I subscribed to Gwynnie Bee for several months and I wanted to give you my impressions. Gwynnie Bee is a monthly subscription service for size 10-32 clothing, yes they go to a size 32. How cool is that?
Is Gyynnie Bee a Scam?
I sometimes get questions as to whether Gwynnie Bee is a scam to get your credit card number, or to create charges and not send you the clothes. That is NOT my experience. I received the appropriate number of clothes, there were no unauthorized charges to my credit card, AND they have now been in business over two years. I think they are a legitimate alternative to buying clothes.
Quanity and Quality Selection of Clothing
I continue to be impressed with the both the quantity and quality selection of clothing, even in Sizes 28 -32. You get to shop lots of different brands and you get to keep the clothes as long as you like.
Pricing and Plan Selection
You pay a flat monthly subscription fee for access to the entire collection. For three garments out at a time, the monthly fee is $79. The subscription also covers unlimited free shipping and exchanges. I LOVE this idea and I LOVE that they are focusing on plus size.
They offer a 30 day trial period for $10: I love this! Read more about it HERE.
How it Works
You sign up for a plan (between 1 and 10 garments out at a time) and they ship you items from your “closet” (a list of items you choose) to wear for as long as you like. It may feel somewhat similar to Netflix, in that it is a set price, but the HUGE difference is that if you have the “3 at a time plan” you have to have chosen 8 garments, and you cannot specify which of those garments you will get. Gwynnie Bee can send ANY item from your “closet”, not the next ones in your “queue”.
The First Box
Gwynnie Bee shipments come in a super well sealed box and include the clothes along with care instructions, etc. The clothes themselves are labelled clearly so you don’t accidentally wash a dry clean only item and so you can easily find the outfit again on their website. (although you only need to clean it if you want to wear it again, they will clean it when they get it back). The clothes look great and are clean and pressed.
It took my first box 4 days to arrive, but in reading other reviews the timeframe may be shorter or longer than that, and once you have them in rotation it would not be an issue, but Amazon 2 day delivery has spoiled me. They have VERY responsive customer service, I asked some questions and within several hours I had my answers.
Should You Get It – Should I Get It?
I think if you’re a person who shops regularly, Gwynnie Bee could be AMAZING for you. The most expensive plan is $159 a month but with 10 items out at a time, you could wear something different every time you go out. I can see if I did not like an item I would just return it immediately. And, they have made it REALLY easy to return the items with pre-paid bags. I wanted to try it because I wanted to try several brands of clothing to see how they fit. I am always reluctant to buy something if I do not know anything about fit.
A lot of us will get the smaller package – the 3 items out at a time plan for $79. I think it is a great deal if you like wearing a variety of clothes, and for many of us, over a year we might spend about that amount, and the variety is endless.
Plus Size
It is SO exciting to have access to such a range of plus sizes and brands. In my first box I tried Mynt 1792, which goes up to a size 4X, An ASOS Curve sequin pencil skirt that I did not think would work, so I never would have bought it, and a Style & Co 3X shift dress that I would not expect to work but looks okay.
This sort of rental service has existed for a long time in smaller sizes, I am thrilled that we now have all these choices. AND, it you like some variety, it can be fun. Give it a try, you will be glad you did!
A tip for increasing to odds of getting the item you want:
If you subscribe to three pieces of clothing, they require that you have 8 or 10 pieces of clothing that you have requested (your closet wish list) before they will send you any pieces of clothing. If you keep your closet wish list to the required minimum (as opposed to 20 items on your wish list at any time), your odds of receiving what you actually want increase. BUT, it will slow down the process of them sending you something because you have given them fewer options to chose from. A conundrum.
I gave up my subscription because I am not working anymore I did not need this variety of clothes. The clothes are occasionally delayed, but if you keep more items in “your closet wish list”, as opposed to my suggestion that you limit your closet to get more of what you want, then they have more options of what to send you. Have Fun!
Peace…affinity
I just wanted to note that I have been a Gwynnie Bee subscriber for about 8 months now. I’m on the two-at-a-time plan, and have been quite happy with the service. I’ve bought 3 items over that time, and have generally enjoyed trying out the clothing they send me. Some items don’t fit the way you think they will, and it’s easy to just immediately return those and get something else in a couple of days. I’ll note that I go with having lots of things in my closet (like, hundreds), so I usually get the fastest possible turn around. I like trying different things, so this works for me. I would feel frustrated with them if I tried to limit my closet to just a small number of items.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I loved the variety too. I think we each have to find what works for us.
I am glad you had a good experience with Gwynnie Bee because I did not. Took almost TWO WEEKS to get a garment and I had more than 50 items in my closet. The quality of the items I got were not very good. I canceled my membership.
Thanks Courtney and Jenny for the feedback. I always want to know all sides of our experiences.
Thanks for all this great information. I’ve noticed an increase in styles and designers which pleases me. I still haven’t tried, for two (make that three) reasons:
1. I’m horrible at returning things and fear of mess up on that front
2. If I love sinething I’d want to keep it.
I guess 3. I’d rather invest in pieces I can wear over and over, but they have a way to purchase items too, don’t they?