Several weeks ago, I received an email from British online retailer Pretty Little Thing asking if I would agree to a sponsored post featuring a selection of their clothes. I had been curious about Pretty Little Thing for a while and had seen multiple video reviews from Youtubers like Patricia Bright, so I said sure and went shopping for a few items on their site. I chose a series of items – a jumpsuit, two dresses, and a pair of heels – and the rep sent them my way.
The rainbow and unicorn adorned package arrived at my doorstep and y’all… I went from elated to disappointed quicker than a popped balloon. It became clear I couldn’t put my name on a positive sponsored blog post for Pretty Little Thing as I tried on each article of clothing. So instead, you’re getting a very honest review.
Before I dive into each article of clothing, I want to touch on my main concern. I think one of the main quality issues with Pretty Little Thing is the inaccuracy of their size chart. When ordering all of the clothes, I studied the size chart to find my size, then ordered a size up. Every single item is too small for me, which proves to me that the size chart does not accurately depict the sizes of the clothing you actually receive. In order for each of the articles of clothing to fit properly, I would have had to order two to three sizes above what the size chart says I should order, which shows how cheaply the clothes are made.
Another quality issue I noticed are the zippers. Every single zipper on Pretty Little Thing’s clothing is almost impossible to zip on my own. The zipper track doesn’t allow the zipper to glide easily. It also looks like the zipper doesn’t have enough room to zip around the fabric.
With all of that being said, let’s break down the items I ordered.
Mint One Shoulder Jumpsuit
I was most excited for this one shoulder, mint green jumpsuit because it’s unlike anything I already own. It was stepping outside of my comfort zone and I wanted it to work so much… but it didn’t.
For starters, I ordered a size 2 and it was way too small on me. In order for the jumpsuit to fit the way it does on the model on the website (see photo), I would have to size up to at least a 6. A size 6, according to the size chart, would normally be exorbitantly too big for me, but this just shows how inaccurate Pretty Little Thing’s size charts are.
Moving on to the jumpsuit itself, which honestly floored me with how poorly its was made.
The way the jumpsuit was pieced together, from the length of the legs, to the inseam, to the bodice, and finally to the one shoulder strap, was completely disproportionate. To be very honest, the only way this jumpsuit would fit on an actual human is if the person had Barbie length legs, no butt, an extremely short torso, no chest, and very broad shoulders. The disproportionate scale of the inseam to the waist gave me some seriously embarrassing cameltoe! (To be fair, even the model has a cameltoe.)
Next, the piece of fabric that makes up the one shoulder was so big it didn’t stay in place on my shoulder (just imagine how big the strap would be on me if I had ordered a size 6).
Worst of all, the jumpsuit has zero structure in the bodice so the very thin and very short piece of fabric that is supposed to cover my chest kept sliding and flopping down, exposing my bra to the world. In the photos, I’m sucking in and slightly slumping so the bodice wouldn’t slide down and show my bra.
The jumpsuit is unlined with unfinished hems and is made with a thin, crepe material. This was honestly the most disappointing item from the bunch.
Satin Wrap Dress
The satin wrap dress is advertised as being an actual wrap dress. However, this is actually a faux wrap dress. The fabric at the front of the bodice is sewn together below the chest so there isn’t an actual “wrap”. What makes it worse is the fabric is sewn in such an awkward way that it creates a “sagging boob” effect at the front of the dress. Instead of the fabric lying flat and gently swooping under the chest like it does on the model, it puckers in odd directions, creating an unflattering silhouette to the chest.
I ordered a size 2 in the satin dress and I definitely need a size 4. The material is thin and unlined with unfinished hems.
Blue Lace Dress
This beautiful blue lace dress is maybe the least problematic of everything I received. The lace is rough and far from delicate, but I could overlook that.
The dress on the model on the website shows a subtle flair from the model’s hips, creating a gentle bell that hits around the model’s upper thighs. Now, I’m much shorter than any model so dresses are longer on me. However, there is no such flair at any part of the dress I received. The dress remains form-fitting, almost bodycon, until it hits my knees, where a tiny flair can be seen, which is much lower on the dress on the model.
The dress is so tight around my thighs that I can hardly sit down! Again, I ordered a size 2 in this dress and I needed a size 4 or 6, even though (again) the size chart measurements would make it seem a 4 or 6 would be much too large on me.
My only other complaint is that since the dress is unlined with unfinished hems, the hems don’t lay flat. This becomes a problem around the see-through lattice areas down the center of the chest and circling the waist. You can see the hems popping up to say hello through the lattice work.
Red Sandal Heels
And finally, the red sandal heels. These faux suede shoes are the type of shoes that are cute to look at, but not fun to wear. There is absolutely zero cushion in the insole of the shoes so after standing in them for 30 minutes or more, my feet started to ache. They just feel cheap. I ordered a size 5, my normal heel size, and they fit quite well.
My main problem with the shoes is the smell that accompanies them. A heavy, chemical, rubber smell oozed from shoe box the moment I opened it. It took me a minute to put my finger on the smell, but I finally realized it smells exactly like the rubber floor in the weight room in my high school gym. Which brought back traumatizing memories of box jumps and running bleachers. Not what I want from a pair of cute heels. I Febreezed the shit out of them then quarantined them in my laundry room until the smell finally went away about a week after opening them.
Update: Every time I wore the heels, the ankle strap stretched out. After about 4 wears, they stretched too much for me to even wear them. I finally threw them away.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m pretty disappointed with my Pretty Little Thing experience. The clothes are poorly made and I definitely wouldn’t spend my money on them. It’s too much of a hit or miss risk for me. I would put Pretty Little Thing below Forever 21 and Wet Seal (remember them?) quality.
Have you bought anything Pretty Little Thing? Let me know your experience in the comments!
0 Comments