Goody Boxes by online consignment shop ThredUP are new women's fashion styling services featuring exclusively secondhand clothes.
ThredUP's mission is to help people explore fashion... sustainably! By recycling unwanted clothes that are still in fantastic condition, ThredUP hopes to lessen the waste produced and resources spent on manufacturing new clothing. Oh, and to save their customers some money on the designer labels they love, too!
There are four styles of Goody Boxes to choose from—Cold Weather Essentials, Office Styles, Night Out, and Fancy Finds. Whenever you'd like to receive a box, choose your style, fill out the ThredUP profile, and you'll receive a box of all sorts of items to try on in the comfort of your home. Keep what you like. Drop what you don't want back in the box and pass it on to USPS within 7 days. (There's a free return shipping label in your box.) You'll only be charged for what you keep!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About the Office Styles Goody Box by ThredUP
The Subscription Box: Office Styles Essentials Goody Box by ThredUp
The Cost: $20.00 non-refundable deposit to get your box of clothes. From there, you only pay for what you keep. The $20.00 deposit will be applied towards any purchases you make! Free US shipping and returns.
The Products: 12-15 secondhand styles picked specifically for you by one of ThredUP's "Treasure Hunters". The Office Styles box promises “Monday-Friday essentials that are anything but boring boardroom attire.”
Ships to: the US and internationally
Office Styles Goody Box by ThredUP January 2018 Review
Goody Boxes are one-time boxes that you order on demand. When you place your order, you provide your size and preferences.
There isn’t a standard information card with this subscription, but there were a lot of inserts:
Here’s the request for you to share on social media.
There were instructions to follow regarding any returns. You have a week to return any garments you don’t want to keep (a scan of the package at the post office is sufficient; they’ll know it’s on the way then!). And there was a return label.
There was also this letter from the ThredUP CEO.
And some promotional materials.
And finally, my list of items and the cost to keep them. Prices are based on my selection and yours may be higher or lower, on average, depending on what you choose.
Elizabeth McKay Short Sleeve Blouse, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $51.99
Anna Sui Casual Skirt, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $68.99
Ah, and we are not off to a great start. One of the things I made sure to mention in my comments at sign-up was that I don’t wear neutrals. I strongly dislike them. I love bright colors (pretty much everything but yellow and lime green).
This top did fit pretty well, though the zipper was up the back and my husband had to zip it for me. Since he is gone from the house by the time I am getting dressed work, I wouldn’t actually be able to wear this to the office. I’m also not too keen on sleeveless garments, and this is quite heavy so it would be uncomfortable with a cardigan.
And this skirt. This is sooooo not office wear for me. It balloons up weirdly all around my hips and I just couldn’t figure out what was going on with all the zippers.
Three Eighty-Two Long Sleeve Blouse, Size XS – Cost to Keep $41.99
Leifsdottir Casual Skirt, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $35.99
If I have a funny look on my face, it’s because my husband snapped the picture when I stopped laughing for a second.
For a shirt that was allegedly size XS, this was large on me, and really loose. Perhaps if I had a bigger bust, it would’ve fit better, but you could see every little detail through it up close (including my Fitbit, which was clipped to my bra). It was also a little low-cut. If I had really liked the style, I’d have considered wearing a camisole underneath, but there was the tie thing going on at the waist and this just wasn’t for me.
Meanwhile, this was one of two wildly office-inappropriate skirts. I do like the color (in fact, this skirt is probably the only color I really liked from the whole shipment), but no. This is far too short for me to be comfortable in and that slit up the side isn’t going to work.
Sanctuary ¾ Sleeve Blouse, Size XS – Cost to Keep $25.99
Elie Tahari Casual Pants, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $32.99
I had mentioned in my profile that I really liked ¾ sleeve tops, so they got that part right. But, again, this is really big and loose on me, which is just not a fit that I like (most of my work clothes are knits and much more fitted). It is also too short. I am 40 and I don’t need to worry that my midriff is going to be exposed every time I lift my arms. Also, I don’t do pastels.
I am definitely looking for pants and will wear neutral pants with the right top, and these did fit. But they had a drawstring, which I find kind of strange, and they were SO THIN. My abdomen isn’t quite looking the way I want just yet, less than four months after I had a hysterectomy, and if I wasn’t careful when I stood still, these showed the contours of everything I really want to hide at the moment.
A.L.C. ¾ Sleeve Blouse, Size XS – Cost to Keep $59.99
So close and yet so far. This has the fit around the torso and the sleeve length I want, but it is another one that is effectively a crop top on me. Also, I don’t wear black.
