Madewell and Boden and now Thirdlove - YouLookFab Forum

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Madewell and Boden and now Thirdlove

Anonymous

Based on a Forum post in which the quality of various retailers was discussed, I placed orders to both Madewell and Boden.

This is where I rave about Madewell. The customer service was extraordinary. With their help, I ordered jeans that fit me perfectly. I also ordered one pair of sweatpants that are sublime. I am now a die hard Madewell fan. They will be my first stop for jeans and sweats going forward. I'm telling all my real life friends.

Unfortunately, Madewell cannot meet my needs when it comes to tops.
That is when I opted to try Boden. I ordered four tops from Boden based on Angie's blog recommendations. Three of the four tops are perfection. (The fourth is still enroute). I am now a die hard Boden fan. They will be my first stop for knit tops going forward.

By the end of December, I will have successfully rebuilt my work pant/casual pant and work top/casual top capsules for winter months. I am starting to feel some degree of satisfaction with my wardrobe again. This has been a long time coming because most of 2018 was about dismantling my wardrobe with a little building going on.

What needs to be done? Underpinnings. I was at the mall on Sunday and bra fittings/bra shopping are the worst. I literally broke out in a cold sweat and fled the store with my heart pounding.

ADDED

At the suggestion of posters here, I tried Thirdlove for bras. I ordered two different styles. One style fit me to perfection. I intend to duplicate that bra in two different colors in December.

I noticed Thirdlove also sells underwear. It is my plan to try their underwear when I place my next bra order.

I have a plan to complete the foundation of my wardrobe by the end of December. This is the hardest stage of wardrobe planning for me. I'm glad the Forum made it so easy. Thank you.

Shopping

23 replies

Latest reply was from Lynn

kkards

Veteran

yay for jeans and tops that work for you!

if you don't want to go to a store there are now plenty of on line lingerie options....they will walk you thru how to measure etc and recommend which styles will work for you based on answering a few questions....try ThirdLove.

Gretchen

Veteran

Yay - so glad to see you are finding great things.

For underpinnings, how about Bare Necessities? Good range of options, frequent sales/discounts and easy returns. They are my go to.

abc

Veteran

I have a lot of respect for both those brands, but I am just on the cusp of not fitting most of their stuff. I watch from the sidelines, admiring their items and customer service. Glad it worked out for you for both. Hope you can find some new bras without it being too torturous.

AviaMariah

Veteran

I've recently ordered bras from Thirdlove and have been really happy. They walk you through the fitting and I feel like if you've had bra fittings before, you can asses whether they are fitting correctly. They also have 1/2 cup sizes which makes it easier to get a good fit.

Thistle

Veteran

Both brands sound fabulous. I have been hesitant to pull the trigger on either as I am a cusp size, so usually they don't fit.

Trying to avoid the return drama as much as I can

Still, super glad you found pieces that work for you!

And I hear you on bra fittings. They are the worst.

Anonymous

I just placed my first order ever to Thirdlove. If I can tackle this wardrobe dilemma successfully by the end of the year, I will consider 2018 a major wardrobe WIN.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

YAY, Sterling. I'm thrilled for you. YAY for Boden, and YAY for rebuilding your wardrobe this year. You are fabulous. WEL DONE.

Which Boden tops did you get?

Madewell tops can be tricky for me too. Often not my colours, or the integrity is too casual. But I adore Madewell jeans. Sister company J.Crew does my colours and a dressier vibe - but I am cross with them for throwing their quality standards out the window.

Anonymous

Here are the four tops I ordered from Boden.

Favourite Knitted Top

View Info

Top Pick

1

Essential Roll Neck Tee

View Info

Top Pick

3

Essential Roll Neck Tee

View Info

Top Pick

3

Tilda V Neck Sweater

View Info

Top Pick

2

mtnsofthemoon

Veteran

Thank you for the review. I have tried a few items from Madewell too and have been very happy with the items I purchases, although they are a little casual for my lifestyle. Great to hear about their customer service! Horay for finding jeans that are perfect for you. I also ordered the Tilda v-neck in ivory and am anxiously awaiting its arrival - so I am happy to hear the good review.

