11 July 2011

AKIRA Chicago Shopping Review

I'm a little delayed in getting around to it, but I'm giving my unbiased review for AKIRA, a trendy Chicago retailer I posted about here last month.

I ordered two items, a white linen blazer and a pair of high waisted, linen trousers in a jade blue (which I was super excited about!). Both items were from the retailer's personal brand, AKIRA Black Label.

AKIRA

The total order came to $90. Shipping was about $7, which isn't terrible plus I also used a coupon code which gave me about $15 dollars off. From the time I placed my order, it took 6 - 7 days to receive it. I had a few issues with sizing, the retailer noted that this brand runs small, more like junior sizing, so even though I took my measurements, I sized up. Bad idea.

When the pieces arrived, both items were made from reasonably good fabrics, the linen wasn't stiff and didn't feel cheap, but the blazer was a bit too large and didn't look flattering. However, the trousers were really cute and actually did fit in the waist, but they were super long. Even with a four inch platform pump, the pants covered my shoes.

I loved the color of the pants and debated keeping them and taking them to a tailor, but it was more effort than I was willing to put in. I returned both items and had to pay return shipping. As it turns out, the pants were on clearance, so I was issued a store credit for those and a refund for the blazer. I ultimately did place another order so that I could use my credit, but this time I went for a pair of Jessica Simpson pumps that I had been eyeballing on other sites for a few months. I am very happy with those!



Overall, I can't say my experience with AKIRA was a bad one, but I can't really say it was all that great either. I'm not certain that I'd order clothing from them again, but I'd definitely do shoes and on my next trip to Chicago I'd go to the store to shop, that way I can try the items on first.

No comments:

Post a Comment