Welcome to the part two of my Trunk Club review. In part one, I wrote about setting up my Trunk Club profile and discussing my clothing preferences and sizes with Lisa, the personal stylist assigned to my account.
Right on time, my first trunk arrived four days after the initial consultation. Let's take a look…
The packaging is impressive, and it's fun unpacking the trunk to see what Lisa picked out for me. Sort of like Christmas in March.
The personal note includes a description of each item and suggestions for pairing and layering. Lisa read my post about socks for small feet, so she included a pair of small socks from Richer Poorer. Nice touch!
I like the colors. I can tell that Lisa took my preferences into consideration. That said, there is a lot of blue.
But enough about colors and packaging. Fit is the most important aspect of style, and I'm eager to try these clothes on. I'm not expecting anything to fit properly. Are you?
Compared to everything else in the box, this XS button up shirt from Hyden Yoo fits pretty well. The only problem is that the sleeves are a bit too long (story of my life…). I usually buy made-to-measure shirts or find shirts on sale and pay for alterations. But this shirt costs $155, so I'm not willing to pay the extra tailor tax.
The slim-straight pants are made by Paige Denim. They are too bunchy for my taste and way too long. Speaking of length…
All Trunk Club pants have a 34″ inseam. Clients are expected to get their pants hemmed locally and will be reimbursed for this alteration. This isn't a terrible system for taller men, but it's no good for men 5'8″ and under. Why, you ask?
Well, when you chop 4+ inches off your pant legs, it changes the shape and silhouette of the pants. Details, like the back pockets and fading, are thrown out of proportion.
For example, look at these A.G. “Matchbox” pants:
The fade sinks below my knee, and the back pockets dip down to my thighs. Simply put, these pants were made for someone bigger and taller than me.
The blue shirt is made by Bespoken. It's a small, but the sleeves are at least two inches too long, and the breast pocket sits too low.
Together, all of these little problems produce an overall “hand-me-down” effect (trust me, I'm one of six kids, so I know hand-me-downs very well). Simply put, I don't feel comfortable in these clothes.
This Life After Denim button up fits better than the Bespoken shirt, but the sleeves are too long and baggy, and I'm not willing to pay to have them cleaned up.
The short sleeved Vince henley is way too long. I don't know who this shirt is made for, but it's definitely not me (or any “small” man, in my opinion).
Conclusion
Sadly (but not surprisingly), I'm packing up all of these clothes and shipping them back to Trunk Club headquarters. The quality and design is there, but they just don't fit. I am leaving detailed feedback for my stylist and hoping for better results with the second trunk.
Stay tuned for the third and final part of this series, and make sure to sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss it.
Do you think Trunk Club will redeem itself with the next trunk? Vote “yes” or “no” in the comments.
Not all XS’s are equal. If they had shopped from, say, H&M, they would probably of better fit (but of bad quality, though).
I’m done trying on. My dress pants, shirts, and sport coats are MTM.
Well said, Joshua.
Thanks again for a great article. I had a question regarding the socks from Richer Poorer. Are they the one size fits all, 6-12, that I see on their website? This has been a huge annoyance for me as well. Frank & Oak offered several sizes of socks for a short time but then went to the common 8-12 size which means they don’t fit me at all. Also, did you like the socks?
Oh and I’ll checkout your article on socks next.
Hey Zach,
I didn’t try the socks on because I didn’t want to tear the label/packaging, but they were size “O/S”. Not sure what that means, but from what I can tell, it looks like they only have one size (6-12).
Definitely check out the sock article… there are some good options for smaller socks. You just have to hunt for them!
-B
I am 100% sure Trunk Club will NOT redeem themselves in the second trunk. All their stuff is off the rack and not made to measure like what you’re used to. Also, they’re charging regular prices on everything (read: high), so not only will the clothes not fit, but they won’t be a good value either. I feel like Trunk Club is for a demographic that has a lot of disposable income, doesn’t have time to shop, and either has an average body type or isn’t that particular.
Hey Roger,
Hate to say it, but I think you’re right. TC is most likely for men with plenty of cash (at least $300/month for clothes), average builds, a lack of interest in shopping and non-specific style preferences.
That said, Lisa (my TC stylist) agreed that the clothes from this first trunk were generally baggy and too big. I have no doubt that she knows what looks good…I’m just not sure if she has access to anything that fits me.
We will see. Thanks for the comment!
-Brock
If you think about how much time we put into finding clothes that fit you’ll quickly realize it wouldn’t be profitable for TC to do the same thing.
What ever happened to making a list of companies that sell clothes for shorter men?
Well, there’s this list:
http://www.themodestman.com/modest-man-approved-clothing/
If you sign up for my mailing list, you get a link to that page and a PDF copy. Also, the ebook is full of suggestions.
Hope that helps!
-B
Hello guys. I was thinking to use trunk club service but one thing came up in my mind before that. I wonder how a brand like H&M works with someoje else except themselves. Usually H&M and Zara have a closed system of selling and they dont have politoc to work eith online stores or other retailers. Can someone answer me, because i wonder if the goods from H&M are truly H&M or prob they are just buying them from there and piut extra price and resell.
I love the concept of Trunk Club, but I’m not willing to pay the full price on those clothes when I can get deals and sales on them elsewhere throughout the year. Alterations are also another bummer.