The BEST Plus-Size Online & Physical Store By Far!
Written: May 09 '03 (Updated May 12 '03)
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Lane Bryant has had a web presence for some time now, but until April of 2003 you weren’t able to actually shop there. Now it’s a full-fledged e-commerce site that allows you to “try-on” outfits on your virtual model (made to look like you by picking height, weight, hair style, hair color, etc) as well as the ability to actually purchase the item you’ve tried on. The prices online are generally the same as in the store, however, they do offer some online-only specials.
I’ve been a physical store visitor for years—ever since I hit that un-magical size 14. Lane Bryant specializes in sizes 14-28 and include petites, average, and tall (that’s were I fit!). For a plus-size store, they have a great selection and the quality is outstanding. Unlike the nearly-named-the-same but unrelated online store Lane Bryant Catalog aka www.lbcatalog.com or www.lanebryantcatalog.com, this is the OFFICIAL WEBSITE associated with the physical stores so returns are easy! Physical stores are listed on the site for your convenience.
I've reviewed and used many plus-size stores such as Jessica London, Just My Size, and Roamans but NONE of them compare in quality to Lane Bryant's.
THE SITE
More than just a place to buy clothes, they’ve tried to make it a destination. By adding fashion tips, Chick Chat (a moderated bulletin board to talk about fashion), and an upcoming fashion styles section, they’re hoping you’ll come for the info and shop while you’re there.
The site itself is a bit boring. Done in taupe and black, it’s a no-nonsense site. Categories are listed horizontally across the top in an expected sequence—“Wear To Work, Casuals, Hot Styles, Tops, Bottoms, Dresses, Jackets, Accessories, Intimates, Sale” When available, online sale information is listed on the bottom of the page—the current promotion is “Spring Sale—Up to 50% Off”.
The have a small selection of tall bottoms, but my wish would be more tall tops—I’m not just long on the bottom and while I appreciate being able to wear pants that aren’t Capri length, I’d like a jacket that hit my waist and covered my butt. Oh well, maybe someday a designer will figure it out—end of rant.
In fact, their online choice is small in all areas—less than the physical store for sure. My hope is that since they’ve just started this recently that they’ll continue to add to the selection.
REGISTRATION
You don’t have to register to use the site but if you do you’ll get mail promotions and offers—I received a $50 off a $150 purchase recently. I loved using that one! The promotions generally are available for the online and physical store so even if you don’t think you’ll ever do it online, you may want to sign up to get the in-store offers.
Also, you can participate in ongoing consumer focus groups and survey efforts. If interested, you would be contacted via e-mail and asked to answer some brief screening questions. If you meet the criteria of a particular study, you would then be contacted to participate. I haven’t been asked to join as yet, and since the incentive is a sweepstakes entry I think I’ll pass. I like getting a “free gift” or discount rather than an opportunity to win a sweepstakes. I’ll edit if I change my mind and actually participate in one.
PAYMENT INFORMATION
They accept Lane Bryant Credit Card, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express and debit cards. Since the site is so new they are unable to take Lane Bryant Gift Certificates or Lane Bryant E-Gift Certificates—they’re working on getting both of these added.
GIFT CERTIFICATES
You can purchase gift certificates online for the physical stores but as listed above, they’re not acceptable for payment online yet. You can have the certificate sent by e-mail or FedEx. They’re available in pre-set denominations from $25 - $500 and can be sent immediately or held until the special date. FedEx shipping is FREE!
GIFT WRAPPING
Not yet available
SHIPPING
They charge a flat rate of $6.95—can you believe it! That’s for United States Priority Mail (3-5 business days). If you need it sooner, next-day shipping is available for a flat rate of $20. They currently do no accept international orders but do ship to the 50 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Island, and APO addresses for no additional costs.
ORDER TRACKING
You can track your order online—mine came so fast I never even had a chance to take a look. Packed appropriately for clothing items I was very happy with the delivery.
RETURNS
Sadly I’ll be returning several of the items I purchased—my fault. The quality is excellent but I didn’t read the fabric description well enough so I bought a size smaller than I like in that fabric. I’ll be taking them back to the physical store and replacing them with the same or similar shirts in a size larger. All information required for the return was sent to me so I don’t expect any problems. It doesn’t work both ways however, if you buy it at the physical store you can not sent it to lanebryant.com. Shipping and handling is never refunded on returns that are customer initiated—when Lane Bryant makes errors they do cover the postage (send wrong item/size or defective).
Should I have needed to, I could have returned them by mail as well. They give specific information on how to return them in the box and your payment will be credited back to your account. You are responsible for postage and insurance on the return. All items they sell are returnable—even intimate apparel so you’re not stuck with something you don’t want.
Don’t worry if you lost your invoice/packing slip. They provide you with an e-mail address to get a duplicate—that’s a wonderful customer support feature!
PRICE ADJUSTMENTS
They will do a price adjustment on any item if purchased within 14 days of the price change.
SIZING
A detailed online chart gives you measurements for all of their sizes including petite & talls. I’ve found it to be very accurate and true to size.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I highly recommend Lane Bryant—both the online and physical stores—for those of us who purchase plus-size clothes. They offer trendy clothes that are made of quality fabrics. My order was handled beautifully, arrived on time, and I was very impressed by the fabrics and weight of the t-shirts. Nothing skimpy here!
****UPDATE
Ok, so the return to the store was nearly perfect--Now I've worked retail and I know on a slow day the last thing you want to see is someone walking in with a large bag of returns. While I was exchanging one-for-one, it was still a loss to the store for the day and numbers are everything. Now I know this but really, they shouldn't convey this and they did. The sales person was a bit rude and tried to tell me first that I couldn't return them there (I quickly pointed out on the receipt that I could--the online store is new so I could give them some room there). But she was very unfriendly during the return. My goodness, you'd think that I did this every week. All-in-all she could have been nicer--no wonder I shop online! Keep up the attitude and we'll all be shopping online to avoid the rude people in the store.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
briandalsmom
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Member: Mom
Location: USA
Reviews written: 248
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