What is Trunk Club? And How does it Work?
Christian Davis is a 24-year-old Los Angeles based writer who up until now has focused mainly on writing about video games. He recently began wanting to dress better, and he’ll be cataloging his process for us here on Dappered.
When it comes to conversations with others about fashion and clothing, I’m finding a surprising amount just don’t like shopping at all. Going to a store and trying things on can be rewarding for people like myself; at the opposite end of the spectrum, less enjoyable than kissing a shark. On the mouth. With a lot of tongue.
Insert some shark repellent spray: Trunk Club.
Trunk Club is a service that lets you be completely lazy, but still end up with stylish clothes at your disposal. How’s this done? They provide you with your own personal stylist who will do the “shopping” for you. Then the items are sent to your home so you can try them on. Afterwards, you can keep the items you like or none at all. All from the comfort of your home.
Genius! … Maybe.
Getting set up with Trunk Club is easy and they start the process off based on how much you think you know about style. You have three options to choose from: Clueless, Confident, and Aficionado (which probably applies to most of you reading now. Not Joe though. He’s a bum).
That’s “Clueless”? Damn Trunk Club, you’re harsh!
Once you’ve labeled yourself, you’re shown a bunch of different outfits. Some are casual, some are more dressed up. You click on those that you could see yourself wearing. Then you’re shown the name of a bunch of stores/retailers. The stores range from H&M to Brooks Brothers to Club Monaco to Saks Fifth Avenue and up. More clicking on where you’d think you’d shop, and along with the outfit preferences, that’s supposed to help your stylist. Even from the get go, Trunk Club is trying to narrow down your tastes no matter the scenario. Pretty smart.
After that you input some of your basic info, measurements, weight, height, age, etc…
Once the preliminary stuff is done, you’ll be presented with your stylist. Mine was Danielle Darah, a very sweet and very attentive Trunk Club stylist. She emailed me once and called me within two days to properly introduce herself. I got to know her and we talked about a multitude of things; not just my trunk.
When we got down to business, I found out that I had customization options available for my trunk. Want a Trunk full of just shoes? Sure! No sweaters and three different belts? Gotcha pimpin!*
No, you won’t really know precisely what the products are going to look like, but there’s still a certain level of guidance and control that you can give. A bit of direction so the trunk can at least suit you.
Receiving Your Trunk
When my trunk arrived two things were prevalent: Shit, this is one beautiful looking box. Second; shit, this thing is a little heavy. This package was packed full of clothing and it’s exciting to not know exactly what was chosen for me. It’s always a surprise, all of the time.
Open the box and you’re presented with this nice, organized, and expertly folded selection of clothing (Danielle, did you fold all of these? Teach me your ways girl!) that’s staring at you with the most loving eyes saying “please sir, try me on and keep me forever!”
Sitting right on top was a list of items and a note written by Danielle explaining the reasoning behind some of the items she chose. AND she used the word “smorgasbord” in my note. Inside were brands like Billy Reid, New England Shirt Company, Rodd & Gunn, and Tommy John. Everything from basics like underwear and tees, to Japanese Twill jeans and all linen shirts, to an all season navy hopsack blazer. I loved the sense of discovery. I was familiar with some of the brands, but not all of them. Show me the world Aladdin. The fact is, simply opening the box and digging through gives you a fantastic feeling; Salma Hayek braiding your hair fantastic.
But then I saw the price tags…
Reality. A Cruel bitch.
Here’s a list of every item that came in my trunk, plus the price tag attached:
- Tommy John Cool Cotton Deep V-Neck – $40
- Rodd & Gunn Inchbonnie – $145.00
- New England Shirt Company Trim Navy Linen Shirt – $195
- Fidelity Dark Wash Slim Jim Jeans – $179
- Hartford L/S Henley – $160
- Life After Denim Tournament V-Neck Sweater – $98
- Paige Denim Normandie Japanese Twill Jeans – $179
- Billy Reid “John T.” Shirt – $195
- Sand Sherman 4 Season Blazer – $545
- Tommy John Cool Cotton Trunk – $29
Grand Total: $1,765
Well, shit.
