Friday, November 6, 2015

Le Tote Revew and $25 OFF for You!

So, I've been a little disillusioned with Stitch Fix lately. I'd kept at it about every other month, but really wasn't finding pieces I *loved*, but was instead buying one piece just to feel like I wasn't losing my $20 styling fee.

You see, I'm one of those people who's guilty of buying things, wearing them once, and then letting them sit in my closet for months...or years. Out of a desire to simplify my life, my finances, and my laundry pile, I decided to give Le Tote a try. I was especially enticed by a coupon in my mailbox for $25 off my first month of service.

Here's how it works: You sign up for your account, and then go through their inventory to add things to your virtual online closet. Before they send you your first tote, you receive an email that shows you everything you're getting - usually 3 pieces of clothing and 2 accessories. If you don't like something you see, you have the opportunity to switch it out for another piece. Then boom, 2-3 days of priority shipping later (LOVE), you get your tote delivered to you. You can keep your items for as long as you want, then as soon as you return them, you get your next tote. Here's a picture of the first few items in my closet:



The service is regularly $49 a month, and I've averaged about 3 boxes, or "totes" per month. Here's what I've gotten so far with two months of service. I've paid about $74 ($25 for my first month and $49 for my second) and worn all of the following items:




If there's an item you really love and don't want to send back, you can pay to keep it at a discounted rate. Here's what I think the pros and cons are to this service.

PROS:
• Keep the items for as long as you want
• NO laundry - just put the items in the pre-labeled priority mail bag when you're done.
• Great for playing "dress up" and always having new pieces coming to your house - especially if you enjoy the novelty of never wearing the same thing twice
• The $49 a month is less than I would normally spend, and I've vowed to not buy clothing while using this service. Plus, I've done the math, I've received $1600 worth of clothing and accessories for the $74 I've paid, and I can probably fit in one more tote before I'm charged for my next month.
• This service is great if you need a dress or piece for a special occasion - no need to spend a bunch to keep a dress you'll only wear once!
• For me anyway, the clothes are very appropriate for my lifestyle - a lot of business and weekend casual with the chance to change it up by adding different things to my closet
• This may not be a pro for some people, but I like that I can see exactly what I'm getting for each tote and have some control over switching out items I don't like.

Tote #2 was my favorite so far - I would have kept everything if I could!
My favorite piece I've received - the Vegan Leather Drape Jacket from BB Dakota - sorry for the terrible attempt at a family photo on a windy, cold day!

Mirror cellphone selfies are always good for a laugh.

CONS:
• I've found most of the jewelry quality to be sub-par and a little too costume-y - but that's fine for pieces you'll only wear once.
• If you're slow about returning your items, you may not maximize your value.
• To keep an item, you don't get any money off the price you already paid for your tote, so you're paying for the piece on TOP of the price of the tote. The one piece I loved enough to keep was a little too pricey. But no matter, I can just ask them to resend it!
• Depending on availability, all of the items you receive may not be from your "closet" - due to limited inventory on certain items, you may be waiting a while to try a piece you really love.

Overall, I love this service, and plan on continuing for a while. If you'd like to try LE TOTE you can click here to receive $25 off your first month as well. They give you the option to pause or skip any month, and you can cancel at any time. Just a note that I receive $15 off my tote if you sign up through my link, just so you don't think I get nothing out of this ;). Oh, and they just recently started offering a MATERNITY box which would be great if you don't want to keep maternity clothes!