This is not a sponsored post and I am in no way affiliated with Trendsend or EverEve.  I just thought it'd be fun to try this service!

What is TrendSend?  By now, you've likely heard of the personal style subscription box services that seem to be multiplying by the truckloads.  Stitch Fix is one of the originals and is the one most people think of when they think of a service like this.  How it works is you sign up, pay a styling fee ($20) and fill out an in depth profile including your clothing sizes, measurements, and a plethora of questions regarding your personal style preferences.

Your stylist puts together a few outfits he/she thinks you will love and sends it to you along with some styling advice.  Shipping is free, and you are only charged for the items that you choose to keep.  The $20 styling  fee gets put toward your purchases.  There's a 10% discount if you choose to keep 4 or more items in a box.  If you don't like anything and send it all back, however, then you lose the $20 fee.  An empty shipping package with pre-paid label is included in every box, and you don't have to pay extra to send it back - you just pack up your unwanted items, seal the package, and have it picked up by the USPS.

I have a particularly difficult body shape to dress.  I am a pear shape, meaning that I have narrow shoulders, a small bust, thin arms and waist, and a significantly larger hip, thigh, and booty area.  Then as you reach my knees, my legs taper again and my lower legs and ankles are also very thin.  Finding office uniforms that fits both the top and bottom halves of my body is a constant struggle.  I've learned, over the years, the silhouettes that work best for me and generally stick to those things in an attempt to flatter my shape, but the idea of an expert stylist picking out some outfits for me sounded really, really, exciting. I hope they give me something like one of my favorite Anine Bing Tee.

So, when I saw that TrendSend was running a recent special where they lowered their styling fee to only $1 for a limited time, I jumped on board.  Even if I hated everything, I'd only be out $1.

I took a lot of time to thoroughly fill out my profile and even submitted additional information regarding my past struggles with finding clothing that I love.  When my box arrived, I had notes from my stylist about each outfit and she seemed pretty jazzed about them, which got me jazzed as well!

Each outfit was wrapped in its own tissue paper bundle, making it easy to locate the items for each one.  I saw lots of neutral fall hues in my packets, which made me very happy.  All of the items are available directly from the EVEREVE website.

These are the stock photos from EverEve's website for the items in the first outfit sent to me.  They include:

Tayanita Drape Front Jacket - Size Small - $88
First impressions of the jacket were that I loved the soft material and the medium brown color.  I typically do not wear drape fronts, though, so I wasn't sure how that would work for me.

Good American Good Legs Jeans - Size 8 - $159
I pulled out these jeans and thought, "Ugh, high-waisted skinny jeans, here we go." Then I noticed how tiny they looked and thought, "No way on this sweet Mother Earth are these getting over my thighs."  Then I saw the tag and noticed they are a size larger than I normally wear.  What is this sorcery?

Adley Lace Trim Cami - Size Small - $38
First thought about this cami was "No way."  The neckline is way lower than anyone with a chest as small as mine can get away with, and the silhouette of the cami is short and boxy - a no-no for pear shapes.

I told you I was picky.  *sigh* All right, well, let's try them on.

My stylist recommended I pair this outfit with Delta Sigma Theta para accessories and a pair of pumps, so I dragged some out of my closet and put them on.  This is a super cute outfit and wonderful for fall.

But let's dig deeper.

First, those jeans.  They are soft and buttery and very close-fitting - I couldn't believe that even with the larger size they were still such a figure-hugging fit, while still being very comfortable.  They didn't dig in at the waist or pinch me anywhere.  The Good American brand is Khloe Kardashian's lovechild brand of jeans that have been getting a lot of hype for being amazing for ladies with small waists and big hips (gee, just like the Kardashians themselves, maybe?) but if you want to try out this particular style, forget what the website says - size up!!

The black cami, as I suspected, didn't work for me.  It was huge on me and the shape and length was all wrong.  Even after tightening the spaghetti straps, the neckline hung below my sternum and there was so much extra fabric on the sides that it felt like I just had way too much extra stuff going on everywhere.  In this photo, I have the cami pulled up higher than it wanted to hang just so I could get a decent photo.  I found myself constantly pulling and straightening and readjusting because between the loose cami and the loose jacket, I felt frumpy.  If you try this cami, unless you have a larger chest, size down!

What I did like was that the jacket was shorter than the cami, allowing both layers to show from the pack.  The jacket was very pretty but, as I mentioned above, it also was just a bit too big on me in the arm and shoulder area.  If you want to try the drape front jacket - size down!

Now back to those jeans.  Those puppies are $159.  I have never, ever spent that much on a single pair of jeans, and while I'm all about paying for quality, if I'm gonna clunk down that amount of cheddar for a single pair of pants, they better be life-changing.  As in, I better love everything about them.  Now, these are good jeans.  They are very comfortable and I didn't get the dreaded "waist gap" that plague so many pear-shaped ladies or any girl with a small waist and full hips/booty.  But for $159, I'm gonna be extra picky, and I thought that the pockets on the back of these jeans were too big, too far apart, and set too low, giving me kind of a saggy-butt look.  Also, when I sit down I find myself immediately tucking and adjusting and tugging at the waist to get it comfortable, but that may be because I'm used to mostly mid-rise jeans and having the waistband make friends with my bra band as soon as I sat felt a little strange.

