FashionBug.com - they ship so fast its not worth leaving home to shop!
Written: Apr 15 '07 (Updated Apr 15 '07)
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It’s April in Michigan which means it’s still cold, yet the summer clothes have been out in stores for weeks already. What’s even odder is that we won’t be wearing shorts and capris here in the frozen tundra for another month or so yet my size at Fashion Bug is all sold out. The same thing happened last year. I went in May to buy some new summer clothes and all that were left were the hoochiemama shorts. What big girl in her right mind wants to walk around with all that thigh flab flapping around in hoochie shorts? Not this one. So this year I thought I’d go earlier and hopefully find some shorts in my size. Nope, no such luck. I found all kinds of ugly shorts in my size but the cute ones that I saw in the catalog were no where to be found.
Fashion Bug is my favorite store. It’s 2-sided which means that one side of the store is for the skinny to average chicks and the other side of the store is for those with a little more meat on their bones. They even have a small section for juniors, girls, and maternity, although the selection isn’t great. The nice thing though is that oftentimes you can find the same styles on both sizes, just in a wide range of sizes. And even better, they carry lots of petite sizes for ShLEppies large and small. I’ve been shopping there for years so I have a good idea of what sizes I need in most of their clothes so since I missed out yet again on my size in the summer stuff, I decided to shop online. I placed two orders with FashionBug.com this month with great success.
The FashionBug.com main page displays any promotions that are currently in effect. The site is broken down by plus, misses, maternity, juniors, girls, intimates, shoes, and accessories. Clicking on one of the categories first displays the specials for that category (i.e., but one get one bras, buy one get one half off on maternity) and also displays links to the sub-categories. For example, if you select maternity, the sub-categories are plus, tops, bottoms, dresses, intimate, swim, and clearance. So it’s really very easy to find exactly what you are looking for with just a few clicks.
The images on the site are clear and large and shoppers can view both the front and back sides of items as well as zoom in on details, such as embroidery, buttons, and pockets. Additional details, such as inseam lengths, colors available, fabric composition, and washing instructions.
Shipping charges are based on order total. The lowest charge for USPS shipping is $4.95 for orders that total $1-$25 and for orders over $125, the fee is $11.95. The fees vary for totals in between. Customers can upgrade to FedEx Express Saver which is delivered between 3 and 5 days or FedEx Overnight for an additional $14. If you are ordering a gift card, shipping is free.
FashionBug.com accepts the following methods of payment: Visa, Master Card, Discover, Fashion Bug Card, or Fashion Bug gift cards.
My Experience
Both of my experiences with FashionBug.com have been very good. The first order I placed was during the buy one get one free bra sale. I went to the store to buy some BOGO bras and combine the sale with a great coupon I had to save big time money but found nothing. All I found were ugly bras, too small/too big bras, or bras with so much padding I could poke the cups and completely invert them and they stayed that way. Very entertaining for me, quite aggravating to the staff who had to follow up behind me and pop the cups back into shape. I couldn’t buy them, may as well have fun with them. As a longtime customer of the Bug I know what size I needed and decided to buy online where the selection would be much better. I found 6 bras in the sizes, styles and colors I liked and added them to my cart. I applied the coupon code I received with my credit card statement and checked out. There does not appear to be an option to purchase as a guest; it looks like you must register with the site in order to shop. After signing in, my shipping and billing addresses are displayed on a new screen. This screen is also used for selecting the shipping option and entering credit card details for payment and entering a promotional code. One thing I like about promotional codes is that they don’t display just as a dollar amount subtracted from the total, but reduce the price of the items in the cart. There’s something satisfying about seeing that $20 bra instantly change to $10 just by entering a coupon code into the field and hitting the enter key. Orders are not placed until after the order details are confirmed on the next page so there are no surprises there. I received an order confirmation email immediately after placing my order as well as a shipping confirmation when my order was shipped. That email contained links to track my order as it made it's way to my home.
As orders ship from Indiana and I am in Michigan they are shipped out and received very quickly. The order I placed in March was ordered on the 19th and received on the 24th so I don’t see any need to upgrade the shipping option; however others who live farther away may feel they need to do so. The bras arrived on my doorstep in a thick grey bag with the Fashion Bug logo printed on the outside. Each item was on a hanger and wrapped in a plastic bag.
The second order which consisted of the shorts and capris was placed on April 11th and received on April 14th. This order also arrived in a grey plastic bag. Each item was folded in half neatly with a piece of tissue paper in the fold and wrapped in a plastic bag. Best of all they all fit perfectly and I saved lots of money by applying a coupon to my order that saved $30 off the total and I didn’t even have to leave the house.
Another benefit of shopping with FashionBug.com is that returns and exchanges can either be mailed back to the warehouse or returned at a Fashion Bug store within 90 days of purchase as long as the items are unworn, unwashed, and have the original tags affixed. I have not returned any of the items I purchased from FashionBug.com as I am happy with the quality and fit of everything.
A small percentage of clothing items are shown on actual models of all different sizes. The plus size models truly are plus size. One of my pet peeves is when a site for plus size women shows their clothing on skinny models. It does not paint an accurate picture of how the clothes will look on someone with my body type and it irritates me in a big way. Most of the clothes are shown on a dummy which is fine, but I would prefer them to use actual models for the items on the website.
Bottom Line
After two successful online shopping sprees with FashionBug.com, I don’t see any need to go back to an actual store. I know my size now and can get the items shipped directly to my door without even leaving the house. The coupon codes save tons of money and the shipping is incredibly fast. Fashion Bug online orders are processed and arrive at my door before other companies even process their orders. I'm very happy with the quality and fit of everything I have ordered.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Intimates, shorts, capri pants
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