One is that pretty underwear makes me feel more confident. I now it is silly but if I am wearing pretty underwear, even if i am the only one who knows it, I feel more confident. I always have.

The second reason I love The Underclub is it’s size inclusivity. All of their garments are offered in the full size range. There is no going to their on line story and being shunted off to a small corner of the website for the few items they have in your size. From XS to 3X they have you covered. Its a small thing, but being able to shop in the store instead of being relegated to a small corner of the website just makes me very happy.

I love the extra interior bag for the undies

I have also been impressed with the quality and this month is no exception. This month there is a pair of bikini briefs (mostly see through which is why I am not wearing them in the photos. I like that it is green for St. Patrick’s day but a more subdued green. It is not only a little more sophisticated a color but it is something I would wear all year round. as always I inspected the garment for loose stitches and found none. Then I sent it through the wash, inspected again and then tried them on. They fit beautifully and have great subtle details. The slight material overlap at the hip bone, the slight variation in the lines on the material. It is a simple bikini brief but someone clearly took the time to think about the details.

And they fit comfortably. For those who routinely read you may recall I lost enough weight that I had to adjust my sizing. It was a quick few clicks on my account page and it was done. No muss, no fuss. And I have always found their sizing to be spot on with measurements

. There is no running small or lager, The measurements are accurate. Which I personally love. I’ve had this subscription for over a year now and I can tell you, this is not a subscription that is going anywhere. I expect to keep it for a long time.

Unboxing the Sock Panda for March 2022

I love socks. I love wild and crazy socks. I love soft and fluffy socks. In general, I just love socks. I think because as my weight increased, it was one clothing item that didn’t change. I now that sounds a little strange but clothes change when you gain weight and so does your relationship with them.

I am a very tactile clothes shopper and in larger garment sizes sometimes the cloth doesn’t feel as nice. Plus there is this material I always think of as fat girl cloth. It has elastic woven in with the fibers so it can fit a wider variety of sizes and stretch with you. It also has a weirdly burnt rubber smell when it comes out of the dryer. I’ve never seen men’s garments made from it, no matter how large the size, hence the name. For a while at least half my closet was made from this material and one of the best things about losing weight has been eliminating some of those garments.

In addition, for me, as my weight increased there was the desire to not be seen. Not to draw attention to myself. So I chose darker colors with no patterns or eye catching anything as though it would help me blend into the wall.

With socks, I never had to worry. My feet are between a women’s 7 -7.5 and that hasn’t changed with the weight gain. So I can indulge in my fuzzy fabrics, soft textures and since I generally wear shoes when I leave the house, the socks are covered by shoes and trouser legs. So I can get as crazy as I like. As my weight slowly decreases, I am broadening my clothing selection , bot I still love my wild socks. Because very few people get to see them, they are kind of something special just for me.

A while ago I had a sock subscription but the subscription was discontinued. I decided it was time to go and find a new one to try out. So I poked around Cratejoy for a bit. I love finding subscriptions to try out when I am on there. Sometimes they are fabulous and I keep them, other times I try for a few months and let them go.

I have high hopes for this one. Sock Panda is a sock subscription as the name suggests. There are women’s subscriptions (which I have), men’s and even a tween’s so socks for everyone. It is $14 per month, although you can get discounts if you go for a longer term. At the moment I am trying them out and going month to month. If I decide I like it enough to keep long term (generally after about three months I’ll make that decision) also at the moment they have a 35% offer going on (use code BESTGIFT35). with the Sock Panda you get one pair of socks each month. In addition, with every order, Sock Panda gives one pair of socks to someone in need. According to the card that came with the socks this month they have donated over 143,000 pairs to shelters, hospitals, schools and communities.

I love that.

It makes me feel much better about adding the subscription to my list.

Plus I don’t always remember to change into my sweat socks when I work out so I have destroyed much of my sock collection through extra heavy use.

This is my first month with this subscription. The socks have a makeup of 85% Peruvian Cotton. 20%nylon, and 5% spandex. The design is cute. One sock has a man with his face replaced by a cell phone and the pother a woman with her face replaced by a cell phone. while I like the designs I would have preferred the image on the foot rather than on the ankle part of the sock, mostly because I tend to scrunch my socks down rather than wear them pulled all the way up. But that is personal preference. And I do like the pink foot part.

The socks feel like they are a good quality. They fit well with the heel being just a tiny bit high. But on me that is not unusual. The size range is from women’s 6-10 I believe and I am a 7-7.5. A little high on the heel is how most of my socks sit. So I am not surprised. But it does mean that these socks fit me as well as the socks I pick out for myself in the store. As a first pair, this was quite the success. I have a nice new pair of bright socks. It always makes me very happy to pull on a new pair of socks. It is one of life’s many little pleasures. And I am pleased that because of my purchase, someone else gets to feel that sensation as well. Because some days a fresh pair of socks makes the entire world feel just a little bit brighter. I think I will be keeping this Sock Panda subscription for a while.

