Gwynnie Bee: Take 2

So I decided to give Gwynnie Bee a try once again. My experience this time has been more positive, but there have still been some hiccups.

The Great: The closeting system has been reorganized, there seems to be a better selection of items. I also feel like people reviewing the items have gotten better at explaining exactly what’s wrong with the items and how they fit them. Awesome! Their sizing recommendation system has gotten quite good, and that’s really helped me.

The Hiccups: I signed up on a promotion where they offered me half off of two months. When I tried to snag the promotion, the offer showed up totally different. I emailed their customer care and they fixed the problem straight away! Unfortunately, as soon as I subscribed, they apparently had a huge shipping system malfunction where nothing was shipping out correctly. It seemed fine to me, but they offered me $15 off my next bill, which was really generous. When they switched around the closeting system, I noticed that few of my pieces began to hang up on the receiving end, so I had to email to get them cleared out. I was sent a “Loyalty” promotion email offering me a free item upgrade for 90 days. I had to email to get that enacted, and I had to forward them the offer. Right now, I’ve been waiting on something–anything–to show progress towards getting something to be since Monday (it’s Thursday.) [Edit: as I was publishing this post, they emailed me back to apologize! Which brings me to…]

The Good: Their customer care. Always so friendly and helpful. They absolutely want to resolve every issue quickly with little back and forth. They’re incredibly generous and always pleasant.

The Suggestions: I still feel like sorting for their inventory could be made better. Being able to search my sleeve length, silhouette, pattern, fabric or season would be wonderful. Speaking of seasons, I wish there were some indication of what season the garment was intended for or may be appropriate for. I’ve gotten several pieces that were a much heavier or lighter fabric than expected. I also feel like the new closet setup doesn’t offer as many details–the size you closeted, when you marked a piece for return–and wish they’d bring some of that back.

The Overall: I still recommend this service most for folks who love dresses. There are a lot of shirts, as well, but the dress inventory is still king. Having now tasted the three out at a time subscription, it’s the option I recommend most. One item out at a time leads to many more disappointments.

My current GB faves:

Pink Clove Floral Skater Dress

Eloquii Peplum Pleated Top

Igigi Multicolored Iris Blouse

Karen Kane Paint Blocks Contrast Top

dootsiebug

May 21, 2015

Reviews

clothing, eloquii, gwynnie bee, igigi, karen kane, pink clove, plus fashion, plus size, plus size fashion

6 responses to “Gwynnie Bee: Take 2”

KathyRo

June 18, 2015 at 9:11 pm

OMG Where did the time go?!? I can’t believe it’s been so long since I commented. Let’s just chalk it up to a shit-ton of work and travel.

So. Gwynnie Bee. Where to start…

First of all I have a vague memory of writing an “updated comment” on my Gwynnie Bee experience but I think I buried it in a glam bag post so of course I can’t find it. Apologies if some of this is repeated commentary.

I’ve been doing it for 7 months now (gulp) and here is how I currently feel about it:

The minimum queue size is now, apparently, 25!! Anything less and I don’t get items sent to me. I can’t find this documented anywhere but I swear it’s the truth. In theory this should only be a one-time problem: I sit down one evening and knock out another 10 choices. ( Life is hard, n’est-ce pas? ) But it has larger implications because the reality is that only the latest 5 – 10 picks are the ones GB seems to select clothing to send me. The others are just … placeholders, designed apparently to keep me constantly choosing.

I understand why they might need to do this. The stock of “older” pieces is less than current ones because more of those items are damaged, sold or just out on rent. At the very least it’s much easier to fill my order from the newest stock, if not downright impossible. I suspect GB’s outlook on this is “Hey all our stuff is great! Why do you care which ones we pick from your list?”

Well because I do care. Because the hanger queens on my virtual rack are actually my favorite picks. They have survived a flood of newer items that have come in since I originally picked them. They have survived my deleting out of season items and items I’ve changed my opinion on. The latest picks are really the ones I feel lukewarm about — the ones GB has forced me to pick in order to get anything. So week after week I’m hoping for a “yippee” and getting a “meh” instead.

Another complaint is that lately the clothes have arrived smelling funky. I suspect the warmer weather is revealing a … problem? gap? outright lie? … in their claim that they clean the clothes before they send them out. My new MO is to wash the clothes before I wear them ( and sometimes afterwards too ).

