Let's talk about closet clean-outs. No one likes doing it because the process takes a long time and you have to part with pieces that may be sentimental. But, what if you could give your clothes a new life AND get gift cards to your favorite stores for trading in your unwanted pieces? That's exactly what luxury fashion trade-in service Material Wrld wants to do for you! Some background information on the company is as follows:

Material Wrld’s mission is to create an ecosystem where we can enjoy shopping quality products with the comfort of knowing that each item we chose to buy can always find a new home. We are reinventing the shopping experience for consumers and retailers alike by making it as easy to trade-in as it is to shop new, while extending the fashion lifecycle of high quality pieces and reducing its environmental impact.

Material Wrld makes it easy for busy women to instantly refresh their closets and shop new at their favorite retailers and brands, including Bloomingdale’s, Saks and Barneys.

Our complimentary trade-in service with high-touch concierge offerings and upfront retail partner gift cards make it seamless for our customers to:

• Refresh their closet and make space for new clothing 
• Extend the luxury fashion lifecycle and reduce its environmental impact
• Do Good While You Shop: MW matches a percentage of each gift card offer as a contribution to your charity of choice.

I tested out the easy three-step process and am pleased with the outcome. My only issue was the accepted brands. I realize items need to be super luxury, but I only had a limited amount of designers to send in. This won't be a one-stop trade-in for most people, but definitely a good choice for those higher end designer pieces! If you want to try it out for yourself sign up through this link or use code MEGANB989 to get an extra $25 on your first trade-in!

Three days after my items arrived at their destination I received an offer of $119, they would take 6 of the 12 items I sent in. Not bad! I knew I was DEFINITELY going to lose money on some pieces, but that's the price I pay for being blinded by labels/pretty clothes and buying them even though I know I'll barely wear them. Here is the breakdown

• Burberry Dress (Vintage Purple Pleated Long Sleeve Dress)
  OFFER: $25 
• Miu Miu Blouse (Purple Floral Print Cotton Shirt)
  OFFER: $16
  
• Jean Paul Gaultier Top (Beige Red Floral Print Camisole)
  OFFER: $15
  
• Proenza Schouler Top (Deep Purple Pleated Short Sleeve Knit Top)
  OFFER: $28
  
• Theory Dress (Purple Tiered Sleeveless Ponte Dress)
  OFFER: $15
  
• Salvatore Ferragamo Skirt (Vintage Umber Orange Suede Flare Skirt)
  OFFER: $20
  
• Marc Jacobs Denim Jacket (not accepted)
• Valentino Knit Camisole Top  (not accepted)
• Marc by Marc Jacobs Dark Navy Tee  (not accepted)
• Marc by Marc Jacobs White Print Tee  (not accepted)
• Equipment Purple Blouse  (not accepted)
• Balenciaga Pants (not accepted)

FINAL OFFER: $91
(rounded up to $100 because I chose Shopbop and they only give gift cards in $10 increments)

In the end I decided to keep the Proenza top because I still like it and can make myself wear it. Maybe in a few more months I'll be willing to part with it for the $28 (assuming I get the same offer a second time.) I was unsure about letting go of my Theory dress since I still think it's really cute, but I only wore it twice, so in the end had to let it go. Hopefully it will find a new owner who gives it more love than I did.

I also decided to donate one of my pieces rather than having it sent back to me, this way Material Wrld can donate it to Dress For Success or Goodwill. They also match 1% of each fashion gift card’s value in donations to a deserving charity.

What's really great about this process is that even though I gave up items they will have a new life and a new owner rather than ending up in a land-fill. Material Wrld call this "extending the fashion lifecycle."  See their illustration of that idea here:

image via Material Wrld

To learn more about their charitable work and why you should trade-in, visit this page.

After accepting my offer it took 2 business days to get my gift card emailed to me, easy as pie! Can't wait to spend my gift card at Shopbop, going to think long and hard about what to get so I don't end up trying to sell it in a year or two. The items that were not accepted are due to be returned today. After all is said and done the whole process from sending in items to getting them returned will have taken 8 days.

All in all, the process was simple and I got a fair price for the items. I wasn't expecting big money because the pieces I sent in were quite unique. While I may have made more money selling the items myself on eBay, the ease in which I was able to get rid of the items through Material Wrld is worth losing a little bit of cash, if only to get the items out of my closet sooner.

Enjoy this quick video I made showing the process! 


As a farewell, here are some photos of the pieces in action (except the JPG top which I was never brave enough to wear)

The Net-a-Porter Sale is now in Final Reductions! Don't miss out! 

As promised, my Marc Jacobs collection.  As I was taking these photos I realized my problem is far worse than I thought.  I can't help it though, Marc Jacobs is amazing. If I was rich, I fear I would have way more than this, which would be awesome!  My obsession started because of Emma Watson.  I saw her in a couple Marc Jacobs jackets and loved them, so I tried to find them on eBay and then learned more about him and his designs.

As you can see, most of these I got way below retail, but I did splurge a couple times...

