Land's End: quality, affordable clothes in a wide range of sizes.
Written: Oct 15 '02 (Updated Dec 20 '04)
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For the longest time I never shopped at Land's End. I found their clothes to be a little to conservative for my taste. I also imagined their quality to be lacking.
However, I finally broke down because my oldest child starting wearing big kid clothes. She liked jeans but wanted only elastic waist jeans. They turned out to be impossible to find in her size, until one day I found them in a Land's End catalog. I ordered two pairs of jeans ($24 each) and a few other items. When they arrived, I was impressed with the quality and fit for the price. So, I got braver and ordered more things for my kids. I have never been disappointed and my kids love the comfort, warmth and designs of these clothes.
Land's End sells via catalog and the internet. I understand there are also some outlets, but sadly, none near me.
MERCHANDISE
Land's End carries clothing for all members of the family: infants, children, women and men. The range of clothing is very broad and includes all apparel items from shoes to underwear to outerwear. The women's clothes come in a wide range of sizes including petites and women's 18w-26w. They will custom hem many pants for men and women. They also have maternity clothes, school uniforms, and the university collection with school emblems.
In addition to clothing, Land's End also has lots for the home including towels, sheets, some furniture, lamps, shower curtains, housewares and many, many other items. They also have pet items and a wide range of luggage including backpacks.
A lot of their items can be monogrammed for a small fee.
The style of Land's End merchandise is "classic." They majority of their apparel offerings include jeans, chinos, polo shirts, t-shirts, plaid flannel shirts, turtlenecks and basic sweaters. This is a good place for getting wardrobe basics. A lot of the offerings are similar to L.L. Bean but I personally think the quality at Land's End is higher. Occasionally, they have some stylish items, but this is the minority of their clothes and they are not trend-setters.
OUR FAVORITE MERCHANDISE
The sweats for children and very, very thick and soft. They stay soft through multiple washings and are a great value for the price. The elastic waist jeans are medium weight denim and fit well. My oldest will only wear these jeans. The older kid's long sleeve t-shirts are generally under $20 and are soft, good quality cotton. I ordered a parka for myself. It was one of the cheapest I have seen and it keeps me very, very warm in cold New England winters.
WEB SITE OPERATION
The web site is well-organized, especially considering the range of merchandise they offer. The main site is organized into: women's, men's, kid's, For the Home, Luggage and Special Collections (custom pants, university collection, maternity, school uniforms).
Land's End also offers many features on its web site to make shopping easy. They have a "my model" feature for men and women where you can input your measurements and see how clothes will fit on you. There is a feature where two shoppers can shop together. There is also a live chat feature so you can talk to a sales associate. I haven't used these features so can't comment but there is certainly a lot to the site.
Generally, the web site works well and loads quickly. However, I have noticed a few glitches in the web site. If you try to add merchandise to your cart from the overstocks site and the regular site, sometimes the merchandise disappears from the cart.
T-shirts are sold as "little kid" and "big kid." Both come in small, medium, large, etc. You have to make sure your choice comes from the right line. This can be difficult because sometimes I click on a "big kid" icon but the "small kid" sizes come up. Seems like a bug that hopefully is fixed. However, be sure to completely review your shopping cart before purchasing.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
This company shines in the customer service area. I sometimes phone orders in and the person taking the order is always informed and pleasant. Lately, I have been ordering on line because if I order through Upromise, I get a 3% rebate back on my purchase. Ordering online is pretty easy. After you order, you get an e-mail confirming your order and another telling you when the order has shipped.
I have one story that will tell how great their customer service is. I got two pairs of pants for the holidays. They didn't fit well so I returned them to Land's End. Two weeks later I got a postcard informing me that the pants were from L.L.Bean and Land's End had forwarded them for me instead of sending them back. I was very, very grateful. Sure enough, a refund appeared from L.L. Bean a week later. Wow.
STEALS AND DEALS
There is an overstocks portion of the web site where you can find items marked down. New sales items are posted every Wednesday and Saturday. The mark-downs vary. Some are only 10%, but some are much more significant.
Land's End gives a 3% rebate on web orders through the Upromise site. I have seen them participate in other rebate programs as well.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
Land's End has won me over. All of the clothes I have bought have been good quality. The prices are reasonable. The customer service is fantastic. I would recommend them to anyone.
DO YOU LIKE TO SHOP ON THE INTERNET? HERE ARE SOME MORE REVIEWS OF WEB STORES:
Clothing and Accessories: Talbots; The Gap; CWD Kids; Hanna Andersson; J. Jill; Tote Le Monde ; Blu Pyxie ; Miniboden; One Hanes Place; Nordstrom; Gymboree; Simple Shoes; Sierra Blue; Ebags.
Clothing and Home Goods: Bluefly; Soft Surroundings; Garnet Hill; Sundance; L.L. Bean.
Home and Garden: Smith & Noble; Restoration Hardware; Gardeners Supply Company; Unicahome; Homeclick; FaucetDirect; Gardens Alive; West Elm; Crate & Barrel; MyKnobs; CB2.
Books and Magazines: Amazon.com; ValueMags; Magazine Values; Dover Publications.
Office Supplies, Furniture and Services: Staples; Officemax; Topdeq; Efax.
Electronics: HP Shopping; Buy.com; ABT Electronics.
Travel: Amtrak; Hotwire; Orbitz; Hotels.com.
Discount: Overstock.com; Target.
Photo Developing: Shutterfly; Snapfish.
Baby Stuff: Babystyle; Babys Here Birth Announcements; Baby Universe; SoZo; Baby Center; Baby Age.
Miscellaneous: 1-800 contacts; Movie Tickets.com; Drugstore.com.
Rebate Sites: Upromise; Ebates.
Before you start shopping, check out my tips on how to save money by shopping on the internet . I have also included some coupon codes and plan to add more as I find them.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? clothing
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