The Underclub arrives for January 2022

That’s right the first of the January subscriptions has arrived. And no surprise it is the Underclub. This month they actually mailed the subscription early to make up for postal delays. That’s right, I received an e-mail notification and tracking number December 28th. Oh yeah, they saw the swamped post offices and the upcoming New Year’s Holiday and mailed out their subscription a couple of days early to make up for it.

Is it any wonder they are one of my favorite subscriptions?

well that and their size inclusivity and great underwear. I will say that this month’s selection does not photograph well. Which is a shame. As always when I receive my selection, I look it over to check the quality. As always The Underclub passed with no loose strings and no missed stitches. I know, to some that sounds bizarre, but it is part of how my grandmother taught me to shop for clothing. Any garment, from undies to winter wear parkas, had to have the stitching studied before a purchase decision could be made.

I still find myself unable to stop myself from checking the stitching on ever garment that comes into my house. The Underclub passed and went off to the wash before it could be worn. Because again, as per grandmother’s edict, no clothing can be worn until it has first been washed. I once asked her why. Her eyebrows (plucked to thin little arches and mostly the product of an eyebrow pencil) shot up to her hairline and her eyes went wide.

“Things happen in factories.”

To this day I am uncertain what unspeakable evil she thinks goes on in the packaging department, but I wash my clothes before wearing them, just in case.

the band is slightly darker than the rest of the material.

Not that I suspect The Underclub of unspeakable evil. Quite the contrary. I think they are quite fabulous. This months selection (from the $15 per month category of their subscription service) looks very plain in the photograph. It is simple black material with a silkier black edging on the outer edges. Nothing very earth shattering. However once on, they fit perfectly and are perhaps the most comfortable set of undies I have put on in a long time.

Perfect fit, fantastic comfort.

I recently changed the size of my monthly selection as I lost enough weight to go down a size. (The changing of the sizes was super easy. Two clicks on the account page and I was done. Also their size guide has always been spot on for me.) And these fit me absolutely perfectly. They may not be the fanciest set in the drawer, but I am thrilled to have them. They look nice on, they have a classic appeal with no frills. I like the look of the black on black design actually. It is a subtle, understated difference that appeals to me. But it is the comfort that has this month’s Underclub selection doing a lap in the winner’s circle. This is a set I will truly enjoy wearing for a long time to come.

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Unboxing The December Underclub Subscription

Happy Monday morning my darlings. While I would much rather be lounging in bed for a few more hours to catch up on the sleep that eluded me in the night, I am very happy that one of my favorite subscriptions has arrived in my mailbox. It is The Underclub. While there are several tiers to suit your needs and desires. They have a subscription with one pair or three pairs sent monthly or they have two tiers based on the value of the undergarments that you want. You can even get a set with the bralette if you wanted.

I decided that one pair of new undies per month was suitable for me and that I was comfortable with the $15 price range. So that is the one I receive each month. I love that it is always a flat $15. There is no additional tax or shipping added to it. it is just $15. In addition all of the pieces I have received (whether as part of a subscription or as an item ordered from their store) have been of excellent quality.

While I love getting new underwear, mostly because I know that no matter what else is going on, I know I feel pretty when I have pretty underwear on, even if no one else sees them, pretty underwear is not always the easiest to find in my size. It is as though if you don’t fit a certain size profile then the clothing industry declares your undergarments must be boring and plain.

I am on the larger side, but The Underclub is size inclusive in both directions. They have sized up to 4X and down to XS. And if you have an issue with the size you are currently wearing it is simple to adjust your membership to the correct size. They provide a size guide to their garments and it is an accurate guide. Everything I have ordered has fit with their size guidelines. For me, as I am slowly chipping away at my weight, I had to recently change my sizing as I dropped a size. I went form a 3X to a 2X and adjusted my membership with two clicks. Now everything is back to fitting as it should. (even if I must retire a few of my earlier subscription items. They are still in good shape, they are just a little too large for me to wear anymore.

With the size change, the subscription is back to fitting me perfectly and this month is no exception.

This month is a lavender polka dotted set in the bikini style. The dots are solid, but the rest of the set is see through, hence no photos of me wearing them. As always I inspected them before and after washing (I always wash before I wear). There were no missed stitches or loose threads. The garment was of good quality. While rumpled from shipping, the rumples fell out in the wash. The fit was perfect and I really like the color.

For me, it was another win from The Underclub. At the moment they have delightful holiday styles (and sales) going on in their store. The new December styles look really good. There is a teal set I have my eye on actually. I’m going to make sure all of the final last minute holiday items are paid for before I go shopping though. Then I am going to look at a new set for New Years. I just need to order them soon. Although even though it is the holidays, The Underclub has been really good at getting things shipped out in a timely manner. Thus far, I have been impressed with them in the shipping department, as well as everywhere else. At the moment, they are the most reliable subscription I have. And one I definitely plan to keep well into the new year.