Marc Jacobs Velvet Polka Dot Blazer x 2: Retail: $398?, I paid $80 and $20 via eBay (I bought 2, 8 years apart because I needed a larger size. But I can't let myself get rid of the original, it was my first Marc Jacobs item)
Marc by Marc Jacobs Dusted Violet Mosaic Cotton Ruffle Tank Dress - Retail: $298, I paid: Christmas Gift

Marc by Marc Jacobs Perfect Purse ostrich-effect PVC - Retail: $225, I paid: Net-a-Porter gift card (on sale as well)
Marc by Marc Jacobs Ozzie Square Baby Aiden Bag - Retail: $328, I paid: $313 via Shopbop

Marc Jacobs MultiColor Blazer - Retail: $298?, I paid $30 via eBay
Marc Jacobs Denim Jacket - Retail: $300?, I paid: $10 at Coco's on the Green

Marc by Marc Jacobs Oversized Sunglasses - Retail: $98, I paid: free with Shopbop gift card
Marc by Marc Jacobs Purple Sunglasses - Retail: $164, I paid: free c/o Sunglasses Shop
Marc Jacobs Wishbone Necklace - Retail: $7, I paid: free c/o Shop It To Me

Marc Jacobs 'Cynthia' Dress - Retail: $398?, I paid: $24 via eBay (worn by Rory on Gilmore Girls and Anne Hathaway! I realized after I bought it)
Marc by Marc Jacobs Dress - Retail: $298?, I paid: $28 via eBay

Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Cleo' Print Reversible Bikini (top & bottom) - Retail: $170, I paid: $48 via BlueFly 

Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Jeepers Peepers' T-shirt - Retail: $68, I paid: $25 at Marshalls
Marc by Marc Jacobs snake T-shirt - Retail: $68, I paid: Christmas gift, from Marshalls

Marc by Marc Jacobs Metallic Mouse Flats - Retail: $238, I paid: $95 with Shopbop gift card
Marc by Marc Jacobs Patent Leather Pumps - Retail: $400, I paid: Net-a-Porter gift card (on sale as well)
Marc Jacobs Sweatshirt - Retail: $?, I paid: $10 at Coco's on the Green
Marc Jacobs Striped Tank - Retail: $?, I paid: $5 at Coco's on the Green

I've gotten a lot of new pieces in my closet lately (shame on me) so I thought I'd do a little roundup since you haven't seen all of them yet. I seem to go through phases where I'm really good and don't buy anything, but then all at once I go crazy. At least none of this was super expensive (except a bathing suit that I had to return, so that doesn't count.) Here we go:

New Fair Trade bracelets from Ten Thousand Villages. I loved them so much I bought more online.

Here are various purchases from Coco's of Madison's $10 sale (as well as a denim skirt from Christine)

Ralph Lauren Scarf

Emanuel Ungaro		J.McLaughlin
Prada		Urban Outfitters?

You've seen these a couple times already but I thought I'd share them again.  My Dolce & Gabbana heels: LOVE! Bought at Uptown Consignment for a steal.

My brand new watch by Skagen (via RueLaLa), for those times when I don't want to wear my oversized Michael Kors watch. It's a nice change but I find it harder to see what time it is. I've been spoiled by the big watch face. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find this exact model available online anywhere so I can't tell you where to get it!

And my two most recent pieces, both from Target. A fun windbreaker, and reversible jeans!

Remember how I said I have a blazer addiction? This is the proof.  Last month I made this fun video featuring my blazers, 17 of them.  Since creating it I bought 2 more: a Marc Jacobs denim jacket and a PBM over-sized camel hair blazer...oops! At least they were both $10. Enjoy! (My favorite part is right before the credits ;) )



And, for your viewing pleasure, here are all the outfits from my blazer challenge. (a couple are missing, but this is pretty much all of them.)  You will see a lot of duplicate items in here as well. I would have liked to have added skirts into the mix but I am too lazy to wear them on the train (gotta be more careful when sitting and getting up, and I hate being ladylike) ;)

Before I get to my post check out my feature on Smashion!

Yesterday we had the day off work for President's Day.  I was looking forward to being very productive, doing a fun outfit shoot and relaxing. But that didn't happen. I did nothing until 4pm and then I decided to finally do something.  I got out my fashion magazines that I picked up from my parent's house yesterday to read and took some photos of my new Alligator pin! I actually got this a few weeks ago when I visited a friend at Yale, but haven't found the perfect way to wear him yet.  Then I realized that he matches my DKNY coat perfectly! So he has a new permanent spot in my closet and will finally start seeing the daylight! (in the summer I'll have to find some other ways to wear him)

Coat: DKNY, Pin: Laila Rowe in New Haven $10, Magazines: Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire

And for those of you that don't follow me on Instagram here are some shots from the past 2 weeks.

Shot of my Karl Addict outfit	Oh Chanel counter, how you tempt me!
One of my favorite restaurants, The Chowder Pot	One of my favorite restaurants, The Chowder Pot
Fell in love with this sweater at Urban Outfitters, too bad it was $48	Wanted this Ralph Lauren sweater, but not for $100 (that's on sale)
Crazy BCBG pants ;)	Waiting for my roomie at Target
Watching Willy Wonka!	Tasty biscuits I made
Playing Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit because I'm awesome	My boots in front of a quilt my mom made