Nov 23, 2015

LE TOTE Review- Honest (and Unsponsored)

 Okay, so I signed up for Le Tote, which is a clothing rental service, just over a month ago.  I LOVE the idea- the burst of a little something new to your wardrobe to add a little zip to your serviceable basics, all with no commitment and for $50 a month.  You fill out a style profile, pick out items for your closet, then someone picks out selections for you- 3 items of clothing and 2 accessories, which arrive a few days later.

My first two "totes" were super lame.  I'm not going to sugar coat it.  Blah, ill-fitting basics.  Cheap, and just yuck.  I'd heard it takes a couple totes for the service to figure you out, however, so I stuck it out.  Surprisingly, I felt much happier with my third tote.

Ignore my awkwardness in these photos.  I asked Morgan to take them Saturday afternoon, while he was watching football.  Hence he is grumpily, hurriedly snapping away with my iPhone from the couch, while I take advantage of an unwilling photographer, even though I have dirty hair.  I even asked DH to take pictures for me.  She replied "MOOOMM.  I'm a kid!"  Morgan tried that refusal as well, but it didn't work.

Oh, the awkwardness.  I tried to get him to stand up, explaining what taking a picture from below would do to my poor figure, but he harrumphed.

My least favorite of the bunch.  I was super excited about this cute, cotton cardigan, perfect for running around in exercise clothes.  Instead, it's so weirdly short in the back.  Apparently, shortness is a running issue with Le Tote's clothing.  Y'all, I am 5'4" on a good day.  My torso is not long.   Look how short this is!  So bizarre.

 This poly-blend top was cute- nothing earth shattering, but cute.  I wore it to a meeting.  Again, it felt a touch short.

Okay, things started to get a little dicey with the photographer's football game (not a particular team of his, just a good game- or excuse).  He started snapping and finishing before I was aware, so just bear with my facial expressions.
 I loved this BCBG Generation dress.  Not my usual style, but I wore it with a leather jacket for a party last Friday, then with tights for a birthday dinner this past Friday.  I felt very punk rock.  Morgan said that I looked like high school me when taking these pictures.  I don't know if it's the nineties grunge style of the dress, the drop waist, or my sullen face.  He did not say it in a positive manner, so maybe it's all three?
 I caught him walking into the kitchen for the final outfit.  Hence my face.  It mirrors his.  Ha!  I liked this dark teal Max Studio dress- wore it to church last Sunday.  It felt a bit short as well, but I was okay in thick tights.  It was fine- I liked the color a lot, and it had nice detailing, although the pleats were a bit crushed.

I resorted to selfies for the accessories.
Liked this tassel necklace a lot.  It looked cheap really close up, but good looking from most viewer's perspective.
The snakeskin cuff was a great size, and definitely a statement.  I liked it as well.

I have only been able to find one non-sponsored review on the web- everything else is "free clothes!  yay!".  Here are my issues:

The turnaround time for Le Tote is frustrating.  Yes, it's two day shipping, but it really takes a whole week.  They send out your tote when the return tote is received.  So, I have received mine on Fridays, returned on Monday, then not gotten my next one until Friday.  I did complain about that, and they sped up the tote selection process somewhat on my third tote, as well as including an extra item.

I think I would have REALLY appreciated this service when I was still in a formal office full time.  It seems like their workwear selection is better, and I was always so sick of all my suits.  For my current taste, it doesn't work as well.  There's tons of black, and tons of basics.  What I want is some color and trendier, fun stuff (like the drop waist floral dress) that I don't want to buy, but like dipping my toe into.  I would rather pay twice as much, and have access to more designer pieces that I don't want to spend the money on, then something you could find at Marshall's on any given Tuesday.  (ouch.  Got a little harsh there).   I'm going to look into Rent the Runway's unlimited, although I know there is a waitlist.

So, I'm going to give it another month or so, and see what I think.  I'll keep y'all updated.  Has anyone else tried Le Tote?  I'd love to hear other's experiences.

5 comments:

  1. why do i find these reviews so fascinating? thanks for the info! honestly, the stuff looks fine...but for $50 a month, that adds up at TJ Maxx or Marshall's! It seems like you commit to paying that, you can find cute things that you actually get to KEEP. but then again, who has time to shop with kids??!!

    (I'm also fascinated by stitch fix reviews, but the quality of the clothes never seems to match the price. i don't mind paying for nice clothes, but $68 for a shirt that would be $19.99 at tj maxx? no thanks!)

    happy thanksgiving!

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  2. Try Trunk Club for women! It just launched this fall, but I loved it. They were bought by Nordstrom last year so its basically a personal shopper service for the store but I swear they have access to more items than the website. It's not as regular as the monthly services (you determine how often it ships, I've just done it once) but much more personally curated. I think I have a link so email me if you want a referral.

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  3. Great review! And I was cracking up at the fact that your hubby didn't want to take the pics of you. My sweetie would have done the exact same thing! lol!

    I am trying Le Tote right now. My first tote wasn't bad, except one top didn't fit and I didn't have anywhere fancy to wear this huge sparkly gold bracelet I got. I already know, however, that the turnaround time is going to be my number one complaint. It's taking forever. If the totes are unlimited, they should have a way to expedite the tote packing and shipping process. My Stitchfix packages arrive in 1-2 days from shipping and it is QUICK. Gwynnie Bee didn't have cute clothes, but they were pretty good about having an item ready to ship when you were done with something. And Le Tote is so much more expensive! Oh well! I at least wanted to try it out.

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  4. Thank you for your review and all of teh pix. Reading all these Le Tote reviews nd geez, I just don't get why anyone would pay that kind of money for such cheap looking cr_p! You're a cute girl and can wear junk and still look good; not me! I would much rather take my $50 to TJ or Marshalls and see what I can round up - and I get to pick it out. That's part of the fun!

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  5. I just tryed Le Tote and was very disappointed by the poor quality and quirky fit of the tops. I thought for $50 it was ok, until I found out you have to pay outrageous prices for the items you keep in addition to the $50!! such a ripoff

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