Anonymous

In my previous wardrobe life, I devoted > 90 percent of my time and budget to developing work-appropriate capsules. My casual capsules suffered horribly as a result. This go around I made it a point to work on both equally. It was a novel and cohesive way to approach the building process. Of course how often do we get the chance to start from the ground up?

Jane

Veteran

I’m a big Boden fan too! They are fab jumpers. Good choices!

Well done with the wardrobe rebuilding, you’ve done so well.

Do you have an Intimmissimi? I’ve found them so helpful and friendly for new bras. It’s tough shopping for bras, I do agree.

Toban

Veteran

I love Thirdlove bras. Most comfortable ever. Fingers crossed they work for you.

delurked

Veteran

Glad you are finding good quality brands that make you happy.

Christina F.

Veteran

YAY Boden convert! another one bites the dust

KikiG

Veteran

Agree. My new Madewell jeans were pricey, but they don't bag out. I can't remember the last time I had jeans that performed so well, I was trained to accept bad jeans. And I could write a love sonnet to Boden. It will now be the first place I go. I may have a wedding to go to this summer, and I'm going to start with Boden for dresses.

Do give Thirdlove a try. I had to tweak my size a bit (comfortable = extra give) but I'm happy. As a petite person with a DD (their E or F) cup size, the "supersized" band and straps of other brands for those cups don't work as well for me as their less structural designs.

Joy

Veteran

Sterling, thank you for this post. I am in the process of replacing items several years old and am concerned with the quality I am seeing. I'll start looking at Madewell and Boden.

Aquamarine

Veteran

I’ve become a huge Boden fan too! This season I purchased 6 sweaters from them and I have high hopes they will perform well. I also have one pair of Madewell denim and am impressed.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

So happy for you, Sterling! And really looking forward to seeing your tops and new jeans. Which jeans did you get? I tried on my first pair of Madewells yesterday. I really liked them except for the distressing at the pockets. I tried a pair without the distressing but didn't like the way they felt as much - the material was different. But my experience definitely persuaded me to keep trying Madewell again. The first pair looked so good except for those distressed pockets!

LOVE your top choices.

Gigi

Veteran

Thanks for the input about Madewell. Their jeans are quite a bit pricier than J. Crew, and they rarely have sales, so I was wondering whether it's worth the extra dough. It sounds like it is.

I'm glad you've got your wardrobe winter ready. You have spent a lot of time on getting your wardrobe right. I'm happy you're starting to enjoy your wardrobe again.

I'm really sorry to hear about how the bra fittings affected you. I have had similar reactions to shopping at times. Are you able to pinpoint exactly what the issue was? Was it the sales associate, or was the store crowded, or were your exhausted from other shopping, or was it simply the whole process? Sometimes I find that certain factors affect how I'm feeling, and if I can control those factors (like shopping at a time when the store is not crowded), I feel better. Just offering this in case it applies; if it doesn't, that's OK.

Jessikams

(website)

Veteran

I’ve only been to madewell the nice but the staff was shockingly helpful. They took one look at me and were able to suggest which styles and sizes of jeans would work- and they were right. Usually jeans shopping is a nightmare, but if I can get to Madewell in future I certainly will go there first. I also like American Eagle for jeans because they always have short/petite lengths. I just have to pretend I don’t feel embarrassed to be 1000 years older than the rest of the clientele.

cindysmith

Veteran

Yay for getting so many winners!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I can see you in ALL those tops, Sterling. Nicely done.

Lynn

Veteran

High five Sterling. I am so happy to hear you are feeling better about your wardrobe. I too am now almost sized out @ Madewell but I love their styling. I haven't tried Boden yet but am off to check their website.