Style Plan by Frank And Oak is a clothing subscription for women and men from Canadian brand Frank And Oak who often uses recycled and organic materials coupled with eco-conscious methods to produce stylish clothes that you can feel good about wearing. Each month their stylists provide a selection of clothing, shoes, and accessories to choose from that fit your unique style. Once you receive the pieces you can keep what you like or return what you don't, with the $25 styling fee only being charged if you keep nothing.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Style Plan by Frank And Oak for Women, which has no styling fee (normally $25) and free shipping when you use our MSA coupon code.
About Style Plan by Frank And Oak
The Subscription Box: Style Plan by Frank And Oak
The Cost: Pay only for what you keep, and get up to 20% off of Frank And Oak's regular prices. If you return everything you receive, you'll be charged a $25 styling fee.
ACTIVE DEAL: Get $35 off your first month of Style Plan!
CODE: MSA35
The Products: Your choice of select clothing items every month or every other month. Items are selected according to your size, taste, and budget preferences–and you can log in 2 days before your box ships each month to add or remove items, or to skip the month entirely.
Ships to: The U.S. and Canada for free, with free returns.
Good to Know: When your box ships, you're billed in full for the members-only discounted price of the items in your box. If you decide not to keep any of the items, Frank And Oak will issue a refund (minus the $25 styling fee).
Style Plan by Frank And Oak Review - January 2021
Another great feature that sets this clothing subscription apart from others is that they have a button on most of their items to "Add to my next Style Plan box." This allows you to select what goes in your Style Plan box without the help of a stylist, or you can take some of the stylist's suggestions but not others. Lately, I've noticed that this button is less available on items as I browse around their new arrivals. Frank And Oak has been experiencing inventory shipping delays due to COVID-19, so their stock is generally lower, but I have taken advantage of this button a few times as a subscriber.
My Style Plan by Frank And Oak Review
At the end of my November Frank And Oak review I mentioned that I'd be customizing my next several Style Plan boxes with items that I hope will fit my growing pregnant belly (and bum). Frank And Oak clothes lend themselves nicely to this endeavor since many of their pieces have roomy silhouettes. For January, I tried 2 tops and a skirt. Since the photos of me wearing the items I received aren't representative of how these clothes were designed to fit, I included a Frank And Oak image for each. Here's how they worked out:
The Good Cotton Essential Tee in Dark Green, size small - Retail Value $34.50/Member Price $29.50
When it comes to classic crew neck T-shirts, Frank And Oak makes the best I've ever worn, hands down. This isn't the first time I've tried a Good Cotton (100% organic cotton) tee from them and it surely won't be the last—on top of the amazingly soft material and classic fit, they offer such a broad and unique line of colors. This month my stylist chose a forest green hue for me (it looks charcoal/black in my images but looks genuinely green in person; the F+O image I included above is of an actual black tee). I am so into this color and can't wait to pair it with some of my favorite wide-leg pants when they fit again.
In terms of how this non-maternity shirt works on my pregnant body: well, despite only being about 5 months pregnant, my belly all of a sudden got gigantic! I think this is the last month I can comfortably wear my normal size S and will have to size up for my next Style Plan box. Sizing up will still work for me in the long-term, beyond this pregnancy—I will welcome having awesome T-shirts in a variety of fits in my drawer to achieve different looks and suit different moods.
Dotted Print Mock Neck in Black, size small - Retail Value $49.50/Member Price $44.50
My stylist chose the solid black version of this mock neck for me in my November box and I found myself reaching for it so often that I decided to snag a patterned version. The white-and-khaki overlapping specks on this shirt are almost like a super-vague cheetah print. I'm not normally an animal print wearer, but this works for me. I love how clean this top looks tucked into a high-waisted skirt (say hello to my chocolate-milk-covered special guest!), but I also provided a couple of photos of it untucked so you can see the length over my belly. This shirt can kind of do it all in terms of length—when I hold it up to other shirts I own I can tell it wouldn't fit extra-long on my non-pregnant body, but it also stretches comfortably enough to cover my growing belly without being cropped. In the last pic, you can see how I styled this top on the fly for a casual Zoom wedding that I got invited to last-minute!
The Midi Sweater Wrap Skirt in Tortoise Brown, size small - Retail Value $99.50/Member Price $84.50
When I spotted this skirt on the Frank And Oak site I grew wide-eyed imagining this being the bottoms I live in for the rest of the winter. I am feeling done with pants and leggings to a degree I didn't know possible, and I just ordered a pair of leg warmers to make my skirt-wearing warm enough in my drafty house. Plus, it's a known that wrap skirts and dresses are the golden ticket to feeling good in a changing body—maybe not for everyone, but definitely for me. Alas, this piece is not as roomy as I was hoping and will have to be saved for next fall when I'm closer to my usual shape again. But, what makes this skirt not work for me right now is exactly what I love about it for normal times: the waistband, while elasticized, is firm and structured so it'll stay in place. On the inside is a waistline button (which had no hope of closing over my expanded ribcage), a crucial feature for a wrap skirt to not fall open on a full day of wear. And, the material—which is an unbelievably soft nylon/acrylic/wool blend in the best rich, earthy orange color—seems plentiful enough to provide coverage over a typical body, not a fully pregnant one. I have a hunch that even had I sized up it still wouldn't have worked because, of course, it isn't a maternity piece. But F+O pieces are just so magical that even saving them for later feels special and worth it over sending them back, partially because things go out of stock quickly!