I remember speaking with Danielle and she gave me various price ranges of where items could fall. It seemed a little steep at the time, but I accepted that and thought it was more of a possibility. Just not so spot on. But you’re under no obligation to keep any of the items.
Sending it back. All of it.
From the day you receive your trunk, you have 10 days to decide whether you want some or all of the contents. You won’t be charged until that time limit has been exceeded. I still wanted many of the items… but two hundred bucks for a button up shirt? $160 for a Henley? Nothing in the trunk was especially wallet-friendly. Plus, I wanted to test the waters a bit. What would happen if I returned everything? So I did.
Thankfully, returning your trunk is just as easy and getting one. Return sticker is included with the package too. Just slap it on in the designated area and get FedEx to pick it up. The return can also be set up through Trunk Club.
A few days later, when the package arrived back at the Trunk Club office, I got a call from Danielle asking what was wrong with the trunk and to say that she was sorry I didn’t find anything I liked. I didn’t pick it up however. This was all left in a voice mail. She then sent me an email essentially echoing what she said on the phone.
I didn’t reply.
“Christian, why? That’s such a dick thing to do!”*
I KNOW! I HATED IT. DANIELLE I’M SO SORRY!
My reasoning behind this was to see how often they contacted you. Would they keep calling? Multiple times a day like bill collectors? Nope. None of that. I showed lack of interest and they moved on. It was nice not to be pestered.
Would I recommend Trunk Club? Absolutely, even if you like shopping on your own. Everything from customer service to the selection of clothing and the variety of brands is fantastic. Yes, the pricing of some of the items (okay… most… all? almost all?) were expensive in my first trunk, but if you choose one or two things as opposed to all of your trunk’s items (NAW, B. That’s two stack right there) it’s maybe not too ridiculous.
You’re also paying full retail for all the items through them. No sales or discounts. But, you can let your stylist (I highly recommend Danielle) know where your budget is going to be and they’ll do everything they can to be within that range.
I can see why a lot of us in the Dappered community would pass on Trunk Club due to the sticker shock alone**, but if you like discovering brands, albeit higher end brands, and are willing to possibly pay a bit more for that discovery, then Trunk Club is worthwhile.
I’ll be getting one again for sure.
*These aren’t actual quotes from Danielle.
**Editor’s Note: Yep.
What would they need to do in order to earn the right to compete in the store wars?
Does this exist for women? My GF could definitely use it. She’s a tomboy who is trying to dress better and has no idea what she’s doing. I’m not much help because I can only tell it is good after she tries it on.
This seems to be something best for someone who is new to style and also happens to have a ton of money to blow. Not really a good fit for the followers of a site based on “affordable men’s style.”
This is akin to paying for a personal shopper, but instead of paying the shopper, one would be paying the difference between a discounted item and the full retail price.
This seems to be something best for someone who is new to style and also happens to have a ton of money to blow. Not really a good fit for the followers of a site based on “affordable men’s style.”
This is akin to paying for a personal shopper, but instead of paying the shopper, one would be paying the difference between a discounted item and the full retail price.
Trunk Club = Trust Fund Club
“one would be paying the difference between a discounted item and the full retail price.” I was wondering about that. Is that how they make their money?
IMO this seems like it would be a great service if you didn’t care about paying full retail. I am trying to think of something that I would pay full retail for. The only thing I am coming up with is suit supply.
Full retail? No no sir!
Looks like while you are paying full retail, they certainly are not. They have an organization dedicated to shopping, so I’m sure they get the best deals on all the products they buy. It would be like if all of us that read dappered were paid to shop. But I imagine they need pretty high margins to pay for shipping on all the returns they receive.
I think there’s a place for Trunk Club – there are certainly loads of guys who hate shopping, want to look stylish, and have coin – but I think most followers of this site don’t fall into that category. Personally, I’m too much of a bargain hunter to pay retail prices anymore – I prefer the excitement of finding what I want, but at a fantastic discount!
Here in DC we have a diamond jewelry store, and their tagline is “Nobody pays retail anymore, why should you?” Seems applicable here as well…
Yep it it does. Not the same company, but same business model. Check this one out. Actually thinking about signing my wife up for mothers day.
https://www.stitchfix.com/
Yeah, this model holds NO appeal for me. First and foremost, I just can’t afford it. I’m on a tight budget, and have to make every penny I spend on clothes count, so even if the prices weren’t so high, I still would need a lot more finite control over what gets ordered.
