| Store Name: | Sydney’s Closet |
| Customers: | Teenagers, Pregnant women, mid-30s and above |
| Fashion Styles: | Formal and trendy |
| Offerings: | Prom dresses, bridal dresses, special occasion dresses, maternity dresses, formal dresses, cocktail dresses, shapewear, shoes and accessories. |
| Online/Brick&Mortar: | Online with Dresses Sold in Authorized Brick&Mortar locations (but only one location for plus size clothing and it is by appointment only in St. Louis, MO.) |
| Price Range: | $$ |
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Sydney’s Closet has a diverse range of bridal and prom dresses; however, when it comes to maternity dresses as well as shapewear, it is very limited. They have an excellent measurement guide for prom dresses on their website, which not only includes text and pictures but even a video of a real woman being measured. They also have a guide called the “Fit + Flatter” that discusses different styles of dresses and what that style flatters and what it hides. As for price, the overall price of the dresses that Sydney’s Closet offers are pretty average and not too expensive. One thing they offer that many online stores do not is layaway so you can get that bridal gown that you wanted without having to pay in full right away.
However, I was very offended when I found out that they charge extra ($29.99 extra to be exact) for extended sizes from 28-44. I was also offended when I was browsing through the selection of what I thought to be a Plus Size Only Store to find that it has regular sized models as well as regular sized dresses.
Website Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Usability and Speed: Website is very easy to use and is very appealing to the eye. There is a lot of pertinent information on the website such as measurement guides and videos. In addition, the website was very quick – it didn’t take a long time to load product images or other information.
Product Images: Professional images were used rather than images simply taken with a digital camera or the like. The product images are also zoom capable and seem to show color and the design of the dress very well.
Checkout Process: When I went to checkout, I opened up my shopping bag and clicked on “Go to Checkout” and was taken to a page where I was required to register in order to complete my checkout. You are then taken to a page where you must input your billing and shipping information. You then confirm all your information, input coupon codes if you have them, choose yours hipping method and you are good to go to place your order by inputting payment information. It is all pretty straightforward and the website seems to work flawlessly.
Is My Credit Card Safe?: As for security, Sydney’s Closet uses SSL technology that is powered by GeoTrust. This technology will successfully secure all of your personal information inputted into the system completely safe. In order to ensure that SSL is enabled, look for a small gold lock when accessing your account near the bottom of the screen. On some screens, the gold lock will be accompanied with the text “Shop with Confidence.”
Customer Service: 4.5 out of 5 stars
You can reach Sydney’s Closet via snail mail, e-mail help desk (short online form to fill out), fax, as well as phone. I sent an e-mail to Sydney’s Closet to see if they had a certain dress in stock as it said that it was only special order. I expected to see a message saying that they’ll be back with me within 24-48 hours or something similar, but instead, I get “We’ll get back with you as fast as we can.” I ended up receiving a response back within 12 hours of the store re-opening for the week since I sent the e-mail on a Saturday. The only issue I had was that I didn’t receive the exact response via e-mail instead I was directed to a message board.
On Monday, during store hours, I called to find out if Sydney’s Closet had store credit cards available. I was kindly informed that they did not at this time and that it was something that they were considering but have not fully approved or taken the next step forward with. The customer service rep apologized for the inconvenience.
Policies: 4 out of 5 stars
Sydney’s Closet has a layaway plan, which is something that gives them a thumbs up. Bridal gowns may be put on layaway and must be paid within full in 90 days or less. Dresses must be paid within full in 30 days or less. There are no exchanges, refunds, or cancellations to any order put on layaway. In addition, layaway is ONLY for dresses – no accessories, shoes, shapewear, etc. is allowed and neither are sales items. More details can be found here.
As for general returns and exchanges, you have seven days from receipt of the item to do so. There are specific items that cannot under any circumstances be returned or exchanged including special orders, specialty items, bridal, intimates, as well as sales items. I personally think they go a little too far here by not allowing the return of bridal items such as wedding gowns, mother of the bride dresses, and bridesmaid dresses. That’s just me, though.
However, the return process is relatively simple and takes four steps. You must call Sydney’s Closet to get a return authorization number, all returned items will be fully inspected so you should inspect them first (certain requirements apply, see here), ship merchandise back to Sydney’s Closet, and an exchange or refund will be made as quickly as possible. Note: $25 restocking fee applies to all returned merchandise to Sydney’s Closet.
Shipping: 4 out of 5 stars
Sydney’s Closet offers a few different choices when it comes to shipping. First, they offer ground shipping for a flat fee of $17.99, which will be delivered within three to five days within the United States.
Next, they offer Express Air Shipping where there are three different terms. You can opt for a three-day select air U.S. delivery for $28.99, a two-day air U.S. delivery for $35.99, or an overnight air delivery in the U.S. (excluding Alaska) for $52.99. Prior to the shipment shipping for overnight delivery, all customers should allow one business day for the order to completely processed.
International shipping is available including Canada and other international countries for $63.00 and will use Express Mail and Priority Mail services. Shipping is not made to Hawaii, Alaska and other U.S. territories by ground – only air. They also ship to Military addresses (APO and AFO) worldwide with Express Mail and Priority Mail services.
Fit Measurements: 5 out of 5 stars
While most online stores only provide a simple measurement guide to help you find the right size dress, Sydney’s Closet goes the extra step by providing a text and image measurement guide. That’s not all, though; they also put up a video on their website that shoes a real woman being measured. Nothing is better learning than watching and learning hands-on so get your soft measuring tape out and do it with them.
Accreditations & Certifications:
Sydney’s Closet is accredited with the BBB – Better Business Bureau – as well as approved by the Prom Websites Association. The online store is also a verified merchant for Authorize.Net.
Newsletters & Blogs:
You’ll definitely want to join Sydney’s Closet’s e-mail list. You’ll receive special coupons when it’s your birthday, special deals for subscribers, coupons for free shipping, and even tips for dressing up and the latest trends! Definitely some great deals for just giving them your e-mail address.
As for Sydney’s Closet’s blog, it doesn’t seem to be updated very often. It hasn’t even been updated in the past three months (since March) and for the most part, it seems that the blog only pertains to the latest styles that they have available on their website.
Best Way to Get Deals:
The best way to get deals for Sydney’s Closet is by far signing up and joining their e-mail list. You’ll get subscriber exclusive deals as well as coupons when your birthday rolls around. Otherwise, check out their sale sections as they seem to have some great sales with most of them being about 40% off.
Offer Credit Cards?
Not at this time.
Misc. Comments / Review Points:
When I went to check out the checkout process for Sydney’s Closet and the dress that I chose to put in my shopping bag was a wedding gown and a special order and if I ordered it under standard terms, I would be looking at 16 weeks for delivery. However, if I wanted a rush order, it would be delivered in 12 weeks for an extra fee of $50. I did notice, though, that on the description of the dress, they did state that the dress runs small, which is more than I can say for some online stores.
Because of that, I went on to search a little further and noticed that all items that aren’t in stock take weeks to deliver (not always 16 weeks, but still weeks) and if you wanted to place a rush order, it cost an extra charge and you would get it a few weeks earlier. This process goes with all items, not just the dresses.
If you are looking for a plus size wedding gown or a plus size prom dress, then Sydney’s Closet is definitely the place to look as they have a diverse selection of dresses. However, I wouldn’t bring up Sydney’s Closet if you were looking for maternity dresses as there simply isn’t enough worth mentioning.
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