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BKIND Shampoo + Conditioner Bars - Retail Value $20 each/Member Price $19.50 each
Any regular readers of my Frank And Oak reviews know that I have a knack for popping socks into my Style Plan as add-ons just before confirming my order. This time around, in addition to the usual socks and simple totes they typically have to choose from, they also offered watches and a few natural body goods. My thinking is that they're clearing through some leftover holiday gifting stock. I have been wondering what the deal is with shampoo bars for a long while, loving the low-waste aspect of them but not fully understanding how they work, and decided to give these guys a go. They smell so nice—both are Orange and Eucalyptus and accordingly are faintly citrusy and almost minty, but with different supporting ingredients that give them slightly differing aromas. They aren't overtly advertised as being silicone-free on their packaging, but I noticed once I had them in my hands that silicone isn't listed as an ingredient for either. Here's a brief overview of why some folks are going silicone-free with their hair care. I wasn't planning on making the switch to silicone-free hair products anytime soon (I just don't know enough about it to make that decision right now), but I accidentally bought a bottle of silicone-free shampoo at the grocery store recently so it's been on my mind.
I've never been a clean freak, and let's be honest, with nowhere to go right now I'm definitely stretching out the time between showers. I don't know if this is the reason my hair took to these bars well or not, but it feels perfectly clean and pretty normal! I have very fine, flat hair and have tried full-on shampoo detoxes before with no luck. But these bars aren't quite that. The shampoo bar suds up surprisingly well, while the conditioner bar was a little trickier. The end result wasn't silky-smooth hair, but it did soften it a bit, and that's fine for me. We'll see how they work for me long-term, and if all goes well I may make the switch to this low-waste solution!
Verdict: As per usual, this month's Style Plan by Frank And Oak package was a top-notch offering of smooth, soft materials and sensational colors. With the perk of being sustainably made, and affordable compared to many other sustainable clothing options! The wonderful tactical experience + conscious supply chain combo never fails to put a smile on my face. The tee and lightweight mock neck are comfy, different-from-the-norm basics and will be worn often. The skirt, while not a complete success for my changing body, still has very notable merits and will be enthusiastically saved for future seasons. The shampoo + conditioner bars seem like great quality, and I look forward to continuing using them.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge my chronic even-if-it-doesn't-work-for-me-I-still-love-it tendencies with F+O clothes. I can see it seeming really annoying to some folks out there. The truth is that I just genuinely love this brand (which I hadn't heard of prior to MSA), and these clothes are dressing me comfortably and stylishly during what feels like an elongated style transition for me—one that started when I was postpartum with my now-2-year-old daughter. Also, as I mentioned earlier in my review, these items feel extra special because they sell out so quickly. Finally, I am really trying to be more conscious about where I buy my clothes—I do a lot of secondhand shopping (mostly using apps these days), but sometimes new pieces make sense, too, and I appreciate that I can wear these without feeling like I'm backtracking in my efforts. All that said, you're usually seeing me in my honeymoon phase with a box of clothes I just opened a few days prior, and sometimes I find down the line that I don't reach for these items as much as I thought I would. Some examples are the grey sweater from November, the black dress from September, and the brown shorts from June. By the time I realize that, I have usually missed the exchange window, which is a recurring dilemma for me in life. But I am fortunate to have friends and family members who are always game for clothing swaps (before COVID I hosted swap parties every few months, now it's more like porch drops), which is another beautifully sustainable way to make sure clothes are being worn instead of sitting, collecting dust.
To Wrap Up:
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? Style Plan by Frank And Oak uses your preferences and tastes to curate a mix of styles just for you, so you may have different options than me. You can sign up for your own Style Plan to see what the styling team will pick for you (and/or make some picks for yourself, like I've done each month)!
ACTIVE DEAL: Get $35 off your first month of Style Plan!
CODE: MSA35
Value Breakdown: I received 3 clothing items and 2 personal care products this month. Total, they retail at $223.50 if you buy them without a Style Plan membership. With a membership, my total came to $197.50, which is a member discount of $26 and breaks down to $39.50 per item. Admittedly there have been months when my member discount has been more notable, but I still stand by my claims that Frank And Oak offers awesome prices for the product they are putting out. Plus, your member discount applies to all purchases made on the Frank And Oak site, not just those within your styled box.
Check out all of our Style Plan by Frank And Oak reviews, the best women's clothing subscription boxes, and the best men's clothing subscription boxes of 2020!
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Would you wear any of the items I received in my Style Plan by Frank And Oak this month?
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