Even if I WERN’T on such a tight budget, if I had mad cash to blow on clothes, I STILL wouldn’t want to use a service like this, because as much as I would like to blow mad cash on clothes, I like to choose them my self. Shopping is at least half the fun for me, the thrill of the hunt. Why would I want to pay someone else to do the fun part for me? I know there are guys who DON’T like to shop, but I suspect most of those guys will also be unlikely to be reading Dappered.com
I use Stitch Fix (link below in MinneQ’s response). It’s a LOT of fun. $20 per box upfront, but they’ll put that toward anything you decide to buy….if you don’t buy, though, you lose that $20. I’ll usually purchase one or two items per box. The experience of it is really fun, like Christmas every month. I would definitely recommend it as an option for your GF.
1. You’re also paying for the service. One must decide if the convenience of having nice clothes chosen for you and delivered is worth paying full throttle prices.
2. Can I get Danielle’s digits, bro?
Christian, correct me if I’m wrong, but I assume that you didn’t indicate to Danielle that you’d be willing to spend $545 on a blazer. I wonder how much they rely on people feeling too guilty to send everything back.
It’s a good point, but I think EVERYONE relies on guilt / social norms (or rather, designs their consumer experience so the tie goes to the store, just like at a casino). That’s why it takes so much longer to return stuff than to buy it (which is reason number 4 that my wife sends me to do her returns).
The banner of Dappered would have to change from “Affordable Men’s Style” to “Dropping Hundreds Like Galileo Dropped The Orange.”
This gets at an interesting question – where are their clothes coming from? I could imagine a reasonably talented set of personal shoppers could sell a lot of heavily discounted bulk-purchased merchandise if they could be a little picky about what they sold / bought a lot of coordinating stuff (I.E. a pair of purple pants might be hard to sell by themselves. A trunk with a pair of purple pants and four shirts that match them (which may also not match other pants that well) is probably a much easier sell).
On the other hand, maybe it’s something less sinister / structured – maybe they just place bulk orders for stuff, get some non-trivial discount, and their profit is the difference. You know, like one of those curated-boutique-websites, but with more involved customer service.
I don’t know about a ton of money – it’s a $ / time equation. If you don’t enjoy shopping, but you want it done right, how much would you pay for someone else to do it for you? Certainly, Dappered readers are probably closer to personal-shopper candidates than customer-candidates. But if you take the amount of time you spend on clothing, imagine you worked in a job where you could trade that time in for work time, and think about the amount of extra money you’d make. Depending on your job (of course), that might make trunk club look pretty cheap, especially if you like working more than shopping.
I had a similar experience. Too expensive, nothing that really wowed me. I was disappointed but would definitely recommend it to friends who want stylish clothes but have no interest in shopping. It’s the full priced items that are the real catch.
Cladwell.com could be a nice alternative. You fill out a style-related questionnaire, tell a stylist what type of item you’re looking for and the price range, and they present you with a few options online. Plus, it’s free to try (as far as I know). The founder emailed me directly a few months ago and asked for feedback. I was left with a very good impression of the company.
https://www.cladwell.com/
That might be one of the best similes I’ve heard in awhile.
Agreed though. Those prices. Holy crap. I mean, I know you can keep one, or two things, or none, but good grief even the individual items are in the stratosphere.
I think it’s probably more like they get a commission for pushing the items the brands want pushed. Reason #3 I don’t like the model. The personal stylist is more likely to send me the products the company wants pushed than they are the items I actually want. Sure they’ll try to tailor to your tastes, in hopes you’ll buy it, but the pool they are picking from is much shallower than the one we Dappered readers fish from.
They claimed on their website’s about-page the “Best inventory anywhere”, suggesting that either A) their pool isn’t (strictly) as shallow as you or I originally supposed or B) they’re lying / misleading in marketing or C) there’s some extra subtlety (they can sell you the most desirable items at msrp and keep a little cash, or marked-down stuff and keep more). In either case, my creepy / structured-bulk-purchases theory is looking less likely.
