I watch a lot of fashion bloggers on YouTube. I’ve learnt so much from the amazing entrepreneurs who run these channels. I was particularly inspired by All the Ladies Youtuber. Like me she enjoys affordable fashion and does regular E5P hauls as she calls them. One particular jumpsuit caught my eye and although I am largely on a no-spend Spring (how well is that going you may ask???) I thought such a lovely and dare I say it priced to sell stripy jumpsuit was worth a further look. So while I was there I thought I really should try out a few other items and see what I thought.
In keeping with the theme of the site I purchased 5 items, all were in size small, or 8-10. They came pretty quickly, I had to pay for extra postage but it was reasonable, most items were over 5 pounds – e.g. 5.70, but felt I should not really quibble with that given we have galloping inflation at the moment.
Initial impressions
So what did I think of what arrived? On the whole I was somewhere between pleased and delighted. 2 out of 5 items were excellent, 2 were good with some reservations, one was absolutely meh! 3 out of 5 of the items needed a good iron before I could wear them but that’s hardly unusual for clothes delivered from an online order.
Items 1. and 2. above were especially great in terms of fabric, fit and styling. They both came from the French brand Daphnea Paris which retails for around £30-£60 online.
I’ve accessorised all these pieces in the same way. The black straw trilby is Lindex (last season), the black straw bag is New Look (thrifted) and the Tan wedges are Carvela via TK Maxx (old), Sunglasses (vintage)
- Stripey Jumpsuit
Fit 9/10, Fabric, 8/10, VFM, 10/10 (sold out)
2. Floral playsuit
Fit 9/10, Fabric, 7/10, VFM, 10/10 (Sold out)
3. White dress (pictured above -right)
Fit 9/10, Fabric, 4/10, VFM, 7/10 (still available size 8-10)
This came from the brand Elenza (by L&L). The fabric is cotton which is good. However its not really suitable as a summer dress as its so thin. I think this will work fine as a beach coverup or beach to bar in the right environment.
4. Khaki top with gold buttons (as above No 4.)
Fit 7/10, Fabric, 5/10, VFM, 7/10 (still available)
I quite like this top from Cherry Koko, but I don’t love it. Its quite a heavy synthetic fabric so I’m not sure whether its a warmer weather item or not. I love the style in theory. I’ve yet to reach for it for a Spring-Summer outfit but that does mean I won’t. It might be good for a more autumnal outfit with jeans.
5. Stripey jump-suit in beige and cream
Fit 1/10, Fabric, 0/10, VFM, 1/10 (still available in size 8 – but don’t recommend)
While it looked okay on the hanger – this fabric felt absolutely horrible like sandpaper and was too tight. I don’t think I would want a bigger version though.
Roundup
From this try out – what did I feel are the overall pros and cons of Everything 5 Pounds?
Pro’s – there are some absolute bargains here and there is also a lot of stock to chose from, site is easy to use and navigate and customer service seemed fine. Its also good to know that the site is selling on last season’s stock rather than contributing to the fashion landfill.
Con’s – inevitably quality is going to be an issue. If you are the sort of person who likes investing in just a few high quality items that will stay in your wardrobe for a very long time this is probably not the site for you. However all but one item I ordered was wearable, the final one fell down because of the quality of the fabric was so poor. You are also realistically going to have to take a little leap of faith with this, and if you order a lot there are bound to be some disappointments.
The final issue, not really a pro or a con, is that stock moves quickly. So if you really like the look of something grab it before it sells out. Some items are from well known brands (like Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins) and you can usually work this out from what is left of the labels, so if you get one of these you can feel satisfied that you have definitely paid a lot less than the original price.
