The Seafarer Phone Case by Very Troubled Child

Hello everyone!! Recently I received my new iPhone case from Very Troubled Child! They are a great company that makes travel bags & accessories, as well as phone cases. As a brand, they seem to be increasing their digital marketing with more frequent instagram posts as well as a new affiliate program. I was so excited to be asked to embark on an affiliate partnership with them because I really like them as a brand. I will always be very upfront with you about products that I review on the blog so while this item was sent to me free of charge and links may be affiliate links, the opinions on the product are 100% my own.

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Checking to see what fruit or veggie the baby is this week before brunch with my sister. At 20 weeks, he is a banana hahaha!!!

Back to the phone case! I have an iPhone 6 and chose the Seafarer case because I loooooved the print. Being a girl who just loves the New England coast and lakes, this print just spoke to me. There are lighthouses, anchors, sailboats, and 4 point compass roses. The print is mostly red and white on a blue background….so I mean, red, white, and blue? Great color combo. ‘Merica! The phone cases from Very Troubled Child are personalized too! I got my initials on mine.

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The case came in a cute box with this little drawstring bag and a thank you card! No, thank you!

The case is stiff plastic, not the bendy/flexy plastic. It doesn’t cover all the sides of the phone equally. All the buttons on the sides are exposed, as well as the top and bottom of the phone. This can certainly be considered the downside to this case if you are looking for protection for your phone. Aesthetically, I love this case, and for the price it is an amazing deal for a personalized phone case. If you are someone who is a little rough with their phone, then something more like the Lifeproof cases might be up your alley. If you enjoy a beautiful phone case that is personalized and will certainly become the subject of many a conversation, BUT you will have to be a little more careful with your phone, then this case is for you.

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There is a cutout in the case on the bottom and top of the phone, but corners are protected
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There is a cutout on both sides where the buttons are on the phone
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Oh hey Mizpah! She is turning 7 years old this week- crazy!!!

The price of this phone case is $59, which is a similar price point to the Minnie and Emma cases here, and much more affordable than the KJP personalized leather cases here. The other VTC patterns are the Savannah which is tan and Birds of a Feather which is green, and they have a leather case too not shown in the pic below, no increase in price, without a print.

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I have gotten so many compliments on the phone case. Multiple people have told me that this case is “so me”, just because I really love those nautical seascapes. I always laugh when people who are comped items comment on the price it costs, but after checking out other companies, the price for this case is right on.

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Phone case c/o // sneakers // bracelet

The first time I saw something from Very Troubled Child was on KJP and Sarah’s instagrams a few years ago. Dave Willis aka nakednantucketer also has a beautiful collection of the VTC travel bags that he features often.

The leather luggage IS pricey, but I will say that as the company grows and adds new products, I think we will see other accessories at lower price points. The luggage might be more like an investment piece for many of us. The quality looks great, the type of thing your kids will fight over borrowing someday. Check out everything Very Troubled Child has to offer here, and definitely follow them and Very Troubled Girl on Instagram to see their fantastic world travels! Literally in the past few weeks they went from Hong Kong to United Arab Emirates to Italy….fabulous for travel inspo/ envy!

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Prep Craze: Jack Rogers/Palm Beach Sandals/Alternatives

Today I splurged on a pair of Palm Beach Sandals for my wedding day. I bought the monogrammed Aubrey in white on white with my new monogram in platinum stitching. PBSandals is in the midst of their $25 off sale til the 12th though, so I think I made a good choice getting them now 🙂

What are Jack Rogers and Palm Beach Sandals you ask? Well, a long time ago, a very influential woman we all call Jackie O went to the island of Capri and bought herself some sandals. She liked them so much she came back to the US and brought them to her personal cobbler in Palm Beach, FL. I believe his name was Stephen Bonanno. Some people that really grew up wearing them called them Bonannos. From here the Palm Beach Sandal was born. I read somewhere that Jackie O and her friend Lilly Pulitzer only bought their sandals directly from the factory in Palm Beach.

PBSandals are the original, made in the US, made only of leather with a nice thick footbed. They come with either a small stacked heel OR a wedge. Jack Rogers makes a very similar version, some synthetic materials, made in China, and the footbed is thinner. They are of comparable price ($110-$150ish), BUT Jack Rogers are sold in Nordstroms, CountryClubPrep.com, Zappos.com, and they have branched out into other footwear styles as well. Jack Rogers is extremely popular among bloggers like KellyintheCity, Carly’s TheCollegePrep, and the crew from KJP (Kiel James Patrick). Vineyard Vines and Sail to Sable models also appear to be wearing them. The hashtags, #lovemyjacks (22k posts) and #jackrogers (51k posts) far outnumber #palmbeachsandals (2.5k posts) or #pbsandals (100 posts). Why? They are similar in price but Palm Beach Sandals are much nicer in my opinion.

There are alternatives to these- so many actually! Palm Beach certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on leather whipstitching.

Here is one for $39.99 from Nautica that can be found at Famous Footwear Nautica La Plata Sandals

Here are some for $89.95 from Soft Surroundings Palm Beach Sandals

A good one if you like tan for $17.99 from LuLus Tan Whipstitch Sandals

Nice ones from Nieman Marcus on sale $39.50 Gabriel Whipstitch

These ones from Target are sold out, good deal though Merona Enid Whipstitch

Bottom line, if you see your favorite preppy instagrammers wearing Jack Rogers and you want to join in on the fun, know that there are options. Another world all together is Etsy. People hand paint these sandals in all prints, Lilly prints are very popular on them. Those are usually in the $50 range. Read reviews, some people with wider feet have struggled with this style of sandal. Some people don’t like the piece of leather with the three holes on the heel that the some of the Rogers and PB sandals have. It’s the end of summer so a lot of sandals are on sale, buy them now for your spring/summer occasions to get the savings!

Below is my little collection from over the years! I threw my Lilly McKims in because those are nice too for $88. I splurged for my wedding shoes, but trust, in the future I will checking out some of those more affordable options, got to save those pennies!

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Clockwise: Jack Rogers Georgica Jellies, Jack Rogers Hamptons in silver, Lilly Pulitzer McKims, Palm Beach Sandals in navy with white, Palm Beach Sandals in platinum with gold

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