Most of these items cost more than my entire outfit. Including the shoes.
Come on man. Those “job creators” have earned their $40 undershirts.
Imagine getting paid to dress Danielle? I could definitely do it for cheap.
Minjin, we did a review of StitchFix over on The Pretty Guinea Pig (Dappered’s sister site). I’d recommend the service. http://theprettyguineapig.com/15132/a-review-of-stitch-fix/
I’m assuming that “Danielle” is actually a 47 year old man in Pakistan.
Being that Christian spoke with her on the phone, chances are either no, or, there’s some Lennay Kekua levels of voice impersonation going on there.
If and when I have the cash for it, Trunk Club seems nice. But for now, I’m a lowly law student… no way I can afford this…
Maybe less of a complaint, and more of just a disappointment? Wishful thinking? I see what you’re saying, but at the same time, if selecting a higher confidence level = more expensive stuff, then that formula doesn’t jive. At least for me it doesn’t. I mean, they coulda thrown him a bone or two. A bone = say, a shirt that costs less than $100. Or a shirt that costs less than $60.
Fair enough. It’s probably more like that episode of Beavis and Butthead when they called the phone sex line, if anyone remembers that.
The jeans actually seem pretty reasonably priced for “nice” jeans. But yeah, a henley pushing $200 kind of makes me want to cry..
(looks in closet at his “nice” jeans… sees Levi’s 505s)
My guess is that they are going for tech and finance types, particularly engineers. Young men who are suddenly have a crap-ton of disposable income and a sudden desire to re-imagine themselves.
While this way beyond my meager funds, I just wanted to say that this was great, Christian
I think one of my fellow MBA grads may have some sort of stake in this company. They’ve sponsored an alumni event and he keeps dropping their name.
haha, fair fair. Maybe I should have used the term “fancy.” All I’m saying is, $150-200 for jeans actually doesn’t throw me at this point.
I got a pair of J Crew jeans for $20 the other day. Made my week.
Out of curiousity, and because I didn’t know what an “Inchbonnie” is (second item on the list above), I clicked the link for it. $59.99 for the “Cinco de Mayo” special from Rodd & Gunn site, versus $145 MRSP…um, wow. Nice $95 upcharge on that one. Btw, inchbonnie apparently is just a knit pullover, for which I’d gladly pay $145, um, never.
I’m a semi-regular user of Trunk Club and all of the criticisms (price, mainly) are spot on. But I’ve found you’re “stylist” will work with you on price. You just have to be upfront with what you want to pay. (they work on commission so it’s in their best interest to present something you will actually buy.) I also think you need to pick your spots and realize some of these pieces are heirloom quality. $160 for a henley? No thanks. But a nice sweater or a jacket, worth it in my opinion. It’s also a good way to compare/contrast brands, sizes, quality for when there are sales.
This really shouldn’t be the way you dress yourself but I think a quarterly trunk can be well worth it if you are clear about what you want.
Wouldn’t it be a great racket if it turned out the “Personal shoppers” were just picking through Sierra Trading Post warehouses, and sending people “curated” boxes marked up to full retail?
The more I think about it, the more it seems like an odd business strategy. If you don’t get that $545 blazer tailored properly, or god forbid button the bottom button, you’re going to look worse than the guy in the tailored Thompson who knows how to wear it. So their target market is “guys who don’t really care how it fits as long as it’s expensive” or “guys who are too busy to shop but not too busy to visit the tailor.” Weird.
This is everything I don’t want in a shopping experience – someone else picking clothes for me at above retail prices. Still Facebook seems to think we’re a match made in heaven. At least they’re not as bad as one of their competitors whose ad tells me “I suck at dressing myself”. Wonder who the marketing genius is who came up with that one….
Most disappointing part of this article was that she didnt really say “Gotcha Pimpin”
Interesting, my current favorite online clothes retailer (F&O) just launched what appears to be a similar service (presumably without the mark up) called Hunt Club Select. I’ll stick to picking my own stuff though.
We are still in beta and looking for more feedback if you want to check us out. Similar concept but lower price points. No stylists. Clothing convenience. Not luxury styling. http://mythreadlab.com Thanks!
