Golden Tote October $149 Tote Review

I tried Golden Tote for the first time last month and was excited to give it another go for October! Each month they launch a small online collection and you can choose either a $49 tote (up to $150 value) or a $149 tote (up to a $600 value). You get to make some selections, 1 item for the $49 tote or 2 items for the $149 tote, and then Golden Tote fills your tote with other surprise items. The $49 tote contains a total of 2-3 items, the $149 tote contains 6-7 items. Items are returnable but you have to return everything, no picking and choosing.

The sizing was a little wonky in my tote last month and I provided them some feedback on that issue - the size I requested, REALLY IS the size I want! LOL! I also felt like the color palette of my tote was a little bland last month and specifically requested more color in the future.

I went with the $149 option and had a little bit of difficulty picking my two items because there were several things I really liked! Unlike last month, I didn't notice Golden Tote adding new items after the initial launch, and I definitely appreciated that. Here are the pieces I chose:

Cheetah twill military jacket

Tile wrap sweater

I placed my order on 10/1/13 and received an email with an unexpected twist on 10/11/13. Golden Tote asked us if we could pick one of our surprise items, what would it be? OMG, so excited. I had such a hard time deciding on my items and was haunted by the vegan leather motorcycle jacket that I didn't choose. I wrote them back and told them that jacket would be my first choice for a surprise, followed by a Puella swing dress and then a sweater as a third option.

So... I was VERY excited to see what was going to be packed in my tote this month! Here's first looks:

First impression? Um... that's a LOT of stripes, and tan/black stripes at that. Where's the color I requested??? And, OMG, the leather jacket is there, but WHERE is the cheetah jacket I specifically picked out???

Okay, time to dig into the selections and check out what's going on. Here are the pieces I received:

Tile Wrap Sweater by Fate, $72 - Love, love, love. This is something I would have absolutely bought in a store and I will live in this sweater through the fall. Once I finished trying everything on I popped this back on to sit down and type up the review! Perfect.

Vegan Leather Hoodie Motorcycle Jacket by Thread Social, $82 - EEK! I was SO excited to see this in my tote. It's perfect and is incredibly heavy and super nice quality. It's fully lined and is also absolutely something I would have bought in a heartbeat while shopping. I adore this and will wear it to death!

Puella Swing Dress, $88 - This was another item I included on my wish list and I was happy to see that they really listened to my requests! I specifically asked that they not send a bigger size to compensate for length this time and that was the right choice. The thing is definitely short for me to wear as a dress but at least it FITS.  Like all Puella fabrics, this dress feels so fantastic and soft. I'm planning on wearing this with red on bottom and black boots for a Louisville basketball game or two! Super cute.

Ovi Top, $39? - Searches for "ovi shirt" turned up some really weird things, so I'm just guessing at the price. This top is definitely not something I would have picked - in style, color nor fit. Hey, it isn't black/white, so even if it's not for me, at least it's the "color" I requested! ;)

Puella Jersey Dress, $98? - well.... it sure looks similar to the first Puella dress, but at least this one is long enough to wear as a dress instead of just a top. The jersey feels fantastic and the basic design/style/print is going to be fun to accessorize.

Puella Long Sleeve Top, $68 - Really??? MORE tan/black horizontal stripes??? Ugh... well, it's fine. It's a good basic top in a comfy fabric and I'm sure I'll get some wear out of it. But this is more than a little repetitive, right??? 

I came up with a total value of about $447 for this tote. Definitely short of the "up to $600 value" but most of the items were really nice quality this time. The sweater and jacket are big hits for me and I'm sure I'll get some mileage out of all of those STRIPES.... I do wish that there had been more variety and that they had listened to my feedback last month on wanting more color. Maybe they just aren't as customized a service as I'm wanting them to be!

My main issue? WHERE is the cheetah jacket I picked out?? My packing invoice even specifically included the cheetah jacket as one of the two items ordered. I emailed Golden Tote a couple of days ago to ask about it and I'll update when I get a reply. It appears that the jacket is now sold out, so I have no idea what the solution could be at this point. :(

** UPDATE ** I was contacted by Sarah at Golden Tote after she saw my post on Instagram and read my writeup. I emailed them and heard back quickly, with a nice apology for any confusion and a promise that my cheetah jacket will be on its way soon. I'll update again when I receive it. Definitely get points for customer service! 

** UPDATE TWO ** Cheetah jacket received and it's great! A++ for customer service!