July Golden Tote Review

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This is my second Golden Tote order. What is it you ask? Golden Tote is an online store with a twist. You purchase either a large or small tote for either $149 or $49 respectively. Once you choose which size tote you'd like, you get to pick 2 items for the large, or 1 item for the small. A stylist at Golden Tote will surprise you with the rest of your items. The large tote will have 3-4 additional pieces, and the small will have 1-2. You fill out a very in depth survey about your likes and dislikes and your stylist uses those answers to curate your tote. Obviously due to my shopping problem and need to get the best deal, I opted for the large tote.
I had mentioned last time that Golden Tote is all or nothing. So if you don't like an item in your tote, you have to either return the whole thing or keep it all. However, they have since altered this policy. You can actually return partial totes now, but you will be charged $35.00 for each surprise item kept and whatever the boutique price is for the chosen items. So it may actually work out cheaper to keep items you don't want. Plus you can always trade or sell them in the Facebook group.
So let's see what I got this month!

Chosens:
Pink Owl Ladylike Maxi

I don't wear maxi dresses. I'm a short girl with wide hips. Maxi's are not designed for people like me. I even have in my profile with Golden Tote NO MAXI's! But the whole point of Golden Tote is try things I normally wouldn't pick out. So I decided to take the leap and try this dress. And I have to say... I kind of like it! It's too long, I need to have it hemmed for sure. But I like that it doesn't make me look huge like I expected it would. I think I'm going to keep it and find someone to shorten it a little.

Special A Classic Denim Skirt:

Ok, well this isn't thinking outside the box at all... But I was in need want of a new denim skirt. I used to wear them all the time, but the skirts I have are a bit snug currently. And also a little shorter than this one. I was thinking it was time to let them go, and this is the perfect replacement.

Surprises:
Mak B Cardigan

This is one of those items I would never purchase for myself, but I actually really could use it. I'm always cold at work. Or when I go out on summer evenings and it gets cool after the sun sets. Perfect go-to for either scenario!

Lumiere Knotted Tee:

Meh. This one doesn't do it for me. It's just a plain t-shirt with a weird knot in it. I like the color though.

Le Lis Anchor Top

At first I wasn't sure about this top. It definitely doesn't work with the skirt! But I wore it the other day with a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and it looked great!

Orange Creek Butterfly Dress:

I should have grabbed a photo of this in better lighting. The colors are fantastic! I love how it fits too. Easily my favorite item in the whole order!

Add ons:
Buttefly Shoes by Soda:

Love these! I'm pretty sure everyone who ordered the shoes also got the dress. They don't match each other, but that would be a lot of butterflies if they did! These are super comfy for everyday.

Anchor wrap bracelet:

This is super cute! Yes, I probably could make it, but it was inexpensive enough to not feel guilty about buying it.

Giraffe Dress:

So.... I actually ordered this in a size medium and in black. They sent a small beige version. I really wanted the black which is why I sized up to a medium. But I tried this on anyway and realized the medium would be too big. And in person, I really like the beige! So I'm keeping it as is.

Heart on My Sleeve Beige Pullover:

Why yes, yes that is a black button down sweater. It is not, in fact, a beige pullover with teal green hearts on the elbows... This is what I actually ordered:

I think this is where my short lived love for Golden Tote starts to wane.  Golden Tote takes quite awhile to ship. That's just part of the deal. So I ordered on July 6th. My tote shipped on the 16th. Since Golden Tote is located on the west coast, it took a full week to arrive. And then BOTH add on clothing items I ordered were wrong. Granted one worked out, but the other did not. I emailed customer service early afternoon my time (so before lunchtime CA time) on the day my tote arrived (Thursday). I didn't get a response until this afternoon (Monday). I will say they did ship my replacement out today, and sent me a return label to cover shipping back (as they should). But I'm not sure this much waiting is for me. Customer service complaints should be addressed within 24 hours. At my job, we address problems immediately. And definitely not more than 24 hours after receiving notice of a problem.
But errors aside, I did enjoy most of the items in my order. And I liked all but one surprise which isn't too bad! What are your thoughts? What's your favorite piece? Least favorite? Think you'd like to try Golden Tote? Click here to sign up!