DIY scarf (very similar), MAC “charismatic” lipcolor
These photos were clearly taken before blizzard “Juno” hit – it’s a whole different scene out on Boston streets right now! I wore this skirt out on NYE and wanted to share my first-time experience shopping at this company. I’m always looking for new brands and stores that are petite-friendly…oftentimes this search lands me on the websites of Asian retailers with whom I have a love-hate relationship. On one hand the styles are interesting, plus Asian sizing in general tends to run smaller. On the other hand, more often than not these companies seem to be notorious for long shipping times, poor customer service, and costly returns (from having to mail items halfway around the world) which pretty much trumps the positives!
Such was was the case with Asian retailer Sheinside – I got two coats as gifts from there which I really love and wear often, but was bummed to hear from several readers that their customer service is very poor and that they might treat bloggers differently. As a result I’ve since stopped working with them until they can hopefully make strides in that department. Chicwish is another Asian-based company that reached out last year to work together, but I wanted to test the company out first as a regular customer…
Quality
Quality can vary from style-to-style based on my limited experience, so my best suggestion is the look closely and zoom into the images and look at the material content. I tried two skirts – this striped one which was average in quality for the price and a plaid one which I thought was really nice quality. The striped skirt is unlined, made of a neoprene “scuba”-like material with an unfinished hem, and has a thin little strip of a waistband. The plaid one was made of a nice and thick material and fully lined with a sturdy waistband. Despite the average quality, the striped one for me was the keeper as I thought the swingy silhouette was super fun and even Nick was generous with compliments on it.
Sizing
Items that are offered in XS may fit someone my size without alterations. Not all items come in this size (here’s all the ones that do) – hope they will do it for more items in the future! The striped skirt I’m wearing here is XS and the waist measures 24″ around, similar to a US 00 or smaller. The plaid skirt was a sz S and measured about 26″ around, perhaps equivalent to a US 0-2. The striped skirt is intended to be midi-length but because of the fullness and the horizontal stripes, I cut it to knee length. No real hemming was needed since the edges were unfinished, but I did reinforce the stitching on the bottom of each panel so that they wouldn’t unravel.
Shipping
Standard shipping is free but takes a while (~3 weeks for me) coming from Asia so please be prepared for that. Tracking #s are provided, however I didn’t get mine for over a week and had to email their customer service to follow-up. I paid for expedited shipping (supposedly 5-8 business days) and my package was not expedited, so they refunded the expediting costs at my request. Their explanation was that they were inundated with orders during the holiday season, and I provided feedback to disclose shipment delays upfront on the site and during the ordering process so that there’s no surprises.
Returns
Done through the process of requesting a RMA (return authorization #) which you need to print out and package in your return. A U.S. return address IS available which is an awesome feature for an Asian retailer. PLEASE NOTE: I tested out this process and got my RMA the same day, however was instructed to return items to an Asian address which would’ve been quite pricey to mail items back to. I remembered seeing somewhere that a U.S. return address is available, so after writing to customer service again, I got a California-based address. I thought the process was a little misleading and their explanation was that sometimes the system doesn’t recognize where the return requester is based. They also offer a merchandise credit equal to the amount of your return shipping costs up to $15.00, but I have not sent back any returns yet.
In Summary
Longer shipping times but there’s potential to find cute, more unique items that fit on the smaller side. Customer service from my “fieldwork” seems to be pretty responsive and helpful so I would shop there again.
Gorgeous flare!
Hi Jean, can you do a follow-up post with how your items held up? Thanks!
Hi Elise, it is possible to cancel an order?
i am still waiting for any email back from chic wish. anyone have a phone number for them?
I would like to update my comment: Chicwish did get back to me after I emailed their support team. I received my refund pretty quickly after that – it seems like you need to prompt them to get a refund. I really appreciated the fast response, but I will still be more cautious ordering from them in the future 🙂
Hey Meghan, I would suggest not ordering from Chicwish! I recently ordered from them and it was a disappointing experience 🙁 The mint organza skirt I ordered was flimsy and tight. After returning the skirt in its mint condition, I still have not received a refund almost a month later. They only have a "support" email, and their listed phone number in my shipping order doesn't work. I really hope that this isn't Chicwish's usual operating standards!
