If you have been following me on Facebook and Twitter, and on this blog, you will notice that I have been alluding to a new plus size shopping service, that is basically like Netflix for plus size clothes. YES. Netflix for plus size clothes.
Imagine renting your clothes from designers you are either
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a) in love with but cannot afford
b) familiar with but are not sure of the commitment
c) have a special occasion, knowing you’d only fancy once
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d) have not time to shop and love having options delivered to you
This is where Gwynnie Bee comes in. With designers from across the globe, Gwynnie Bee offers a subscription based service that lets you choose from SIX types of plans! From one item a month up to TEN items a month, the service ranges from $35 up to $159! Seriously cool and you can change your preferences month to month!
My Experience
So, I chose the FIVE item plan! I went and signed up (quite easy!) and entered in my preferences. Next I was instructed to pick out my items. I love that you can shop by item in your size (right now from sizes 10-24). As you stock your closet with your favorites, once you reach your desired amount, you have the items shipped to you!
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Shipping?
Hella fast. I played on Thursday/Friday and had them by Tuesday. AND shipping IS FREE. BOTH WAYS. Everything was nicely packaged and I even had a little note!
In my box:
I receive a few items I chose and here is the surprise: While you chose what you like, based on your preferences, they also include something you probably would have never even played with! It is there for you to try on!
Out of the items I received, I KNOW I am going to rock two for sure (stay tuned next week).
The Designers
I am really geeked about this. They have CarmaKoma, Mynt 1792, Bellatrix, Igigi, and they are always looking for the newest and latest designers!
My Takeaways with Gwynnie Bee:
- I do hope that they add a function that lets us browse by designers. There are some that fit me like a glove and always like to see who they are getting in!
- I love this idea. This is truly brilliant!
- Today, I am going to play in my CarmaKoma Lace top… we shall see how I get on!
- As a blogger VIRGO, I barely rock the same thing twice in the same way, so having the option to have something in my closet for ONLY as long as I need to shop back and get something new in return!?! HEAVEN for me and my pocketbook!
To test out Gwynnie Bee, you DO need an INVITE and I just happen to have one to share with you!
Click here to be taken to GwynnieBee.com as My Guest!
Take a look around and come back next week as I will have a few outfit posts/reviews for your reading pleasure!
PS!!! For readers of The Curvy Fashionista, special offer of a 1 free additional garment for their first 2 months of service
How cool is this? For Reals!
Hmm this sounds interesting.
how much did you pay?
I use them. Love it, The fee depends on what monthly program you sign up for. You can have 1 item out at a time or up to 5 items out at a time. Monthly fee starts at $29.99 a month up to I belive $150.00 a month.
What if you want to buy an item?
I loved the idea, but in practice it didn’t really work out for me. The selection is good, and I loved being able to try things on and just wear them a few times and swap them out with other new things. My wardrobe is pretty limited, so this service Really appealed to me. I probably wouldn’t have cancelled if they let you apply part of your monthly fee towards purchases. Value for the money: this may be a perfect value for many, but as I am on a very limited budget, I needed some part of it to give – either in the monthly subscription price or a partial credit towards purchases or a faster turnaround – any one of these might have kept me on. I was on the 3-at-a-time plan (~$85 after taxes), and when you are new they give you a free 1 item upgrade for a few months.
To give you an estimate of what to expect, in 2 month’s time with 4 out-at-a-time, I tried on 16 articles of clothing. I returned 8 without wearing them either because of fit or because they didn’t look the way I expected them to and it didn’t work for me. I purchased 4 pieces, and would have bought 2 of the remaining 4 more except for fit+price (if the price were lower I would have bought them and had them tailored).
I do think this is a great service, but it doesn’t provide enough value if you are on a tight budget (I used up my clothing budget for 5 month’s time). I hope they do make some tweaks to the service, as I’d like to go back to it sometime.
I loved the idea, but in practice it didn’t really work out for me. The selection is good, and I loved being able to try things on and just wear them a few times and swap them out with other new things. My wardrobe is pretty limited, so this service Really appealed to me. I probably wouldn’t have cancelled if they let you apply part of your monthly fee towards purchases. Value for the money: this may be a perfect value for many, but as I am on a very limited budget, I needed some part of it to give – either in the monthly subscription price or a partial credit towards purchases or a faster turnaround – any one of these might have kept me on. I was on the 3-at-a-time plan (~$85 after taxes), and when you are new they give you a free 1 item upgrade for a few months.
To give you an estimate of what to expect, in 2 month’s time with 4 out-at-a-time, I tried on 16 articles of clothing. I returned 8 without wearing them either because of fit or because they didn’t look the way I expected them to and it didn’t work for me. I purchased 4 pieces, and would have bought 2 of the remaining 4 more except for fit+price (if the price were lower I would have bought them and had them tailored).
I do think this is a great service, but it doesn’t provide enough value if you are on a tight budget (I used up my clothing budget for 5 month’s time). I hope they do make some tweaks to the service, as I’d like to go back to it sometime. I’m trying stitchfix next.