Is Lost Stock Box As Good As It Sounds ?

My Lost Stock Box arrived, here are my thoughts…

Back at the almost the beginning of lockdown (I can’t remember exactly as all the days/months have mushed into one) it was revealed that a large number of high street stores were not paying for stock that had already made and cancelling orders that were ready to sell, this left a lot of garment workers without a source of income and in the midst of pandemic this was an even worse situation than the normal awful conditions and low pay that we hear about. From this controversy Lost Box was founded, the premise is very simple items from the existing cancelled orders would be shipped to you and the cost of this would go to the SAJIDA Foundation and help you feed a worker and their family in Bangladesh for a week.

I found out about the initiative on Twitter and ordered a box straight away. In my mind it was a win win situation, three new items for me and food for a week for someone less fortunate than I, plus it only cost £35 (plus shipping). You can customize your order so it’s not just a bunch of clothes you won’t wear, including size, gender, colour (brights or dark & neutrals) and pattern (either plain or patterned). I was aware when buying this that this isn’t a solution to the fast fashion problem, it’s only a short term answer but it does save those clothes from going to landfill and hopefully the conversations that have been sparked from this will educate people in the long term.

Onto the clothes that I received; I was pleasantly surprised by the three items I got, I know some people have been unimpressed or disappointed with the items they were sent and that is a risk that you take when ordering anything ‘mystery box’ style however the organisers have done multiple blogs about how to up-cycle and I believe that facebook groups have been set up for clothes swaps. I hoped that I would like at least two of the items and although I was little apprehensive about one piece when I first opened it, I have now styled it and have worked it into my wardrobe.

Item Number One

This is my favourite piece because it’s so my aesthetic that if I saw this in a store (that wasn’t a fast fashion one) I would pick it up and buy it straight away. The fabric is super soft, has a gorgeous boxy shape and can be tucked in or left loose; really versatile and neutral colours so it works great in my capsule wardrobe. It actually is better quality than I thought it would be which surprised me as I was a little worried about the quality side of things.  I have already styled this with a maxi skirt, a midi skirt and jeans.

Item Number Two

This is so not my style on first look but I actually love it! It’s very House on the Prairie but works perfectly with jeans and converse. Again it’s really soft and the colour is beautiful. I have seen some people having received this in white which is also lovely, but would wash me out and the blue works well with my paler skin tone. This is very much a jeans pairing due to the amount of frills and the slight peplum style, which is perfect for me as I spend 90% of my life in jeans.

Item Number Three

This one is my least favourite piece in the box and the one I wasn’t sure when I opened it on how it was going to work in my wardrobe however during this heat wave it’s been a god send. This works well with jeans and floral shorts; it’s what I would call a beach top but I think others might wear on a more day to day basis. The fabric is really lightweight and I love the button detailing, however it is a little peekaboo with the cut out detailing so a strapless bra or a bikini is definitely needed underneath.

So would I recommend a Lost Stock box?

Yes & No. If you’re happy not know what clothes you’re receiving then yes, if not but you still want to help then I would recommend donating straight to the charity instead.

If you’ve received your box let me know your thoughts on what you got!