- - ModCloth | Stylish Surprise Dress Review | April 2015 - -

Hi everyone!

A couple of weeks ago I came across something that I knew would help me get back into blogging - the ModCloth Stylish Surprise! Check out the full review after the jump...

For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, ModCloth is a lovely online retailer of indie fashion, accessories, home decor, and a variety of other miscellaneous goodies. A few times a year ModCloth releases "Stylish Surprises" that allow you to pick up a mystery item that costs anywhere from $5  to $20 (US) depending on what category you pick.

As with any kind of mystery box, you don't know what you're getting ahead of time - you only know what category your item will come from (apparel, accessories, shoes...etc), which can be both exciting and scary.

As seen on ModCloth.com

It's difficult enough to figure out your size for a known online item let alone a mystery item, so I usually don't go for the apparel category. However, I really wanted to do get a Stylish Surprise, so while there were still some sizes left and no "Shoe" option, I decided to go with the Dress Stylish Surprise option. I went with a medium since that's what I usually get in fitted dressed and I could always put a belt on a looser-fitting dress if that's what I got.

My package arrived around the two-week mark. I was so excited!

I saw the pattern of my dress and immediately thought: "Well okay, this isn't a pattern I would normally choose for myself, but I think I can make it work!"

I ripped open the package and took out the garment. To my surprise, the dress had a funky scent. I held the dress up to my nose and smelled it. Ugh...it smelled like something stale. I tried to be optimistic. Sometimes garments have a chemical scent to them because of the manufacturing process - maybe this was something similar?

Anyway, I unfolded the dress to take a better look at the style:

Okay...well, I'll be the first to say it - this kind of looked like a traditional maternity dress. Nothing against maternity dresses, of course; they are just typically very loose-fitting and not the style I wear. The label told me that my chosen medium was a large in European sizing and a medium in US sizing. Based on looks alone I knew this garment would be huge on me. Still, I was stuck with my $20 (US) dress since ModCloth doesn't accept returns for Stylish Surprises and the Canadian shipping would probably cost me more than the dress itself. Better make the best of it!

Besides, I think I could pair this dress with a skinny brown belt and some nude heels or brown booties to make it work. At the very least I could donate it.

Now here's where things took an unexpected turn.

As I was examining the dress I saw that there was an ivory trim on the bottom that seemed...discoloured. Was that just style?

Nope! Turned out it wasn't.

I lifted the dress to check out the state of the lining and discovered this:

Ugh...disgusting. See those small dots above the lace part? Mold had started forming on the lining of the dress! No wonder the dress smelled funky.

Disguisted, I threw the dress out and got in touch with ModCloth. They got back to me the same day that I emailed them, which I was pretty impressed with. The ModCloth representative that dealt with my case let me know that while ModCloth has a Quality Control team in place, they fell short of their standards this time. The representative apologized and issued me a refund along with a 15% coupon.

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This Stylish Surprise certainly surprised me. It's pretty disguisting that something like this can happen. At what point could the dress have been exposed to moisture? In any case, I'm pretty happy that ModCloth was swift in their response and I'm more than happy to get my money back.

I do have to say that the experience has turned me off of purchasing anymore garment Stylish Surprises. Not for the mold part - that was a genuine oversight (and I will continue buying from ModCloth because I do generally trust their quality), but mainly because mystery clothing is super hit or miss. If you like the style of what you get that doesn't necessarily mean that it will fit right on your body and vice versa. Right?

I think I'll stick to mystery accessories and shoes instead. Or even better, I'll spend my money on something that I will definitely like - like these sunglasses that were part of the same order. My excitement for the sunglasses definitely overshadowed the moldy situation!

Seriously, how awesome are these?

Thanks for reading!