BCBGMaxazria Long Sleeve Blouse, Size XS – Cost to Keep $38.99
Women’s Theory Dress Pants, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $54.99
This shirt. You’ll see a lot of it because they sent me a boatload of pants and skirts and it was the easiest to match with the other garments. It is SOOOOO thin, it’s another one you can see everything through. I’m also honestly not sure what is going on with the front. There are buttons on one side of that fabric flap and button holes on the other side, but the button holes are not functional (they’re sewn closed) and I just feel like I am wearing the ruffled pirate shirt from Seinfeld (which is probably dating me but oh well).
These pants were an item I almost would’ve kept. It is a bit difficult to see in the photo, but they are black with white pinstripes. They fit very well when I tried them on. However, I have a similar pair of pants already and I don’t have enough tops that match them to justify having two pairs of black pants with pinstripes. Also, they were like 8% elastane, and I can’t wear pants with elastane. (They fit great when I put them on but stretch out over the course of the day until they are really sagging in back. It’s not a good look.)
Club Monaco Silk Pants, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $34.99
I have never owned a pair of silk pants, or even tried one on. I’m not likely to change my mind about them after these. The two-tone color scheme was odd to me. I don’t own a single top that would allow me to pull these off. Also, the snaps down the side made me feel like I was wearing some kind of athletic gear instead of work pants.
Here you can see the snaps a little better. They didn’t actually function as closures, but they were quite cold against my leg.
DKNY Dress Pants, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $56.99
These just didn’t fit. I could get into them and then I couldn’t close them around my waist.
Theory Casual Skirt, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $50.99
I couldn’t even get this over my rear end. It’s weird because there were two pairs of pants from this brand in the same size that I was able to put on. Oh well.
Mason Casual Skirt, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $67.99
I am not sure which is more inappropriate for the office, this or the fuchsia one. This slit was so high, and anytime I moved, the fabric bunched up and made the slit go higher. I would totally be uncomfortable wearing this to the office. Or really anywhere in public.
Reiss Short Sleeve Silk Top, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $42.99
Theory Dress Pants, Size 2 – Cost to Keep $54.99
This top was a puzzler. The label was in such a weird place, but no one would put buttons in the BACK of a shirt and anyway, the back had details that made it was clear it was the back of the shirt. (See what I mean about the tag below.) This is also just not really a color I wear, it is too dark for me.
These pants fit about the same as the pinstripe ones from the same brand. But they were the last bottoms I tried on for this box and I was really not very happy by the end of my fitting/photo session, and they had the elastane problem, too, so they also went back.
Here is the tag from the top. It was in the front and it kept flipping up.
Verdict: I don’t typically do consignment shopping. I don’t have anything against it, and I definitely love my vintage dresses from CHC Vintage. But maybe if I do it again, I need to pick the pieces myself.
I was really hoping to find some great pieces to wear to the office (my “day job” is at a law firm). I tend to go for bright colors and bold prints (like, orange and pink flowers the size of dinner plates are AWESOME in my book) and I didn’t get that here, with a few minor exceptions. (I expressed my loathing for neutrals when I filled out my profile. I was disappointed to receive so many neutrals, to say the least.)
About 80% of my work wardrobe is knit dresses that are knee length or so, and I didn’t receive a single dress in this shipment, and very few knit garments. (Most of my tops are also knit fabrics.) I prefer fitted clothing to loose and I do like to have my stomach covered when I raise my arms. I also don’t like to wear see-through tops and skirts slit way up my thigh. I just didn’t feel like the garments I received matched my style, at all.
I expressed my frustrations (ThredUP invites you to provide feedback in email after the post office scans your return package) and I was told I could provide a Pinterest board and/or links to my favorite items in my closet for next time. I’m not sure it’s worth it for me, though. Maybe there were some things I should’ve said that I forgot in the profile (length of skirts, no sleeveless, etc.), but the colors and patterns (which I did request) I received were just all wrong for me, and I’m not sure how a Pinterest board, which is much more complicated and in-depth than the phrase “bright colors and bold prints” is going to help that.
For what it’s worth, most everything fit except bottoms where noted. And everything was clean and in good condition.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Every box is different and packed based on the customer’s tastes and what’s available at the time.
Value Breakdown: The price to keep each item is listed above. Resale prices are a little less than what you would pay for these garments new. The average price across the items I received was $48.06.
Remember that the deposit on the box was $20 and that while it’s non-refundable, it can be applied to what you keep. So I would’ve made the box worth it by keeping even one item.
One last important thing to note about value: when you request a box, you’ll be able to pick a price range you’d like to stick to for individual items. Mine was $25-$70, but you could go lower or higher, depending on your preferences.
What do you think about the Office Styles Goody Box?
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