I agree – and the fact the dude dodged the rep that was asking for any sort of feedback really stinks. These people work in sales – one would imagine the point of a follow up is to take your objections and come up with a solution that works for you.
As their CEO Brian Spaly says “Trunk Club is for the guy who has more money and less time every year.”
For guys like that, who genuinely don’t like to shop (or know how to) Trunk Club is a life saver. Not something I would personally use, but I can see why it’s been growing so rapidly. In reality, it is the future of retail.
Earned or not, I don’t begrudge them their conspicuous consumerism. I’m content to shake my head ruefully at Trunk Club and click over to JCF.
$1,765 for one box!!! Geez, reality is cruel.
Our VP of Marketing was just recommended an ENTIRE new wardrobe for $1,400. He then proceeded to take his recommendations, purge his closet of 50+ items, buy items on clearance, and get 19 items for $180 (or in other words, one Trunk Club item).
You can read the whole story on our blog – https://blog.cladwell.com/closet-purge/
An old associate of mine used to work for Trunk Club. He invited me to try out the service so I did. I wasn’t too impressed with their selection. The stuff was nice, but it just wasn’t my style. Plus, it was too expensive for my tastes.
Since I live in Chicago (where they’re headquartered), I decided to just go down to their office and try it out. They had recently moved into a new space, and they were inviting clients to check it out. The office space was really nice. Had a nice industrial loft feel, free booze, and nice chairs to sit and hang out while the stylists brought you clothes. I can tell you that the photo of “Danielle” is an accurate representation of TC stylists. They’re mostly good looking women with a good sense of style on their own. Pretty typical of the River North area of Chicago. Unfortunately, I could’nt say the same for the clothes that were selected for me. The clothes were nice, but they just weren’t my style. Some recognizable brands though (Billy Reid, Jack Spade, Ted Baker, etc.), but nothing that just “wowed” me. I drank my whiskey neat and bought a $40 polo from my friend and left.
Services like Trunk Club have a niche. That guy who makes $80k-$100k but has absolutely no clue how to dress himself, and is a sucker for a cute face are perfect examples of their clientele haha (pretty much sums up the average guy roaming the bar scene in River North!!).
However, if you’re the least bit savvy about shopping and how to dress, then you’ll find yourself returning the trunks every month.
Offered without comment: “She emailed me once and called me within two days to properly introduce
herself. I got to know her and we talked about a multitude of things;
not just my trunk.”
I feel this review missed the most important parts. Sure it’s expensive and It’s good to know the reps are helpful too. But if someone is even considering dropping this sort of cash on it, the most important things are the quality of the items and the way they fit.
Did they send you a bunch of regular cut clothing, or were they slim fit? Did they get your sizes right? Were the items stylish or dad-core? While the pieces were expensive, did the quality at least come close to the price level or was it low quality “designer mark up” items? Since the main response is that it’s too expensive, are these items you would buy if they had a considerable mark down or are they just things you wouldn’t buy regardless of price?
He only “dodged” the rep for the purpose to see if they’d pester you after handing over your information (we didn’t instruct Christian to do so, but, I liked his investigative strategy). They didn’t. That’s a big point for Trunk Club. A ton of guys (especially on this site) do NOT like handing over their info.
Christian said he’ll probably give them another try, and I’m sure he’ll be more communicative the next time. I’m sure they’re not shedding a tear over it.
Ah – look forward to the update. Hope they do more research on the budget side of things..
not sure i’d consider trunk club especially conspicuous, though; the products may be expensive (though, they’re also often high in terms of quality), but there’s not a whole lot in the way of branding or garishness.
look at what was in his trunk — it’d be hard to recognize the difference between one of his super-expensive henleys and just an ordinary, nice-looking, well-fitting one at a lower price point. same with a lot of shirts, sweaters, and pants i’ve seen them include. it may be expensive, but i don’t think i’d call it conspicuous consumption in a world of abercrombie and express.
Regardless of the label, I’m honestly not begrudging it.
A former co-worker used it and seemed happy with it. I am not sure how much eh kept, but the stylist helped set up matching outfits for him since he struggled since he is red-green colorblind.
Now there’s a real business idea!
