Renting Clothes?

[hilary1617]

Was surfing and came across Gwynnie Bee, which apparently is "a monthly subscription service for sizes 10-32. Get unlimited access to a closet the size of a department store with unlimited free shipping."

Never tried it and I'm at target, but thought it might be something to consider for those who are in the weight loss stage...

http://closet.gwynniebee.com/pages/..._413_SimHiPlanDeskNF_OCPM$_FloralC_FreshF_Opt

 

[brooklyngirl]

I keep thinking about it and then not doing it!

 

[Munchkin]

Interesting! Another good alternative.

 

[JackieOnLine]

@4KidsAndaDog any update? how does it work?

 

[november_ludgate]

I've been using Gwynnie Bee since I went back to work after my surgery in December. Overall, I enjoy the service.

The good:

• New clothes. All the time. They add tons of new clothes to their offerings--at least one big batch a week, sometimes multiple batches.
• It's convenient. All prepaid labels; clothes don't have to be cleaned before sending back; just drop it in the mail. Easy-peasy.
• The clothes are nice, quality pieces.
• The website is easy to use. The general concept is like netflix--you add a bunch of pieces to your "closet" (like a queue in netflix) and when you have an open slot, they select one of your "closeted" items and mail it to you. Shipping is generally quick, and everything has tracking numbers so you know what to expect and when.
• I always have clothes that fit. Their sizing charts are accurate and customer reviews help you know when to size up or down based on a specific item's quirks.
• I wear plenty of things that are trendier than I'd normally buy because I don't have to worry about them looking dated.

The bad:

• It's kind of expensive. To be of use to me, I have to have at least 5-7 pieces, which is a pretty pricey outlay each month. Of course, I was a chronic shopper, and it scratches that itch without me buying things I don't need to keep. For me, it's probably a wash, as I'd be spending that money anyway, but if you're not a shopaholic, it could easily be too expensive.
• It's only nice, dressy clothes--there's really no casual stuff here. (I'm actually mostly okay with this, because my work wardrobe was what I was most concerned about. I'm basically an account manager and work with clients all day in a professional environment, so I have to dress well). But if you're looking for casual stuff, there's not a lot of it. There are a TON of dresses.
• There are no pants to speak of. They have tried to add pants to the mix, but I have yet to receive a pair. I think pants are harder to fit than a top, so the reviews from those who have gotten the pants were not great. I think they only added jeans, and clearly not enough of them to get a pair to everyone who asked. *shrug*
• The company's list of subscribers is growing LIKE CRAZY, and they're struggling to keep up with demand. They are building a new facility and say it'll be done soon and that things will run more smoothly then, but for the past month or so, service has been spotty.

And this is neither a "good" or "bad" but just the facts for me personally: At the time of my surgery, I was a tight 26/28, pushing the limits of a 3X and wearing 4X sometimes. Now I'm wearing 14/16, 1X, 0X, and even occasionally a 12 in the right skirt or pants (I'm weirdly shaped ). They say sizes 10-32 or whatever, but the vast majority of items come in sizes 1X, 2X, or 3X. So while this has served me well for the first 6 months post-op, I'm not sure how many more months I'll get use out of it. We'll just have to see.

 

[JackieOnLine]

very interesting, thanks for the thorough review!

 

[Elizabeth N.]

sounds like thrift shopping is more reliable, not to mention cheaper. I have been building a professional wardrobe a bit at a time, which gratifies my shopping habit. this week's score was a brand new pair of eddie bauer "dress" flats, which are about right for an event where I'm walking miles, for under ten bucks.

 

[november_ludgate]

My experience so far has not been very good. I originally subscribed to the biggest plan they have -- 10 items at once. I selected my 10 items then I got an email a few days later that I need to have at LEAST 22 items in my "closet" before they will ship me anything at all. I couldn't figure out why until it finally came to light that they didn't have a single one of the items I requested in stock, not one. They want you to have a huge"closet" (like a queue in NetFlix) because then they have more chances to send you at least SOMETHING you want.

Well, I'm fairly picky about what I wear and I could not come up with more than 20 items, so they downgraded me to a one month free trial of 3 items at once. Even then they have really struggled to find anything in stock to send me. I got an email today saying something had shipped, but I don't know what it is or when it will arrive (and since I am going out of town for a couple weeks its likely not going to be very helpful to me) and honestly, I will believe it when I see it.

You do make some good points--I found tons that I liked well enough to closet, so I've always had like 100 things there. I hadn't run into the "too few items in the closet" problem, but good that other people know about that. Surprised that you can't tell what was shipped to you--my "shipping confirmation" emails (got one today) always have tracking numbers that show when the item(s) should arrive and what will be in the package.

Things have been worse lately in the shipping department--they're constantly running behind it seems. They've promised the new warehouse, etc. will help, but I can totally understand your frustration. If I hadn't had the "good times" to remember during this past few weeks, I bet I'd be just as frustrated! I get apology emails from them when things run slow, with an offer to buy something I have at home or from the Gwynnie Bee Shop at a decent discount, but honestly, that's not helpful to me since I'm still losing rapidly, so it's little consolation. I hope things will get better for you. I was all ready to fire off a complaint email and then they shipped me 5 items today, and they all look great (plus the tracking number looks like they expedited shipping) so I'll probably hold off on the nastygrams for a while.

 

[southernlady]

well, the things from Gwynnie Bee did arrive on Friday before I left town. I was supposed to get 3 items. The dress was cute but immense. The one top was cute and did fit, the other was really awful, cheap fabric. And, oddly, they included a 4th top that I had in my "closet" but wasn't listed anywhere on the invoice --- it was just in the box with no documentation. Totally weird.

I just kept the one item and sent the other three back with a note letting them know I think this extra top got mixed in by mistake.

The box arrived and everything was packaged very prettily and neatly. Other than the one shirt the items were nice material and the colors were true to the website pictures. The green dress I got I wish had come 2 sizes smaller because I really liked it, which surprised me -- did I mention that I am very picky about my clothes? I went through my "closet" and changed the sizes of everything I ordered to 2 sizes smaller.

So, we will see how the next shipment works out before I decide if this is a keeper or not. Honestly, I think I would have liked this better if I were a stable size and knew what that was -- it was sort of frustrating to have 3 of 4 items show up a mile too big and immediately send them back but that's not fault of Gwynnie Bee.

You will get to a stable size soon enough but you won't be using that site for long if the smallest they carry is a 10. Glad you found one item tho.

 

[JackieOnLine]

that's for the thorough review - I would guess the company would be interested in it. they should be, anyway. maybe they can improve.