2018 Update: After having tried the Stylish Surprise a couple more times since this post, I no longer recommend it to anyone. Whomp whomp.

I nabbed some Modcloth Stylish Surprise items during their spring bonanza, and I lived to tell the tale!

What it is: Modcloth clears out their inventory by offering their goods as mystery boxes at pretty amazing discounts. Dresses are $20 each, Apparel and Shoes are $10 each, Apartment Goods and Jewelry are $5 each. Pretty good, considering that their product prices tend to be boutique. They sell shoes and clothes by size. Since they’re clearance items, the sizes can be misleading, so you risk getting something that doesn’t come anywhere near fitting, as was my experience last time (4x is apparently my Modcloth size.)

How you get it: They only offer these annually (maybe semi annually?) This year, they only notified users of their mobile app of the sale. If you didn’t have the app, I don’t think you could even shop these items. Since the apartment and jewelry items sell out within a few minutes and some sizes are gone just as fast, you’ve got to be on top of your game.

My experience: The sale killed their site and app. It was sluggish to load and kept throwing errors. When I finally managed to get the items I wanted into the cart and enter my card info, something had sold out–so they cancelled my order rather than giving me the option of continuing without the sold out item. UM.

I found it easiest to add the items into my cart with the app, then go to their website to check out. Their cross-platform cart updated seamlessly, which actually impressed me.

Left in a Spin dress (Original Price $179.99): This dress was such a win! It’s a beautiful plum lace over a beige satin underlay. I had actually seen this on their site, but hesitated to buy because I wasn’t sure it would look as charming on me. I was so wrong! It fits like a dream and feels so dressy. I think I could dress it down a bit with a cardigan, so I’ll probably wear it for work! Also, it has pockets. Y’all know how huge that is.

For the Record Books dress (Original Price $119.99): This is so not my style, yet totally whimsical and fun. It’s grey with little records all over it. The straps can be adjusted, which is nice. The waist is tied with a separate piece, so it can be worn tied in the front or in the back.

Boho With the Flow skirt (Original Price $44.99): First, this is a skirt and not a poncho as the photo would have you believe. Haha This is a little hippie for my taste, but it’s a really airy silky fabric so I’ll let it slide. The length is somewhere between knee and midi, depending on where I rest the waistband. It’s got a nice paper bag waist that will be cute with t-shirts. Not something I would’ve bought for myself, but it’s a nice addition to my wardrobe nonetheless.

Spruce Up Your Style boots (Original Price $44.99): These were very cute, but they had a bit of an artificial leather smell. I ordered the Surprise in a size 9. They’re identical to a pair I already own, so I gave them to my roommate. A nice find!

The Overall: I love this sale, and I will do it again! As a plus size lady with a tight clothing budget, this sale is a godsend. I love the Modcloth style, but the sizing really intimidated me from ordering from them a long time. Absolutely trust the reviews first, but this Stylish Surprise gave me total confidence to order from Modcloth in the future. LOVE!