Golden Tote $149 Tote Review – March 2015
Golden Tote is one of my favorite monthly packages – and I think a good deal of my wardrobe is now from Golden Tote items!
If you aren’t familiar with Golden Tote, here’s a really quick intro: Every month you get to pick out 1-2 pieces, and they surprise you with the rest. (The surprise items are completely different from the pieces you pick from).
FYI – This is not a typical subscription, each month they release a new collection and you can decide whether or not you want to buy it. For returns it’s an all-or-nothing deal. You can return the entire tote for a refund, but you can’t return individual pieces.
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Box: Golden Tote
The Cost: $49 or $149 (This review is of the $149 tote)
The Products: Clothing items you pick plus surprises from Golden Tote!
Ships to: Everywhere! Shipping to the continental US $7.95. AK HI $15 and international is $25
Delivered via: UPS
Check out all of my Golden Tote reviews and the Women’s Clothing Subscription Box Directory!
Garden Party Maxi Dress – Value $45?
Fabric: 96% Polyester, 4% Rayon
Care: Hand Wash Cold, lay flat to dry
(This dress is no longer on their site, so I’m not sure about the retail value list price).
This dress was available in peach or aqua, and I’m happy with my aqua choice. Sometimes dresses with this type of elastic waist can look a little too billowy on me, but this cut is very flattering. It’s also a pretty long maxi. I’m 5’7″ and I will need to wear heels with it.
On to my next choice (I can resist maxis):
Elegant Evening Maxi – Value $45?
Fabric: 100% Rayon
Care: Hand wash cold
This maxi is lined to the mid-thigh, and the straps are adjustable – love those touches! It’s another need-to-wear-heels maxi too.
Skies are Blue Vest – Value $62 (I bought this as an add-on for $40)
Fabric: 100% Cotton
Care: Hand wash cold
I originally was planning on purchasing this vest and the black maxi as my two items for the $149 tote, but when I was trying to pick my items, this was listed as sold out for the tote. Then when I went to check out, it was available as an add-on, so I had to grab it. I love all the Skies are Blue items I’ve received from Golden Tote, and this is another favorite to add to the list.
I ended up picking a size medium, and I’m glad I sized down. There’s still plenty of room for layering it over other pieces, so I think a large would have been too big.
Potter’s Pot Top – Value $35?
Fabric: 95% Rayon, 5% Spandex
Care: Dry Clean Only
This top is sheer and I love it layered over a black tank top.
Key To My Heart Shift Dress – Value $40?
Fabric: 100% Polyester
Care: Dry Clean or Hand Wash Cold
Some shift dresses end up looking boxy on me, but I think the cut and length of this dress are very flattering. I can’t decide yet if I love the print though.
Promesa Grey T-shirt Dress – Value $35?
Fabric: 93% Rayon, 7% Spandex
Care: Hand wash cold
This dress is a complete miss for me. I don’t like the length – it hits right at my knees, and it has a slit on one side that is WAY too high. On a positive note, I like the open cut detail on the back of the dress:
Gilli Maxi Dress – Value $40?
I love maxi dresses for the summer, so I was thrilled when I pulled this out of the tote! The cut is super flattering, and I love the basic navy and cream colors.
Verdict: I’m really happy with all of my picks this month, and I’d say 3 out of 4 of my surprise items are wins. Overall that’s a good tote for me! What do you think of the $149 tote? Which Golden Tote items did you pick this month?
Written by Liz Cadman
I LOVE that tee shirt dress – the one you didn’t like, lol. It’s very much my style. I’ll have to check them out.. I’ve never even heard of Golden Tote!
Does anyone know if you can just buy the tote items on their own before tote day?
Your tote was great! I didn’t realize that half the stuff was hand wash only… I have to admit I rarely read my tags unless the fabric is something different than I’m used to. I throw everything in the regular wash cycle (cold) and just hang dry and haven’t had any issues with my stuff. I hadn’t gotten a tote in a few months but after seeing this month’s spoilers… I have a long list!!
Siiiighh…*someday* my tote I ordered will ship, I just know it…
How in the world did you receive so many surprise dresses?! I can never convince them to send me more than one and you received three!! That’s amazing! Was it a specific request you made in your order comments or just a strange act of fate?
I just checked my style profile. On the very last page where they ask “anything else we should know before we style you?” I wrote: “I prefer more dresses than tops whenever possible. And I LOVE maxi dresses.”
I have lots of awesome cloth from GT. However, I stop buying because I avoid “Dry clean only”. Also, when I wear GT it takes me forever to complete loundry day. Still, ocasionally I buy from the goldies of facebook.
I love the garden party maxi! It’s gorgeous!
Wow, I love your tote! The garden party maxi, white shirt, and blue dress are my favorites!
I got the blue maxi also and I love it! I also got a black and pink sleeveless top that I love, a striped 3/4 sleeve top that is okay and a plain sage green tee shirt that I was able to trade for a coral colored knit top from this month. Not my top choice but anything was better than that plain tee shirt! I took tees and 3/4 sleeve tops of my profile for the future.
One of the reasons I’ve been hesitant to try GT is that their clothes are all hand wash or dry clean and I like throw everything in the washer. Does everyone follow those care instructions? Have anyone tried machine washing?
i always just machine wash everything on delicate; never had a problem
A lot of their items are made from Rayon and it can shrink up to 10%! Even when I wash rayon on cold, it still shrinks! It sucks because it’s a cheap fiber yet you have to dry clean it. Silk you usually have to dry clean, but it’s a more expensive fiber so it’s kind of assumed. Even with silk if you hand wash and dry it correctly it’s totally fine.
Our washing machine has a “handwash” cycle. I use that for all my Golden Tote stuff and haven’t had any problems! I either line dry or flat dry, depending on what the fabric is. I’ve also heard of people putting the items in mesh bags on the delicate cycle.
Your items look great!
Wow you hit the dress jackpot! Only one of my surprises worked for me. I am practically living in the green vest and when I bought it I was a little worried I’d never wear it!
I’m working on improving my style profile for better matches next month. What style inspiration boards did you choose?
You got a great tote, Liz! Love all your dresses, even the grey one!! Excited for my tote, it will arrive Tuesday. I’ve been checking social media {like crazy}, you’ve had the best tote in my opinion…hopefully I luck out too. The last page of my style profile wouldn’t save, GT finally responded to my email but all they wanted to know was about the browser I used…my profile was never fixed. This may be my last tote if I end up w/all tops as surprise items bc I specifically asked for dresses & skirts in my profile {I chose the pineapple sweater, gone yachting top & the denim vest as an add-on this month}…keeping my fingers crossed =)
That blue maxi is GORGEOUS! They all are but wow!!!! I want one!