As I mentioned here before, finding plus size dressy clothing that looks and feels good has always been a struggle. Back in May, I gave Gwynnie Bee a try after reading Authentically Emmie rave about it. If you've never heard of Gwynnie Bee, it's basically a subscription rental service for plus size clothing, with the option to purchase and keep any items that you try and love. I had several upcoming events that I needed clothes for that I just didn't have in my own closet, namely chaperoning prom, a wedding, and graduation. Again, I am not a dressy girl. I don't even own a dress with the exception of my wedding dress, and shopping for a dress brings me to the point of having a panic attack. Since Gwynnie Bee offers a free 30 day trial in which you can receive up to three outfits at a time, I thought I might as well give it a try.
The way it works is that you browse their site and add clothes that you would like to try to your queue, which they call your "closet." You have to add at least 8 selections before they will send you a shipment, so you never really know which 3 items from your closet you are going to receive until they ship them out. I found this to be a downside to the service. I don't like showing my upper arms, so I picked a tank style maxi dress and a crop cardigan to go over it, but they didn't come in the same shipment so I couldn't wear them together. Anyway, I enjoyed the free trial of the service. I got a cute dress to wear to prom, work, and graduation. I actually would have kept and purchased the Igigi Ariel dress that I wore to work because I loved it so much, except it was dry-clean only. That is an instant turn off for me.
I loved many aspects of the service. The website was easy to navigate, and it was easy add clothes I liked to my closet. They had a wide variety of styles to choose from. Every shipment came with return bags that had prepaid shipping labels, so the return process was extremely easy. New shipments shipped quickly, and everything was clean and ready to wear upon receipt. Subscribers didn't have to worry about cleaning clothes before returning them because Gwynnie Bee professionally cleaned everything for you. Despite these things, I cancelled my subscription at the end of the 30 day trial because to keep it would have been too expensive for me for how much I would have used the service. I found that a majority of the selection consisted of dresses, and I knew I would only rarely wear dresses. Additionally, I didn't have enough variety of bottoms in my own closet to pair with the tops they had available, since Gwynnie Bee doesn't offer bottoms. It's definitely a service I would consider using again, and when prom/graduation rolls around again, I may subscribe for a month just for that purpose.
The way it works is that you browse their site and add clothes that you would like to try to your queue, which they call your "closet." You have to add at least 8 selections before they will send you a shipment, so you never really know which 3 items from your closet you are going to receive until they ship them out. I found this to be a downside to the service. I don't like showing my upper arms, so I picked a tank style maxi dress and a crop cardigan to go over it, but they didn't come in the same shipment so I couldn't wear them together. Anyway, I enjoyed the free trial of the service. I got a cute dress to wear to prom, work, and graduation. I actually would have kept and purchased the Igigi Ariel dress that I wore to work because I loved it so much, except it was dry-clean only. That is an instant turn off for me.
I loved many aspects of the service. The website was easy to navigate, and it was easy add clothes I liked to my closet. They had a wide variety of styles to choose from. Every shipment came with return bags that had prepaid shipping labels, so the return process was extremely easy. New shipments shipped quickly, and everything was clean and ready to wear upon receipt. Subscribers didn't have to worry about cleaning clothes before returning them because Gwynnie Bee professionally cleaned everything for you. Despite these things, I cancelled my subscription at the end of the 30 day trial because to keep it would have been too expensive for me for how much I would have used the service. I found that a majority of the selection consisted of dresses, and I knew I would only rarely wear dresses. Additionally, I didn't have enough variety of bottoms in my own closet to pair with the tops they had available, since Gwynnie Bee doesn't offer bottoms. It's definitely a service I would consider using again, and when prom/graduation rolls around again, I may subscribe for a month just for that purpose.