ModCloth's Stylish Surprise: Spring 2015

At the end of March, ModCloth offered the Stylish Surprise promotion as it does at the end of every summer (end of September/beginning of October usually) and winter (middle-end of March). For $20 for dresses, $15 for other apparel items, $10 for shoes, or $5 for accessories, jewelry, or apartment items, you get something random picked from the warehouse from leftover stock that wasn't sold by the end of the season (in your chosen size, of course). Usually these are items that go on final sale and maybe don't sell by a certain time or returns that were processed and not put back online for some reason or another. They aren't items that you can currently find on ModCloth, so you usually have to go hunting on Google Images to find the items on the website and see their original retail value and any reviews.

I didn't participate in the Stylish Surprise last fall, which I'm glad about because from what I read, it was handled terribly and lots of people got multiples or oversell notices. However, I was optimistic that this time they would have figured everything out, so I decided to participate again. I was originally going to buy only dresses and apartment items, but they increased the price of dresses to $20 each (when the original retail value did not increase and still started at $30), and I don't think it's worth paying that much for something I may not like and may not be able to resell. I opted instead for a pair of shoes and two apartment items and added a skirt to my order I've had my eye on for a while. I ordered before they announced the sale on social media and sent the push notification on the app, so the apartment items were still in stock and I didn't have problems with checkout. Thank goodness! The best part was that I got a shipping notification only hours after I placed the order. That's definitely the quickest shipping I've ever experienced with ModCloth!

So, here's what I got: a pair of slippers and two window drapes. Chris was very excited when he opened the box and saw the blue because it looked like the blue color of the TARDIS from Doctor Who, but it ended up being not that exciting. Haha.

There are the Where the Slumber Party At Slippers, which originally retailed for $40. I personally do not like the style with the soles being wider than the rest of the shoe, but that ended up being the least of my worries. They are a half size to a full size too small! I could barely get my foot in. I checked reviews and sure enough, they all said they ran small. I wish there was some way ModCloth could mark the Stylish Surprise box with the size it actually fits like so we aren't disappointed when something ends up running small or large. I wasn't planning on keeping them anyway after seeing the style, but I definitely can't even wear them. This was a bummer; since it was the March promotion and likely full of winter items, I had hoped for a nice pair of boots. Heels would have been cool, too. Oh well!

I received two of the Film Leader of the Pack Curtain, which originally retailed for $35 each. I was bummed to have received two of the same apartment item, though I suppose it makes sense to have two drapes? The problem is that they are way too big for my windows and one would easily cover a whole window...plus they're too long. The apartment item surprise is always more of a crapshoot when it comes to getting something good because they have such a wide variety: everything from magnets to kitchen utensils to bedding and other knick-knacks. I got lucky the first time I ordered an apartment item and was hoping to get lucky again, but at least I didn't get something really weird!

All in all, this was a disappointing round. I still might partake in the Stylish Surprise promotion because I cannot seem to resist the surprise aspect of it, but I don't plan on buying apparel items if they are going to be more than $10 each. It's just not worth it to me. I hope ModCloth reconsiders and drops the price for the next round (and subsequent rounds). Interested in seeing what I got in previous rounds? Check 'em out here! :)