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Shoemint Review: Fashion Clubs |
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Rating: |
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| Nicely laid out site with super trendy platforms, heels and flats; twice as expensive as other clubs and shoes may feel stiff | |
| [Editor's Note: Shoemint is offering a great deal where users can get 20% off their first purchase. No coupon code is necessary to take advantage of this great offer. Simply click on any Shoemint sign-up link on NextAdvisor to get your discount!]
Headed by the always-fashionable actress Rachel Bilson teaming up with well-known shoe designer Steve Madden, Shoemint is a pricier fashion club which focuses on — you guessed it — shoes. Members are presented with a showroom that features several new shoes every month. Each pair of shoes is a steep $79.98, which is the price of one credit. Shoemint focuses primarily on high heels and platforms; however, since their selection isn't that extensive they do balance out with some flats and smaller heels. Because they don't have a massive selection like some of the other fashion clubs, it feels like more of an exciting and exclusive experience when they get new shoes each month. Though we loved the overall high-end feel of the club and shopping experience, we were a little disappointed with the stiffness of the shoes themselves and expected something a little more comfortable for the high price. Getting Started Shoemint's initial style survey is just like their sister site Mary-Kate and Ashley's, Stylemint. It focuses on celebrity fashion, which designers you like and asks you to pick which shoes you would wear. And while Stylemint doesn't trim their selection and just styles the items differently based on your survey, Shoemint doesn't do anything with the survey results, so you're basically just doing it for fun. In fact, it doesn't even matter how you fill the survey out because you will be presented with the same shoes as everyone else. Showroom The shoes presented after you take the survey look high-end and very "in," style-wise. Since Shoemint is relatively new, their selection has been growing more and more every month, but you can expect around 12 choices. Most pairs come in different colors and patterns as well. We really enjoyed the simple layout of the site — all the shoes are right there in front of you, with no need to click on different collections to browse. Clicking on each shoe will take you to a page with different views, colors and sizing. We appreciated the videos that came with each shoe, showing how the shoes actually look when a person is wearing them. Unlike most of the other sites, our editors actually liked every single shoe on the site and could imagine wearing each pair. As shown in the images above, the showroom includes some styles that are sold out. This is usually just temporary, as they often restock different products. "Liking" Shoemint on Facebook can help you stay on top of the different shoes that they restock. Ordering and Delivery Ordering is easy and shipping is always free. Our package arrived 3 business days after we placed our order. The shoes came in a very sleek black box with white lining. It also comes with a pretty welcome notice and very clear return instructions, plus a receipt packing slip Product Quality The first pair we ordered was the "Edith." These 6 inch, 2 inch platform behemoths were pretty, but also pretty impractical. Even our fashion editor, who is well versed in the art of walking in heels, had trouble balancing on the huge black platforms. They were a little too rounded in the platform, making walking on the actual stiletto a risky ordeal. Overall, the pair matched their online description and construction of the shoes was high quality, even though the lining seemed a bit plasticky — surprising for the high price we paid. Another problem was the stiffness of the shoe, something we noticed across all of the pairs we ordered. We decided to exchange the "Edith" shoe for a 3.5 inch wedge named "Jolly", mainly because we couldn't see ourselves actually walking anywhere in the original pair we ordered. These wedges were much more practical when it came to actual mobility. They were also high quality, but if you looked closely enough you could see a little bit of glue in the cracks. This was very minor however, and you could only see it if you were doing an overly detailed examination like we were. This pair was also stiff, but like any new pair of shoes, could probably be worn in. Overall, we really liked how these shoes looked. Finally, we wanted to check out what Shoemint flats were like so we ordered the "Hattie." The colors were very vibrant and popped just like in the picture, and the shoes were very light and cute; however, the fit was a little strange. Size-wise, the flats fit well, but there was some uncomfortable space on the sides because the shoes didn't curve with the feet. Also, there was some unfortunate "toe cleavage" going on at the front of the shoe. If you don't mind toe cleavage, then you can most likely get used to the spaces on the sides of the flats. One note about the fit in general is that as the site mentions, the shoes do run a little small. When we ordered the Edith we got a half size up but these were also snug and on the verge of being too small. When we exchanged the Ediths for the Jolly wedges, we made sure to order a full size up. Returns, Exchanges and Customer Support Because the Ediths felt way too steep, and the oversized rounded platform and 6 inch stilettos were quite impractical, we decided to exchange them for the Jolly wedges. We contacted the live chat to request a return shipping label, and they responded very quickly and nicely. We contacted them a second time, calling them this time, to make sure they received the package with the shoes we were returning. Again, the representative was very friendly and helped us out a lot by making sure we ordered the correct size, this time one size up. Note that when exchanging for another pair of shoes or a Shoemint credit, there is no fee. If you want to make a return however, they do charge you a $9.95 restocking fee. Their phone support is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm Pacific standard time. The lightening fast live chat is also available during these times or you can choose to email them instead. Skip the Month You will never be sent something that you did not manually select. And if one month you decide that you do not want to buy anything, just select the "skip the month" button in the first 5 days of that month and your credit card will not be charged the $79.98 credit for that month. On the other hand, if you forget to select this option, your account will be charged and you will receive one Stylemint credit. You can use this credit later on for any item that you want. Conclusion Shoemint is definitely the most "high-end" out there of any of the fashion clubs we review. This doesn't just pertain to the high price, but to the overall shopping experience as well. Through their emails and Facebook updates, this fashion club really does get you excited to find out which pair of shoes they will come out with every month, especially since their selection isn't as vast as the other sites. All of the shoes are really attractive and trendy. The quality is on par with, and sometimes a little higher than ShoeDazzle's, but then again you are paying twice as much money for Shoemint shoes. If you are used to paying around $80 for a pair of shoes, then Shoemint is worth your buck. And if you are a shoe fanatic, it is definitely worth signing up for ShoeMint and seeing what they have to offer, even if you don't end up buying anything. |
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Service Details:
| Price per Item: | $79.98 |
| Products Offered: | Shoes |
| Product Quality: | 4 |
| Shopping Experience: | 5 |
| Customer Service: | 5 |
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