VERY helpful information. There's a couple of pieces I want to order from ChicWish but felt uncomfortable about it. I will be ordering soon and also posting my experience on my blog. 🙂 Thank you again!
http://beyondbasicblog.com/
Hi Katy, we are sorry to hear that and we have sent you an email to follow your issue with some compensation offer, thank you!
Hi Eunice,
we have sent you an email about the return after we saw your message and it seems your issue has been resolved? Thank you!
Hi Kristie,
we are sorry that if you did not receive a reply. We have sent you an email to kristiejcain@gmail.com to follow your question and we will solve it if you could get back to us. You can also simply return your parcel with the invoice to: CHICWISH, PO Box 3371 Daly City, CA 94015, United States and we will process the refund and return credit of $15 once we receive them back, thank you!
I love this swing skirt styled both ways! Lovely!
Your skirts are very cute! So lovely, you look like a princess! 🙂
Chelsea
Jean,
Do you think this look is appropriate for a 52 yr old? I recently purchased a dress with a similar flair. The neckline is a scoop neck and it is sleeveless. It fits well but I am not certain if the look is too young for me. Because I am petite, I can wear many styles that may not be age appropriate. I want to dress my age….fabulously for my age…but my age. Thoughts?
Thanks for the reply! I got a portion of my order in and unfortunately not a single one of the items worked for me. Despite being petite myself, one dress was incredibly short, another was defective and came unstitched at the zipper, and the skirt I ordered was too small despite my dimensions falling within their one-size measurements listed for the item. So far I'm not impressed. I've emailed customer service for a return and a U.S. address. We'll see how that goes….
I mentioned above I actually really love my two coats from Sheinside. I also have no issues with poly for the price points or the longer shipping times.
However the customer service issues I heard from readers were pretty disappointing. A few readers mentioned receiving the wrong item, damaged items, or items in the wrong size and no one ever responded to their emails to send a replacement, a refund, or to take back a return. Others mentioned spending a lot of money on sending items back and never getting a refund or response from CS. So while I think there are cute items there at a good price, it sounds like if anything goes wrong then you're out of luck. That's not good practice at all and hence why I'm hoping they will improve in that arena.
The prints look so pretty! I'm curious how they look in person…hope the order works out for you!
Hi Kristie – that is a bummer that they never got back to you! I would give it one more try if your items are still unworn – even thought it's probably past the return date, they shouldn't have ignored your inquiry and given you the wrong return address.
thanks for the tip, Marisa! I had never heard about them before and will check it out.
Hi Celeste – I don't believe they have a US address for returns, unless that has chanced recently! I also was curious about how those reviews worked and whether they were from real shoppers!
Hello – I go to a tailor in Chinatown on Knapp St. He doesn't have a store name that I know of and only speaks Cantonese, but I have many non-Chinese friends that go to him for straightforward jobs and just communicate through gestures. He is located across from the grocery store on that alley/street, and you can see his sewing machine through the big window. His hours are supposed to be 10AM-5PM, but he tends to work on his own hours and sometimes closes up earlier FYI. He is out of the country for Chinese New Year but should be back mid-march!
hi, i'm a non-blogger who has ordered from sheinside and i guess i just want to say in their defense that i had no problems with them and everything was as expected. yes, it's polyester city and the quality can be variable, but they have some amazing stuff you're not going to find anywhere else. Shipping takes a while but China is the other side of the planet and i think modern american society is a bit spoiled by amazon plus and that type of thing. Consider giving them another chance!
Oh, I didn't realize SheInside also has their clothes on Amazon. I placed my first order with them last week, but next time I'll check out Amazon first. Thanks for the tip!