Twelve dresses of the 134 – Size 26 – that are available today
I recently signed up for my free one month trial of Gwynnie Bee. Gwynnie Bee is a monthly subscription service for size 10-32 clothing, yes they go to a size 32. Right now, when I go to the “Dresses” they have 134, Size 26 dresses and 61 size 32 dresses. How cool is that?
You get to shop lots of different brands and you get to keep the clothes as long as you like.
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 free trial period: 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 (reviews to come).
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 wish list) before they will send you any pieces of clothing. If you keep your 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.
May 2014 Update: 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” they have more options of what to send you. Have Fun!
October 1, 2014 Update: They no longer offer the free one month trial.
Peace…affinity
A new retailer to me, Modcloth was having a great sale, and I had a $15 discount so I was able to buy this dress for less than $20 shipped. It is a burnout fabric. I noticed that 3 of us from our blogging collective, Ahead of the Curve, were buying it so I thought it would be fun if we did a collage, since Cherie lives in Cincinnati, Stina in Toronto and I live in California. They have this dress in turquoise, but not on sale, sorry.
