Okay, before I talk about the real reason for today’s post, I’ve been meaning to mention that I’m speaking at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, Texas this Thursday night, July 30. It’s a free event! Doors open at 6:30, it begins at 7:00 and will be over at 8:30. And I’ll be signing books afterwards. So if you’re in the area I’d love to see you! You can find out more information here if you need it.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I had the chance to try out a personal online shopping service called Golden Tote. I’ve tried other things like this with mixed results, but was excited to try Golden Tote because it works a little differently than the others.
On the first Monday of every month new totes go on sale. You can choose between a $49 filled with two to three pieces or $149 tote filled with five to six pieces, then you look at the different clothing options and pick one or two things that you love and they surprise you with the rest. You can also select some add-ons for a reduced price and you create your very own style profile so they can get a good idea of your sizes and clothing preferences.
I chose the $149 tote and filled out all my information to the best of my ability, although I realize I am super picky about clothes and there’s no good way to accurately convey “It can have some flowers but can’t be too floral-ish” or “Sometimes I like flowy tops, but only if they fit EXACTLY the way I want them to and hit at EXACTLY the right place on my body.” I did, however, specify that under no circumstances should they send me anything with an elastic waistband because that never works for me. In the history of fashion an elastic waistband has hit me at the right spot on my body exactly NONE TIMES. Basically I need you to be a fashion jedi if you’re going to figure out how particular I can be when it comes to clothes.
And so I picked out the two items I knew I’d love from the website and left the rest to the eye of the stylist. It’s like being in Vegas but gambling with fashion instead of money.
I chose this dress.
And I love it as much as I thought I would. This time of year I’m such a fan of a loose, shapeless dress that doesn’t really touch any part of your body and this looks cute with just flat sandals or dressed up with my wedge sandals.
(In a perfect world I was going to model all these things, but it just never happened because I don’t have the strength to put on my makeup and do my hair or figure out how to take full-length selfies. And I could have had Caroline take the pictures, but I can’t handle the criticism from someone I taught how to use the toilet.)
My other selection was this sweater.
It’s a super soft cotton weave with lots of holes for ventilation.
This is the kind of thing I love. And it will transition perfectly into a Texas fall and winter with just a tank under it now and with a t-shirt, boots and jeans later.
Along with the two things I chose, I also received these items.
I really like this top because it’s light and airy and perfect to throw on with shorts. Plus it looks like something I would pick out for myself in a store.
This dress is cute on so I like the fit, but I’m not crazy about the pattern. This falls into my category of too floral-ish. Or is it paisley-ish? I’m not sure. I just know it’s too busy for my taste, which is unfortunate because I like the way it fits. I just like my clothes to be a little simpler. However, Caroline loved this and was said it didn’t fit her.
Which brings me to these last two things.
How cute is this on Caroline? I tried it on and liked it okay, but wasn’t crazy about where it hit me. But then she swooped in like a vulture and put it on and I said SOLD. She loves it and I’m happy about that.
This final thing is another piece I didn’t really like. The fit is good and I liked the length, but it’s too sheer to wear alone and thin enough that it looked really messy when I tried a tank under it. All that being said, Caroline threw it on over a long tank and it fits her like a dress. She is thrilled with this development and it turns out that my Golden Tote experiment was a huge score for her.
And I liked it, too. I love getting a box of surprise things delivered to the door and trying on new things and I appreciate that Golden Tote, unlike some of the other similar services, actually lets you choose a couple of your items so you know will like those things for sure. You can’t return anything so you are committed to what you spend when you order your tote, but they do have a Facebook page where you can trade items that don’t work for you. However, I still felt like I got my money’s worth because I truly adore three of my six things and I would have easily spent $149 for those alone.
So I think Golden Tote could be a great option if you like new clothes but hate to shop for them. It’s a way to get some fresh pieces in your closet that you won’t necessarily see anywhere else. And I wanted to try it out for y’all because I know many of you don’t like to shop (I do not understand this at all, but God made us all with different gifts and abilities) and I think the online stylist concept is awesome in that case. So if you’re interested in trying it out for yourself, you can sign up for Golden Tote here.
As for me, I enjoy the whole shopping experience. I like to walk around stores, try things on, feel the fabric and look for pieces that will go with things I already have in my closet. So I think I’m mainly sticking with old-fashioned shopping in the form of picking clothes out for myself, but Golden Tote has potential if you find yourself in a gambling mood and I would totally do it again if I ever want to shake things up a little bit.
As long as no elastic waistbands are involved.
**Golden Tote sent me a tote free of charge in exchange for this review.