Golden Tote July/August

It's finally here, my extremely overdue post on my new clothing subscription service. I've delayed writing this review because I've ran into a few hiccups along the way (which I'll get into) and I wanted to smooth everything out before sharing my thoughts. So let's get into it!

Let's start with the details...

What is Golden Tote?

It's a clothing subscription service created by the lovely ladies of the clothing brand Puella. They offer monthly sales that you can participate in or not; you only get charged when you do participate. And they just changed their policy so they have sales for the entire month - they used to only have week long sales. 

There are 2 different options/totes:one at $49 (+ shipping) or the other at $149 (+ shipping). Depending on which price point you select, you select an item(s) and they'll provide the rest. So, with the $49 tote, you select 1 item and they'll add 1-2 surprise items based on your style profile you fill out at sign up. With the $149 option, you select 2 items and they surprise you with 4-5 surprise items.

They also have the option to shop their boutique which has some items from the previous totes as well as current selection items at a nicely discounted price. 

Return policy: It's an "all or nothing deal". If you don't love everything you got, then you kind of have to base it on a "Do I mostly love it? Or do I mostly hate it?" scale. Personally I think it'd be a little hard to curate totes for thousands of women and have them all love their items. So I understand their "all or nothing" policy. However, their site also states that they won't do exchanges either. A size chart can be easily found throughout their site, but for me, not all clothing brands fit me the same way (I can't be alone in that!), so that part made me a bit hesitant, but obviously didn't stop me. LOL

Now that the details are out of the way, I'll move on to my experience.

So I originally placed my order at the end of July. I opted for the $149 tote because I'm just crazy like that and it seemed like a good deal. LOL They actually display the retail price of the items and if you do enough researching online, you can find some of those items on sites like Anthropology (and no, not in the sale section! Yay!).

So I looked around for items I liked and tried to find reviews on other sites so I could get a good idea of how they looked on other  models, sizing info, etc. There was one dress I absolutely loved, so I chose that as my first pick. And I really liked another dress for my second pick but they had a few different color options of the dress and not enough pictures on their site to show which was which, and before I knew it, it was sold out. So I went with another option. 

FIRST PICK! YAY!

I wanted this one as my second pick but since it sold out....

...This became my second pick :)

After making my selections, I filled out the style profile which asks typical size in pants and tops, styles and colors I would NOT wear, and then you select one of the following images that is similar to your style.

I picked the middle image and for the styles/colors I wouldn't wear, I selected bright mixed pattern pieces (you know, like the dresses that have a loud bright floral pattern on the top half and a loud abstract pattern on the bottom half...yeah, I'm not into those kinda pieces) and the color orange.

So, here is what my first tote looked like:

Nicely wrapped aside from the dead bug that met his untimely demise at some point during transit LOL. And also my name was written on the inside flap of the box which I thought was unique; like there's actually a person who putting together my tote just for me.

This tote is adorable and doesn't feel super flimsy. I think  if someone had a bunch of these they'd be great grocery bags or beach bags ;).

Excuse my phone that's just chillin up there haha - Here's everything pulled it out of the tote. I should've taken more pictures of the actual items, but I didn't. :( I did, however, find pictures of these items online, but some of them are in different colors. Thanks Internet! lol

1. My first pick! Collective Concepts Chevron Print Dress. I've heard people compare the sizing of most of GT's stuff to Forever 21, so to be safe, I ordered this in a large. I LOVED this, however, the material was kind of stretchy so the large felt a little too roomy. :( A Medium would probably work better for me...

2. LuluMari White Dress

I thought this dress was adorable and it looks cute on the model! But it wasn't for me. I tried it on and it just didn't work out. 

3. Puella Stripe Maxi in Mint Green and Grey. First off, I LOVED the color! Green is my favorite color and I don't have any dresses in that shade of green in my closet. Plus, I'm a fan of stripes, like it's kind of a problem LOL. I also liked how it has the thin straps and the v-cut neckline. I thought the contrast paneling was interesting and most dresses that I've seen with this sort of paneling usually slim you down. Surprisingly this did the opposite for me. I have more of an hourglass figure and this dress accentuated my hips and made them appear wider. Since I didn't find it flattering, I knew I wouldn't get much wear out of it. Strike 3 for me so far... :(

4. My 2nd Pick - The Black Tunic. I like the way it looks on the model and thought it would be cute with leggings, boots, and a cute jacket, or with a pair of knee high boots. It turned out way too short for me and that nice v-neck the model has going on, wouldn't stay put for me. I felt like I was wearing more of a naughty nun outfit. :O 

5. Jesse & J pullover in white. Not a bad item. Definitely not something I would have picked up myself, but it was okay. I liked the detailing but I prefer my tops to fit more on the longer side and this fit more on the boxy side. 

