Signing up with Choies was pretty painless. You give them your deets and that's about it. Hehe. Navigating your account is more or less straightforward, also. At the time, Choies was offering $15 shopping points just for signing up. The cash was deposited into your Choies account sort of like a store credit. When I made my first purchase, I used my $15 worth of points as well as a 10% off coupon I found. :D That's right. You could stack those two discounts and get free shipping! Now, the sign-up promotion is 15% off instead of $15 off, though. Anyway, I'm a thrifter at heart so I chose the Basic Green Skater Dress which retails for about $38 and a tank dress which you can see below.
I could have used a size up in the dress. The shoulders and arms are snug. So, if you're typically a Size Small in dresses, I would recommend getting a Size Medium in this. The length of the dress is just fine, in my opinion. I am quite tall (5'9") and the Size Small covers my derrier even when I raise my arms in the air. So, if you're shorter than me, length shouldn't be a problem. The material is quite warm, also, making it perfect for Fall, Winter and Spring. The dress feels sturdy and well constructed.
Here's the second item I purchased. It's Choies basic grey maxi dress and it retails for $23. I was hoping it would be like a true maxi dress on me, but I'm too tall for it. The dress ends a little bit below the knee on me which is an awkward length, so I just wear it knotted. The quality is quite good. The fabric is soft and comfortable and the dress is easy to wear. Even worn by itself and gathered with a simple belt, it looks great. It will be a wonderful piece to simply throw on in the summer with sandals.
Packaging
Finally, I just want to share some additional information related to packaging, shipping and customer service. My items were very well packaged. Each item was secured in sealed plastic, no rips or tears in the packaging and the main bag they were mailed in was made of quality, tear resistant material.
Accuracy of Product Photos
Overall, I found that the items I received substantially resembled the items I initially viewed on-line. In other words, the green skater dress and grey maxi dress looked exactly like they did in their product photos. This is key, because some companies will show you certain product photos and then send you items that look similar, but are just nowhere close to being the same. Based on my review of the items I received, I believe that when I make a purchase at Choies based on a product photo, the item(s) I receive will look pretty much the same. This is very important from a consumer trust standpoint.
Methods of Payment & Shipping
I should also mention that you can checkout using Paypal, which is awesome! I always feel better when merchants offer that option since I'm not keen on giving my credit card details to a company I know next to nothing about. So, anyway, after my order was processed, it took about a month for my items to arrive. I did not receive an email alerting me to the fact that my order had shipped. I'm used to receiving such a communication from sellers, but that wasn't the case here. Instead, I had to log into my account to check the status and it was only then that I had discovered that my item had shipped. You will see a tracking number as well as a link to a website where you can track the progress of your shipment.
Customer Service
As for customer service, there was a time when my purchased items disappeared from my account briefly. I was unable to track my items since the tracking number appears only in the account details and I had closed out the window which had the tracking progress in it. I contacted customer service and someone immediately got back to me via email with my tracking information. Eventually the glitch got corrected and I was good to go. ^_^ So far, my experience with Choies has been rather pleasant and I do love the items I purchased. They did take a long time to arrive, but I think the wait was worth it!
