Although I’ve built up a closet of beautiful, quality staples I love (not easy in the current market of poor materials!), I have to admit that each season nothing pleases me quite so much as adding several new looks to my repertoire. It’s a given that come a new quarter I’ll be purging 6 or 7 looks and looking for new pieces to replace them.
Unfortunately, my favorite stores have not been coming through for me on this front for several seasons now. While I find a piece to love here or there, my creative desires to express myself in new ways via my clothing are going unfulfilled. So I’m hunting — ever hunting — for new stores to help me look good without breaking bank.
As the quality of material and workmanship has gone down at nearly every level, from luxury to midrange, all of a sudden discount retailers are looking ever-more reasonable to me. It’s in this mindset that I’ve recently discovered JustFab, and fallen in love! While you certainly won’t find handmade or cashmere created from the stalls of the Grand Bazaar you will find cute outfits at very accessible prices, and may even surprise yourself (as I have!) by finding multi-season keepers.
This look above is a perfect example. While shown in a stunning red here, the Brushed Drape Front Coat ($76/$56 VIP) also comes in more classic options like black and grey. Every product page has at least one outfit idea (this one has three!) and plenty of reviews from various body types to guide on sizing. From what I can see JustFab publishes both positive and negative reviews, which for example helped me figure out that for the Monic ($60/$40 VIP) shoes shown in the look above, I needed to purchase them a half-size larger so I could put a comfort insert inside (I love these) to help them be all-day wearable.
Inside, some of my favorite looks for work and play from JustFab, which stocks regular sizes, plus sizes, and a huge selection of wide calf boots too!
Here’s what you can expect quality-wise from JustFab: suede that isn’t real but feels just like the real thing; shirts that aren’t silk but have the same lustrous slippery feel and look to them (with the bonus of being machine washable!), lots of polys and unholy combinations of inorganic materials, shoes that in general are surprisingly comfy (though the higher the heel, the tougher to wear all day). I would stay away from the ‘leather’ jackets as they just don’t have the look of real leather jackets, but the leatherlike bags could easily pass for the real thing.
One thing I love about this store is that their design team seems to think in terms of outfits — I notice how flattering the proportions are in nearly every silhouette, with coats meant to let skirt and dress hems peek out; pants that compliment blouses well, and many complimentary pieces in both color and texture.
Certainly this work look above is simple, especially once the coat‘s off, but I feel very well put-together in these pieces and that’s something that’s missing from many retailers seasonal collections these days.
Nothing like hearing “Cute outfit!” from your coworkers on a daily basis, right?
Pieces like the Belted Moto Trench Coat ($70/$50 VIP, also shown in the look above this one in red) are completely on-trend this Fall and going for hundreds of dollars in luxury stores. Sometimes the luxury item is clearly worth it…superior workmanship, high quality materials (we hope, we hope), classic shape that will be a closet staple forever. But these days some labels are treating us like chumps, with poor materials, horrible workmanship and a price tag that’s just as high as the well-made stuff. I can’t take it anymore.
I would put the quality of JustFab on par with Zara, Aritzia, and its ilk.
If I’m going to buy a piece with the intent to have it for just a few seasons before it goes on to its next owner, I’m not looking to drop hundreds of dollars per piece. JustFab is satisfying my cravings with decently-made items that are machine washable and fit in with lots of other pieces in my closet. They make it easy to look effortless (the key word for me, always!) and cute.
This look above? Perfect, for work and weekend errand running. Total cost? Under $200 for the entire look for VIP members.
You may notice that all items in this post have two prices. You can buy JustFab items individually for the higher price quoted in this post, but they also have a free membership with monthly buying commitments that lowers the price on every item, called VIP. Note that the membership is only free so long as you make a purchase or skip the month, which is explained in the VIP link above. Since I’m making purchases here every month at the moment, the VIP membership is totally worth it to me.
What items have been my favorite? The V-Neck Ribbed Sweaterdress ($60/$45 VIP) in the look above is top of the favorites list. Not only does it come in three appealing neutral colors that are easy to build an outfit off of, it also has thoughtful seaming details that show off my curves without overly accentuating them. I should warn that the bottom hem of this dress, which starts off very tapered at the beginning of each wear, stretches out over the course of the day. The whole dress does too, just a bit. But after a wash, it’s right back to the shape it started out as. For this reason I recommend sizing down in the dress.
Let’s see the dress in a more casual look…
Here’s the V-Neck Ribbed Sweaterdress ($60/$45 VIP) again in a more casual look. You can see it in grey styled in this post. Who doesn’t love throwing a denim jacket and a scarf on with a dress and being ready to go? Certainly these looks aren’t groundbreaking on the fashion front but they do accomplish something other retailers are missing these days — they look put-together. It’s almost a sigh of relief to see these outfits — ahhhhh, I can still find body-skimming pieces that are the proper length and don’t make me look like a boxy box or a person who shrank five sizes overnight or broke into my old/Mom’s/Grandma’s 70s stuff. Many retailers are totally missing the boat on this!
Below is another casual look I like…
JustFab is my hero for offering nearly every style of boot they sell in wide calf too. They illustrate how not-difficult it is, yet this is something so many retailers fail to grasp! The Zariaa Boot ($75/$43 VIP) in this look above come in black or two brown ‘leathers’, all available in standard or wide calf. Hopefully they will add a narrow calf version in the near future! My favorites right now are the Jaylen ($75/$43 VIP, TTS), the Khadijah ($80/$45 VIP, TTS, on me here), Lyrica ($75/$40 VIP, TTS).
Although I like the Faux Suede Moto Jacket ($67/$47 VIP) shown here, I would have chosen either the Aviator Jacket ($70/$50 VIP) or Classic Utility Jacket ($60/$45 VIP) instead.
To wrap up, here is my favorite going out look at JustFab right now. The Seamed Bodycon Dress ($55/$40 VIP, TTS) is both sexy and flattering, and I love that it hits me right above the knee when so many dresses right now are either too long or too short. This one? Right in the Goldilocks zone!
JustFab has over 300 looks to inspire. I’m loving this store! Need one more perk to take a look? They offer free shipping on orders over $39. What are you waiting for? Your effortless closet awaits…