6. Cherish Tribal Tank Top. (sorry for the bad quality of the photo)

I surprisingly liked this! I haven't really been into the whole tribal print trend, but this top was adorable. It fit perfect and I've been on the hunt for this ever since LOL. 

As I mentioned earlier about their return policy, it's an all or nothing deal. Unfortunately, I only liked 2 out of my 6 items (Items 1 & 6). So I couldn't justify spending $156.95 ($149 tote w/shipping) on only 2 items so I returned my tote.

I thought about just purchasing the Chevron dress separately and trying to find the tribal tank (which I've still had no luck in), but overall the cost of the big tote is a really good deal if you like most of your stuff. But as luck would have it, while I was preparing to return this tote, I saw a notification from GT saying that the swing dress (the dress I originally wanted as my second pick) was back in stock! AND they still had the chevron dress! So before my return tote had even hit the UPS truck, I had already ordered my second tote. I ordered the chevron dress again but in a Medium (and crossed my fingers that it would fit better) and the Puella Swing dress in Black and White. I liked the swing dress that the model is wearing and I assumed it was the black and white one so that's what I went with.  I had contacted Golden Tote via FB and told them that I was returning my tote but had placed a new order and told them which surprise items I got to avoid getting duplicates; although, I did tell them that I loved the Cherish tank and wouldn't mind seeing that again. I also asked about a couple of other items that I wouldn't mind seeing as my surprise items.

About 10 business days later I got my second tote:

1. Collective Concepts Chevron dress

YAY! The medium fit nicely and I'm so glad I got this again. I think it can be worn a ton of different ways so I'll be getting a lot of use out of it from now until winter! I ended up wearing it recently for a family dinner with a belt and ballet flats.

2. Puella Swing Dress

This was a bit of a surprise.

 I was expecting it to look like this...

...but I got this.

Aside from the color, this dress definitely needs a belt or else it's a little too loose. Or maybe it could be altered a little to be more flattering. Without the belt, this dress fits nicely around the arms and bust and that's about it. It just drapes from there down. So here are a couple of ways I'd wear it:

3.Under Skies White Lace Pullover

This is another one of those items that I wouldn't have picked out myself but I think it could grow on me...or I could gift it. 

4. Under Skies Grey Mesh Pullover/Sweater

I actually really like this. It has a bit of a high-low hem and it's very soft. 

5. THML Kahlo Embroidered Racerback Tank

I wanted to like this one. I love the stripes but the embroidery (which is an orangey color) and the way fit killed it for me. Since I selected orange as my "no wear" color on my profile, I was a little disappointed to see that they stuck this in there.

I ended up contacting them and asked if I could get something else and I also wanted to ask about the Swing dress since I thought I ordered the one the model had on and ended up with something a little different. Sarah (one of the co-founders), emailed me back, apologized and said that she'd send something out to me. She also explained that they were out of the dress the model has on but sent me a picture of the other alternatives that I could exchange my dress for. Instead I opted to keep the dress I received and sent off the unwanted tank.

My replacement item:

It's another THML tank! I like it, I think it would go great with jeans or shorts. They did send this to me in a size M, which fits, but the bottom is a little shorter than I'd like, so I probably would have prefered a L (which is also on my style profile for top sizes...). But at this point I feel like I've already bugged CS enough and I don't really feel like contacting them again for something minor. So in my closet it will stay and I'll pair it with high waisted skinnies. :)  

6. Potter's Pot Maxi Skirt

This was an iffy one for me. It has a very boho feel and that's not really my style plus it has the orange embroidery detailing. (Damn you, orange!) But after much debate, and trying to piece it together with other items I already own, I think I may keep it. I like that it's very flowy and feels more formal than what it is, or what it could be since it can be dressed up or down. The hemline adds movement to it and there's a pencil skirt length "slip" inside. 

It can be dressed up or down, and even though I have yet to wear it, I came up with a couple ideas that I think will go well as we transition into fall :)

Whew! Okay overall thoughts... I think it's a neat subscription service. They're good quality pieces at a great deal. I do, however, think that there are some kinks that need to be worked out (like utilizing the style profile more) but I think that as the company grows, it will continue to evolve and improve. I did notice that they started adding descriptions of what the model is wearing in their pictures, which I think is a huge help. 

I do like their customer service. They're quick to respond and friendly and in the few times I have spoken with them, it was never a bad experience. As for my return tote, I had no issues. I was refunded about 7 business days after my return got there. I will definitely be purchasing another tote again in the future and maybe even picking up some pieces in their boutique since I've been eyeing a few for a while. ;)