Today I’m reviewing the 4 Tradlands items I own: The short sleeve box top, box tee, shelter cardigan, and glenn long short. 2 of these items I bought on sale during the Tradlands sample sale, so I thought I would also share some tips for shopping the sample sale and getting what you want before it sells out! 2022’s sample sale starts on February 2nd so let’s talk about how to make sure you get the items on your wishlist.
As a heads up: I was a Tradlands customer before I (just!) became an affiliate. The short sleeve box top and shorts are gifted here, the other items I purchased. I always look for Tradlands on sale and secondhand due to the prices, and I am so excited they just launched a secondhand market on their website, which I will be browsing in the future for sure!
The box top is the teaching top hero I needed for summer. It has a slightly dropped sleeve (this hides teacher sweat in my experience), the fabric is soooo nice and breathable, and there are 7, count them, 7 buttons to prevent boob gap.
I was most excited for this beautiful saturated emerald color. Finding colorful ethical fashion is difficult and Tradlands is my favorite go-tos for brighter colors right now. They’re also now offering sizes 2XS-5X which is awesome!
In terms of fit, this is a loose top in the body, but I was surprised to find the shoulders a bit snug. I’m wearing a small, which is my usual Madewell size. If you have a similar top like the Madewell central shirt I would say pick the next size up if you need more room in the shoulders. I don’t mind the fit of this on me but I expected it to be looser.
Here’s some summer outfit inspiration for the box top–I’m trying to incorporate more jewel tones because they’re my favorite colors. I’m still learning that I can pair them with lighter neutrals? And was excited by this orangey-red pairing, too!
Next up: the Glenn long shorts. These shorts appeal to my summer desire to channel a camp counselor aesthetically. They’re long and loose, but with an interesting leg cut on the side that gives them a nice shape. The pockets are big enough for a phone and the elastic waist is nice and comfy.
I’m wearing a medium in these and am usually a 6/28 in shorts. This was the size suggested by the size chart and I think it was the right call? They are definitely a bit voluminous so I maybe could have sized down.
The third Tradlands item I have is a surprising closet hero: the box t-shirt. I bought this shirt on sale when I was craving a bit of color and have been really happy with it. It’s sweatproof and entirely unprecious, I probably wear it every other weekend and never worry that I need to “save” it. The fabric is stretchy but not clingy. I’m wearing a size small here and like that it’s slightly cropped. I am hoping to grab this one with baseball tee vibes during a future sale!
Finally, the prettiest sample sale purchase ever: the shelter cardigan. This cardigan is allll over instagram and I realllly wanted it but had a bit of sticker shock over the price. I can now say that this is a really lovely sweater, the 100% cotton knit is hearty but soft.
Shopping the sample sale!
So, how did I score this item for about $100 off? The Tradlands sample sale! This sale happens every February or March and I’ve actually shopped it twice. I think it’s a great time to pick up some items if you are ok with small imperfections/are on a budget. The sale is pretty hyped every year which can create a bit of a frenzy, but this year I had good success by coming up with a plan ahead of time. Here are my tips:
- Sign up for restock notifications before the sale. I knew I wanted the shelter cardigan in red but it was actually sold out online. I signed up to get an email when it was back and I got an email the day before the sale began, so I had a good idea it would be in the sale. Also, this year Tradlands shut down their site the day before the sale, so do your browsing/planning ahead of time.
- Make your decision ahead of time. My “rule” for the sale was either the cardigan was there, in my size, and I was checking out, or it wasn’t, and I was leaving. Sadly during any sample sale there is limited time to browse and if I had stuck around looking at everything it would mostly be gone. The grab bags seem to go the fastest.
- Filter by size. I reviewed the size chart ahead of time, then got into the sale, filtered by size, and quickly found what I was looking for, added it to my cart, and left.
I was happy to score a good deal, but also to know that I wasn’t stressing myself out over all the items I could be missing out on by using these steps 🙂
Ok those are all my clothing review thoughts today. If you have questions let me know! And if you’re shopping Tradlands for the first time, you can use my code, PHDINCLOTHES15, for 15% off (note: can’t use this code during the sample sale or your order will be canceled–but if you’re willing to click my link in the days before you start shopping I’ll get a little commission which I appreciate as I use it to renew my blog URL ha).
This post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author.
PhD in Clothes 