Fashion Review: 8 Reasons Never To Shop At StyleMoi

Hello, hello! Now I try to keep my blog posts positive and light but recently I used an online store that I was so unhappy with (and that's really saying something) that I thought I would share it in the hope that you can avoid the same experience.

Now while I'm sure many of you may have shopped on Stylemoi and had amazing experiences and been really pleased with what you got, but my first time shopping with them was not good at all. 

So it takes A LOT for me to complain and certainly publicise a negative comment about a brand.  We've all come across new fashion sites via fellow bloggers and recently I came upon Stylemoi and so I thought I'd check out the site. I looked at what seemed like very affordable products and having seen them on another blogger, I thought - why not? Having made my order it all went downhill pretty quickly and here's why. 

Personally, I didn't like the functionality of the site. At the time of my purchase, the website itself did appear to be a bit odd and so I was very careful to check and read everything before eventually making my order. I also noticed several glitches which make it hard to actually search by an item description, by a style or colour. I found that once you've placed your order, it's pretty hard to get back in and view your account. This made it very difficult when trying to find my order number and item description when I had to contact customer services. Despite me providing a description, they asked me to take a photo of the item to see what I had ordered. 

StyleMoi boasts 'Free Shipping on all orders' and is filled with discount codes and deals and so I used a 10% first order code and paid no shipping which seemed great. I was also pleasantly surprised to see they had included a free gift in the form of a necklace. I placed my order and the shipping option read 10 working days delivery. Knowing I was going on holiday in 4 weeks time, I figured this would be a safe bet. I received a confirmation and awaited delivery. 1 and a half weeks later I received the same confirmation again..? I waited a little while and then revisted the site to see the order status which appeared to still be processing 2 weeks after placing it.

 I contacted support on the 27/04 who replied on 08/05 to say that the status was incorrect and the order was already shipped. My items didn't turn up until the 15th May, nearly 4 weeks after I ordered despite promising 10 working days. Now I can appreciate that coming from overseas, these things take a while but in which case, tell me it'll be this long before I pay and then that's on me.  

Once I finally received my order, I took it out the bag and immediately wasn't very happy. I understand this package had traveled far to reach me but the cheapness of the fabric meant it was creased beyond repair and this is the kind of thin fabric that would certainly melt if you attempted to iron it. As well as being cheap in appearance, it felt horrible on - both the dress and the kimono. 

I don't believe their imagery to be their own and taken instead from other sites and bloggers who probably don't get credit. The clothes you see in the beautiful pictures like those featured above, are (in my opinion) mostly likely taken from other fashion sites and personally I don't believe most of the products featured in them to be available for purchase on StyleMoi. I believe this to be misleading and probably used to convince people that they are a larger, more reputable site then they actually are.

Despite the creases, I decided to try my items on. Now I have a large bust and it can be hard for me to find items that fit my boobs and so I always order a size up or two, especially when trying a new store. I assumed it would come up super small and so over compensated and ordered what they call a XXL (UK16).

 The website gave a clear size guide and so I figured this would be OK but I was wrong. The dress I ordered in a UK16 (thinking this would be more like a UK12/14 and plenty big) actually measures (by my measuring tape) at  a 32" bust which, by most UK retailers, is a UK 8. And the same for the kimono, ordered in a Size 12 but with a UK8 measurement.  Does this mean if you order yourself a size 6 or 8 that it'll only really fit a small domestic cat? 

These measurements are not specified on the website and are completely misleading. Now I understand that different stores have different sizes and these vary depending on the store - but to claim something is a UK16 when it is clearly a UK8, is not OK.

Knowing immediately that I wanted to return them, I checked for a postage address or label. At the time of my purchasing, neither of which were supplied although if they were, personally, I really struggled to find them. I was unsure of where they are based exactly as the site said you can pay in USD but the returns address supplied on the website is in Hong Kong.

Realising that it would cost me more for the cost of postage then I paid for the products, I returned again to the site and contacted customer service. Taking a while to respond (again) they simply replied that they had "no postage label so please return to the following address...". From my experience, if Missguided or Topshop received a similar complaint, they would ackowledge it and if needed, refund it and send a postage label no questions asked - because that's good customer service. Which leads me to my next point...

I responded again, explaining again the reason for return. Not because I'd changed my mind, but because I had to return due to them misinforming me of their sizes, it not looking much like the item online and the poor quality. Again, they replied saying they did not have a label.

After a third attempt of emailing my cause, they finally replied recognising the problem and asked what was in my order. This seemed odd to me because they had my order number - why do they not know? I replied. And they replied again asking for a photo instead. 

Why? I sent the photos and it took over a month to hear back.

Given I didn't pay a great deal of money, the site is very affordable but it seems that with StyleMoi you certainly get a little less then what you pay for. If you're a UK size 6-8 or a small child then the site should be no problem for you realistically, but the rest of us will have to find out the hard way. 

So whilst I really don't like posting negative vibes on my blog, I felt this time it was necessary if it means it doesn't happen to one of my readers. Naming and shaming isn't my intention here, but more to share a bad experience in the hopes of spreading awareness when you shop online. There is always this risk when shopping online and I took that risk and it didn't pay off.

**Update: 09/09/15  (amends on the 11/03/2016) - StyleMoi partly refunded my order a few weeks after this post was originally posted. StyleMoi asked if I would be willing to fill out a survey to help them improve their site for the future, which I accepted. Unfortunately, I never heard back from them. The correspondents I had with StyleMoi following the publishing of this post was not pleasant. StyleMoi have updated the design and functionality of their website since my review but I would never shop with them again. My opinions of my personal experience with them still stand following the rude emails I received from a member of their team.**

Rant over! Have you ever used StyleMoi? Have you had a similar experience with an online retailer? Let me know your thoughts below! Please note that this is simply my own personal experience of shopping with StyleMoi and yours may differ. Hope everyone is having a great week, 

Until next time,