But there are some positives. Between the reviews and the sizing information I almost never get something that doesn’t fit. I’ve learned to be discerning when reading the reviews. I try to ignore issues of taste ( “This made me look dowdy!” ) and focus on fit/quality issues that relate to me ( “I’m a pear and this was tight across the hips.”, “The material is cheap and flimsy” ).

And sometimes I win the GB lottery. Sometimes a “meh” is actually a “fuck yeah!”. I’ve purchased 4 items ( and refrained from purchasing a couple more! ). Overall I feel my wardrobe is much more refreshed than it was 6 months ago. I feel the whole experience has encouraged me to branch out a bit.

So… I’m staying for now. But I wish I could resolve the feeling I never get my favorites.

Reply
1. dootsiebug
  
  June 25, 2015 at 12:58 pm
  
  I was just about to email you and ask what’s up with your life! Haha
  
  So can we talk about how the closet is no longer removing clothing that’s not available? I’ve got at least five pieces that are no longer available in my size that are still there. I’m honestly just keeping them there to see if it’s just a glitch in the NEW closet or what.
  Have you seen the “my priorities” feature? Has this worked for you? I’ve tried marking some older items, and I never seem to get them–and they KEEP RUNNING OUT OF THEM in my size. I HAVE gotten newer pieces that I’ve marked, but I’m not sure if that’s a fluke or what.
  
  I have heard of other people getting funky-smelling clothes, but I honestly never have. Not even a whiff of someone else’s perfume. There’s a part of me that’s REALLY curious about GB’s process for receiving, laundering, storing and shipping items. I just wonder if some pieces don’t accidentally skip the laundering process by accident.
  
  Like, the GB reviews is this whole codified language that you have to cypher every time you want to put something in your Closet. Haha
  
  My coworkers have definitely taken notice of how I dress with GB. I’m definitely trying new styles and silhouettes that I never would’ve touched, and I’m definitely feeling better about shopping from brands I’ve tried through GB. Which for me was the #1 goal, so I’m so pleased.
  
  Reply
  1. KathyRo
    
    June 26, 2015 at 2:21 pm
    
    OMG WHERE IS THIS FEATURE?!? I can’t find the “My Priorities” anywhere on the site!! I’m trying not to get my hopes up and remind myself that this is a tall order for GB to fill.
    
    “they KEEP RUNNING OUT OF THEM in my size” — You know, until I read this, it never even occurred to me that when I looked at an item in my closet and my size isn’t currently available, THEN IT’S NOT AVAILABLE TO ME EITHER. For some reason I was harboring a delusion that since I already had it in my closet ( and GB didn’t remove it ) that there was a version in my size that was somehow “reserved” or accounted for — like it was out on loan or something. But now I see how lame that train of thought is! Because if that were the case, of course they’d still let other people put it in their closet. DUH.
    
    So now I need to go through my closet and accept the fact that some of the items have broken up with me. Sigh. Oh well at least now I know when to stop fanning the flames of hope.
    
    “My coworkers have definitely taken notice of how I dress with GB”. ME TOO! I’m not gonna lie — it feels good.
    
    Last batch didn’t have any funkiness. It wasn’t a big problem to me anyway — I mean, I know the clothes have been worn before. Last batch also had a bunch of winners in it so… argh, don’t need to buy anymore clothes!
  2. dootsiebug
    
    July 2, 2015 at 3:14 pm
    
    My Priorities… assuming your closet looks like mine?: go to your closet, then On-The-Rack, then under the picture of every item, there should be a drop down that says Options. Under that, it says Prioritize. Click that and a little flag will pop up. Good luck with that haha
    
    I think you might be right that there are some pieces still floating around out there, because I currently have a piece that’s listed as unavailable in my size. Maybe they just try to serve the people who have already closeted a piece first? MAYBE? haha
  3. KathyRo
    
    July 6, 2015 at 10:36 am
    
    I DO NOT HAVE THIS FEATURE WHAT THE HELL OMG?!?
    Scuttling off to contact GB….
  4. dootsiebug
    
    July 6, 2015 at 3:30 pm
    
    Let me say it for the record: GB is great, but their services can be so random and spotty and confusing.