Back when TC started I signed up and talked with the stylist I was assigned. As soon as she gave me an idea of the prices I backed off like a pit viper was in front of me. I knew it wasn’t for me.
Something else I’ll hopefully be trying out in the near future!
Believe me, I felt bad for not picking up the phone or replying back at all to the email. She was way too nice to deserve that…but for Dappered….I’ll make that sacrifice.
I’m in the same boat as well. The fancy jeans definitely isn’t for everyone but…I’m on board with it!
I saw a similar service to this on twitter today… perhaps you can do a review of http://www.bombfell.com? Looks like it will have a lower price-point.
Free. I’d do it for free.
Clearance rack, or web?
Clearance rack.
i tried it last year and though they had a couple of nice pieces, it wasn’t something up my alley. I’ve learned a lot from this site and a few others and thankfully don’t need a lot of aid these days. I also thought the prices were awful. Mostly everything will go on Sale at one point and it seemed like Trunk Club had no flexibility in prices.
I visited Trunk Club in Chicago the first week of May. If you think the personal service is great online or over the phone, wait until you visit the facility. Parked in a prime area of town, the place is outrageously welcoming. Everyone is professional, but the atmosphere is casual and downright fun. My stylist is Casey Easley. She tolerates my detailed emails and sometimes paranoia regarding her sending me things that I will not want so that her company is not on the hook for the shipping. Go into Trunk Club. Let them know you are coming and they will have your favorite cocktail waiting for you! Trunk Club is not looking for bargain hunters. TC is looking for people who are willing to pay for a service that includes a stylist who relentlessly strives for customer satisfaction and a menu of clothing that is unparalleled in any one department store. I have received numerous compliments on the clothing which I received from TC. You ever worn a shirt that doesn’t need ironing out of the box? Put on an Eton for $255 and forget ironing forever. Ever wear a shirt four or five times and it looks like it was just laundered? Jeremy Argyle dress shirt. Doesn’t even wrinkle where it’s tucked in. Hang it up, wrinkles gone by next day. Bonobos Weekday Warrior pant…try them for less than a hundred bucks.
I’m sure most of you know this, but there are plenty of more affordable subscription based clothing services out there (Fashion Stork, Bombfell and others). The model is really popular right now (in every industry, it seems). We’ll see if it lasts.
My experience with TC was similar, except the clothes didn’t fit very well… most of them, at least. So paying to get a $150 shirt altered isn’t just expensive. It goes against my principles.
Detailed 3-part review (with fit photos) here:
http://www.themodestman.com/trunk-club-review-part-1/
My conclusion was that TC is good for men who:
a) don’t like to shop
b) don’t know what to buy
c) have plenty of disposable income for clothing (at least $400/month)
Just my two cents!
-B
You don’t need a ‘ton of money” to use Trunk Club. The service is so personalized and flexible you can use it they way that will fit your life and budget best. It seems like Danielle thought the writer had no budget concerns since there are plenty of items at Trunk Club that could have been sent which cost less. It’s important to mention this during your consultation. I have a feeling the author didn’t because he wanted to see everything. Is it H&M or Kohl’s pricing? Absolutely not. Is it high-end, high-quality classic pieces that are meant to last in your wardrobe for years to come? Positively. Many guys who thought they could never shop at Trunk Club become the best clients because they realize the difference better clothes has made in their lives and that it is an investment.
That is incorrect Matt. Trunk Club works just like any brick and mortar store in that they purchase items wholesale from brands and designers and sell at retail. A very talented team of buyers scours the planet for items that fit the style and quality our customer has come to expect. No overstock, no discontinued pieces, no mark ups just first-rate, first run clothes that you didn’t have to go search out yourself.
You are right Matt, Trunk Club isn’t for everyone.
2. No.
Danielle is real. In a major metropolitan American city. I am looking at her do an awesome job outfitting cool guys across the country right now.
Why would guys chose to use Trunk Club over something like J.Hilburn Men’s Clothier which would offer a custom shirt for much less than the “off the rack” in the above trunk as well as jeans, sweaters, accessories, etc? In both cases you get a stylist for advice and no need to go to the store….or a tailor and can keep what you like?