The Subscription Box Diaries- Chapter One-Armoire

Hello friends! I wanted to start a series that I thought would be helpful for so many of us! The thought of buying new clothes can be daunting to a lot of people. Whether it is because you hate shopping, you can’t find your size, you don’t know your size or any other reason, I’ve got you covered in this new series I’m calling The Subscription Box Diaries. 

For me personally, I’d say it’s a combination of the reasons above that I decided to show off some options for all of you too! As you know, I’m doing a low dose of a GLP1 and have been losing some weight. I don’t really want to spend a ton of money buying new clothes but I also don’t want to do without. Especially as the seasons are changing and fall fashion is arriving, I thought the timing of this was good! 

As I started looking for alternatives, I came across subscription boxes as a way to either rent some clothing items or try services to style me in some new clothing items. This series will give you a combination of both! I’ll be sure to include links, referral or discount codes or anything else that you might need to help you in your own journey with subscription boxes! I’ll be trying out a new one each month so let me know if there’s any that you want me to cover!

Okay let’s get started with the first in this series and that is a company called Armoire. Please note: I am in no way paid or affiliated with this company- these opinions are my own.

 Here’s how Armoire works: select a plan that works for you- I did the seven item plan that is $99 for the first month and then a monthly fee of $129 in months after. I happened to have an offer that gave me an additional three items free of charge so I received ten items in my package. You have a month to wear those items and then return them and select new items for the next month or you can pause or even cancel your membership. 

Now that is out of the way, I have to tell you that the first impression I got of this company wasn’t that great. I didn’t find the website to have a lot of options in my sizes and I found it to be pretty underwhelming in general. I actually struggled to find seven items I might like and ten was a feat. I want to tell you that I wanted to try this service because I know they have brands like Boden, Tuckernuck, Hutch and others. However, in my sizes that I selected, those brands weren’t very available. 

When I selected my items, the package came in a few days and it was actually opened in a couple of places. I do think using reusable bags or even sending a new bag to package items back up would have been a better option. Instead, I had to tape up and doctor the package to send my items back. They do send a postage label and you can drop your package off at USPS- which I would rather return to UPS or FedEx- my preference of course! 

I tried on a few of the items but honestly, I wasn’t interested in them once I got them. Here’s why: most were really worn- like so worn that the colors were fading. I feel like if I’m paying to rent clothes, the clothes should be in good condition. If it’s faded or looks worn, perhaps it’s time to retire that item or sell it for so cheap that someone can keep it for themselves if they really love it. Just a thought!

I also didn’t love the fact that the brands I wanted to try really weren’t available in my sizes. The majority of these items were also older items which is fine but I would prefer items that are newer and of course, as I already mentioned, in better shape. 

I did wear one of the dresses out to dinner and I really loved it. It was the only item that came with tags still on it but it was from last year. This dress was from Hutch and I really liked it but not enough to make it mine. I placed the picture at the very top because I really did love the way I looked in this dress! 

Overall, I’d say this subscription box might be better for someone who is smaller than me who might be able to select brands that I wanted that weren’t available to me. I still love the overall concept of this service but it failed me and I wouldn’t personally use it again. 

Here’s how I’d rate it: 

Value: 4/5- the first month is great!

Style: 1/5- need more items that are newer and better for plus sizes 

Customer service: 5/5- no issues 

Website: 4/5- fairly easy to use 

Packaging: 2/5- didn’t like the bag being stuffed and then ripped and no return bag 

What did I miss? Let me know what else you’d like to see or what else you’d like me to rate in the next installment! 

Thanks for reading and following along with me! 

Sandae