Chicwish: A Not So Romantic Experience

I follow quite a few fashion bloggers, but I rarely go with their recommendations. Inspiration is good; copy cat is no fun. More importantly, my training and experience as a finance professional make me extra aware of conflict of interest. If a fashion blogger profits from her follower's purchase, chances are she is willing to compromise her integrity to collect every penny. Photogenic items may turn out to have crappy quality, the blogger may use hidden pins to fix the goofy fit, the photographer may shoot from a specific angle to make the picture look nice, and there may be many other details not disclosed even in the fine print. After all, blogging is a grey area that is not regulated.

That said, once in a blue moon, I do fall to my knees at the beauty of those carefully edited pictures and take the bait.

Chicwish is a brand that has apparently launched a marketing campaign through collaboration with many fashion bloggers recently. Their midi skirts in dreamy prints wowed me with every picture. After months of resistance, I decided to give it a try. As this was the first time I purchased from this brand, I did consider two important questions: 1) what is the shipping/return policy? 2) what is my size?

Chicwish offers free shipping, but the customer has to pay the return shipping label. The "About Us" page states that, although their headquarter is in Hong Kong, they do have an office in California. The address of this California office is shown at the bottom of every single page (CHICWISH STUDIO, 612 Alabama street, San Francisco CA 94110, United States). OK, shipping back to California is no biggie. $11 flat rate priority mail would be the maximum shipping I have to pay. I was fine with that. So I ordered midi skirts in two prints. I like this Turn Back Time Scenic print so much that I ordered both XS and S (because some online review suggests sizing up), just to make sure that I got the right size.

Two weeks later, I received nothing.

I contacted Chicwish through their website. They apologized for the delay and promised that the package was on the way.

Another week passed, and I finally got the package. The shipping label said it was originated from China. My heart sank.

I opened the package. Three skirts of two prints and two sizes were all wrinkled from the packaging and shipping, but the prints were as beautiful as what I'd seen online. The fabric was not the best, but did maintain its puffy retro shape as desired. Size XS and S were not that different, although size XS did fit me better than S.

So now I needed to return one of the two Turn Back Time Scenic Print Midi Skirts to Chicwish.

The invoice had the return address. It was not in California, not even in Hong Kong. It was in Shenzhen, China. And the invoice stated very clearly that all returns must go to China.

Did I want to pay international shipping to return a $43 skirt? No. I guess no one would even bother. I listed the skirt on mitbbs and poshmark, and sold it at a marginal loss. And I truly believe that this is exactly what Chicwish wants me (and other consumers) to do. You've got an item you don't want? OK, sell it to others. Don't ship it back to us.

I'm utterly disgusted by this business strategy.

And I'm equally disgusted by the fashion bloggers who've sung the praises for this shady online retailer.

Don't tell me that this is normal for international shopping. I've made purchase on stylebop before, and the online retailer: 1) never pretends to be a US-based company, and 2) covers the return international shipping cost to Europe.

Here is my full disclosure of Chicwish shopping experience:

• Colors and prints - as shown online;
• Fabric - you get what you pay for;
• Shipping - expect delay due to international shipping;
• Online customer service - submit your request online and they will get back to you within 24 hours;
• Return - given the expensive international shipping cost, all sales are essentially final. 

Top: JCrew Bateau Tee in Stripe
Skirt: Chicwish Santorini Print Pleated Midi Skirt (also bought this Turn Back Time Scenic Print Midi Skirt, more amazing prints: poppy field, London eye, neon lights)
Necklace: Anthropologie
Sandals: Pedro Garcia Xola Ankle Strap Sandals in almond/white
Clutch: Prada