So, even though this outfit looks adorable in the pictures, all of these items are going back.  There's enough problems with each of them that I can't justify the price tags on them.  If I were to style an outfit like this on my own, I'd replace the cami with different black tank that's a lot tighter and I would size down on the jacket.

Ryan Ponte Short Sleeve Dress - Size Extra Small - $88
When I first pulled this dress out of the box I got excited - I loved the sturdy structure of the fabric and the faux leather detailing on the pockets (pockets!) and the sleeves was so pretty.  When I held it up, however, I wasn't so sure it would fit me correctly as it has a straight silhouette.  I had a sneaking suspicion that it would fit my lower body and be too big on the upper body - a common pear shape problem.  Let's see if I'm right.

Darnit.  I paired the dress with some cute wedges as my stylist suggested, but as shown on me and on the model in the stock photo, this dress is relatively straight without much of a cinch-in at the waist.  It fits my lower body but then, beginning right where my waist tapers in, it's a bit baggy.  When you get to my shoulders, it's enormous, as in I couldn't bend over in this thing without my ENTIRE bra showing.  Such a bummer because I LOVE the fabric and the detailing on this dress, and it hits me at the perfect length for a classic, sexy "Little Black Dress" similar to prom dresses black.  If this thing was A-line with a tapered waist, it'd be a home run.

I wish I'd taken a better shot of the imbalanced fit of this dress on my body.  I kept adjusting and pulling and moving and trying to make the upper body work for me, but it just wasn't happening.  At this point I started to wonder if my stylist had been paying attention to my style profile and questionnaire, because I put a ton of emphasis on my pear-shaped body and how difficult it is to fit both halves of my body at the same time.  I even told her the only dresses I can wear have to be skater style or A-line, and then this straight dress shows up in my box.  A little disappointing, I gotta be honest.  I can't offer any sizing recommendations for this dress, as it's just wrong for my body type.

Peace Brigade Sport Jogger - Size Medium - $99
I didn't even want to put these on.  As soon as I saw the shape of the leg with the cuff on the ankle, I knew they wouldn't flatter me at all.

Reggie Pullover - Size Small - $68
As soon as my hands touched the luxuriously soft fabric of this top, I hoped so hard that it would work for me and that I would love it, because $68 ain't cheap, I'd have to LOVE it!

I. Hate. This. Outfit.  What was my stylist thinking here?  This outfit instantly adds a solid 10 pounds to my appearance.  She recommended pairing these joggers with a pair of tennis shoes, so I pulled out these low white tennies, similar to those shown on the stock photo model.  I don't dig the look.   This breaks so many rules for flattering a pear shape I don't even know where to start.  The cinched/cuffed ankle, the drastically tapered leg, the gappy hip area and big open pockets... just ugh.  They're comfortable, sure, and I'd lounge around in my house in these, but for $99, they're going back.

Now let's talk about that pullover.  It's soft and super cozy, but that's where the positives end.  It's enormous on me, makes my waist area look boxy and shapeless, and hits me right at the hip, which is another no-no in pear-shaped land.  I get that they're going for a slouchy-chic kind of vibe here, and I'm down with that, but I feel like my personal body shape and measurements were not taken into account here, and for that reason this whole outfit was a spectacular failure.  The pants fit true to size, but I recommend sizing down on the shirt.  And if you're pear shape, this might not be be the most flattering outfit for you.  I mean if I was really trying to save something, I'd maybe pair the top with some black leggings or other form-fitting pant and some cute boots or booties.  But I still think the top is too short for how baggy it is, so the shape of it ends up being awkward on me.

Would I give my stylist another go and try another box?

Ehh, probably not, for a couple of reasons.  Though I know it can take a few go 'rounds with a stylist until he/she truly learns my style - you give detailed feedback on why you like or disliked each item that was sent to you - I was able to have this box sent to me using the special that Trendsend was running, which allowed me to only be out $1 if I didn't like any of the items.  In the future, each box would be $20 if I sent everything back.  And even though that money would be put toward any items that I keep, the price points on all of the clothing are a bit higher than this stay-at-home mama is used to paying, so I don't have high hopes that I'd love any of the items enough to justify keeping them.

My biggest complaint about the service was the fact that I was hoping to get a stylist who knows how to dress a body shape like mine, but instead I was sent many items that I knew would not work for me as soon as I pulled them out of the box.  Flattering a pear shape means accentuating the small waist while balancing out the narrow shoulders with the wider hips.  I felt like many of my outfits placed lots of extra fabric and bulk right at the waistline, which is the narrowest part of my body!

But, having said all of that, the service was really, really fun to try out.  Having a (so-called) handpicked assortment of items sent right to my door to try on was a blast.  I may try out the other style services out there in the future, but at this point I'm gonna step away from TrendSend.

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