Why Le Tote is so great for busy moms {2nd Le Tote Review}

So I’ve gone ahead with another month of Le Tote, a clothing subscription service. You can read more details about Le Tote in my first review here:

Finding my sense of mom-style and this crazy thing called Le Tote

Le Tote is a splurge, don’t get me wrong. A fun, cool splurge. So let me just get that out of the way. It’s not something I’m planning on doing long-term because we have REAL LIFE ADULT stuff to do like buy a van and a house and a desktop computer and stuff like that. I don’t really need to be splurging on a clothing subscription service.

But…

February is my birthday month, Valentine’s Day, and my 2nd month of Le Tote will end just 2 days shy of our 8th anniversary. So, in honor of ALL THE WIFEY HOLIDAYS, I’m gonna splurge a little bit longer.

Here’s my second Le Tote review

(and a few more things I’ve learned about Le Tote):

Amazing customization:

So when they “style” your Tote for you, you can swap out any item for any other item (clothing must swap for clothing, accessories for accessories). {It would be really awesome if you could just get all clothing, but alas, you cannot.}

This means you get to pick from their entire in-stock inventory (both from what’s in your closet and what isn’t.) You can choose what comes next based on weather, your mood, your plans, etc. I love picking out what I want and knowing exactly what’s coming.

Amazing fit:

So far I’ve received 9 clothing items, and they have all fit. This NEVER happens when I try things on in stores, so I think they have some sort of magic spell put on their clothing boxes, just sayin…

This is the only one that didn’t fit that great. I thought the gathering around the waist would help hide the tummy, but it did the opposite, and the sleeves were SHORT. I just paired it with a scarf and cardigan and it wasn’t THAT bad. (Postpartum tummy = #mommyproblems. #itiswhatitis)

(Headed to pick up Ezra and take him to OT)

Amazing customer service:

I got a little perturbed when the 2-day shipping on my 2nd Tote took nearly a week. So, I took to Twitter and uploaded a screenshot of my USPS tracking screen. Both USPS and Le Tote responded that day, and by the end of the day my billing cycle had been adjusted by 5 days to make up for the time I was “toteless.” That was impressive in my book.

Amazing understanding of what busy moms mean by “casual.”

There are two reasons I decided against trying Stitch Fix: price and selection. It seemed that most of the reviews I saw online were for clothes that were nice but made me think, “I can’t really Mom in that.”

(Yes, “mom” can be a verb.)

With Le Tote, they have a lot of both casual and dressy offerings. And by casual I mean, “I can Mom in that.”

The proof is in the pajama pants and messy kitchen that I paired with this Le Tote top:

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Now, here’s what I’ve learned about myself:

Having nice clothes makes me want to dress up.

My closet is a depressing place where all my hopes and dreams go to die. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. But I regularly try on multiple items and rush out the door late because I couldn’t decide on something and what I ended up wearing wasn’t that hot. Or I just don’t even bother and wear yoga pants and my pelled hoodie.

When you are paying to rent clothes and accessories you sort of HAVE to wear them so you aren’t wasting your splurge money. This means I started wearing nicer clothes to therapy and playdates, even occasionally for taking my husband to work.

I invested in some more-comfortable-ish jeggings with some gift card money I got for Christmas and that has helped, too. Between the Le Tote accessories and some earrings I got at Old Navy with gift card money, I’ve also been wearing earrings more often. And curling my hair more. Don’t get me wrong, I still change back to comfy the second I walk back in the door of my house, but it has been more bearable (and fun!) to “dress up” for outings.

Little Brother and I ready to ditch laundry and go visit with friends.

(Le Tote top and earrings)

When you experiment with new style, the results can be surprising!

When I received this top, I was so disappointed. The fabric wasn’t as comfortable as I liked and I wasn’t sure about the fit. But I tried a new look and paired it with boots over jeggings. It was SO not me. I asked my husband (with fear and trepidation) what he thought.

To my surprise, he LOVED it. He loved it so much that he wanted me to buy the top. (I didn’t, because of the texture and price point.) So now I know a new (different) style that he actually likes and will keep my eye out for a tunic like it with a cheaper price point.

Having temporary clothes is helpful when you are trying to lose weight:

I lost 3 pounds in January. BUT – I still have a bit to go to fit into the warmer-weather clothes I wore in 2014. Which is another reason I’m going for another month of Le Tote–to get me through this very awkward body phase I’m in. It’s still a splurge, but it’s a splurge with a purpose.

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So, here’s what I’ll say, if you are a busy mom frustrated with her wardrobe who has a little bit of money to splurge on clothes, ESPECIALLY if you are in the process of losing weight or your weight fluctuates a lot, try out Le Tote. Your first month is half price and it’s FUN to try! Check out Le Tote here!

I looooooove this cardigan from @letote!! It’s so cozy and comfortable and PINK! I know what I’m going to be wearing all week long! Don’t mind the mom hair… #sorrynotsorry #loving #inthemiddle #middleplaces @middleplaces

A photo posted by Aprille (@beautyinhistime) on Feb 2, 2016 at 5:16am PST