Over the years I’ve come to a place where I’ve ended up liking and consistently buying (mostly online) clothing to only a handful of retailers. But this Winter I’ve discovered a new brand of clothing called VICI thanks to Instagram suggestions. Whether you’re just an everyday casual girl like me or a fashionista, there’s definitely something for everyone style-wise (not fit-wise obviously). For the most part I’ve enjoyed most of the pieces I got from them, but I also have criticism about their customer service and ease of shopping experience on their website.

So why did I write this review? VICI has influencers who feature their clothing and hey, that’s totally fine, but since there aren’t any reviews or in-depth discussion that I’ve seen about this brand as a whole, I figured I’d let you all know the ins and outs of shopping with them.

Clothing:

Note that their range of clothing is very on-trend but generally has a higher price tag (in my opinion) if you’re buying regular price. The quality is honestly very hit or miss depending on the product and unfortunately, there’s nowhere on the site where you could read or write a review on that particular product to gain more insight. What’s also very strange to me is that they don’t list the material(s) the pieces are made out of. You would think that’s pretty important right?

I did buy the Westwood Knit turtleneck that I was excited to wear this winter, but though unused, the threads randomly came apart at the shoulder, leaving a gaping hole. (Read Customer Service section to read about how I dealt with this problem).

Which pieces didn’t work for me:

Camel Peacoat $31.20 (very wide and unflattering)
Polly Cargo Jacket $32 (changed my mind and returned, didn’t like the ruffles)
Delta Dawn Denim Top $19.20 (A little tight around the bust area but tolerable. Cute but not stretchy at all, so not much give with arm/shoulder movements.)
Westwood Knit Turtleneck $23 (Well, it ripped, gg but later got a refund).

Sizing:

It’s 2019 now and VICI does not have petite or plus sizes to accommodate for different body shapes/sizes, so that sucks. Come on VICI! Here is their sizing guide online. I’m 5’4” wearing S and I find that the fit perfectly for a pair of pants I’ve got and 4/6 tops . I will say from my experience that I grabbed the “Sea The World Peacoat” and it looked nothing like the picture, just a boxy no-fit peacoat. And, of course, I can’t return it because it was final sale. I have had luck fit-wise, though, with short sleeve tops, sweaters/cardigans, and one pair of pants. Less luck with VICI’s outerwear (peacoat I didn’t want to deal with and I did return a cargo jacket in the past").

Shopping Experience:

In-store: I’ve visited their boutique in Newport Beach once and just so you’re aware, their store is small and only carries pretty much best-selling products. Plus, their promotions are only available online, so just skip going to their boutique completely.

Online:

I’m a deal hunter, so I don’t pay full price for clothing. I’ll usually wait for free shipping and go straight to the FINAL SALE section to snag a deal. The deals are awesome for the pieces you’re getting, but my biggest complaint is that their website is so hard to navigate. They do have a search bar, but VICI does not do a good job with tagging their products. For example, if I were to search “sweater” VICI would only probably show me 50% of the actual number of sweaters they carry. I’ve even tried typing in the exact name of the product, but it’ll just tell me there’s “0 results”. Major eyeroll.

With any tab that you’re on while shopping, normally there’s super helpful filters on the top RH side looking like this:

However. VICI doesn’t have these filters. Instead, they’ll have filters on the LH side that looks like this. However, like I said, these aren’t very helpful because VICI doesn’t tag their products very well.

As a result, since it’s not helpful to search by item nor use their filters because of unrealiability, I cannot shop by price ranges and I’m stuck wasting time scrolling through 20+ pages (literally) of products, many of them being either 1) not within my budget or 2) categories of clothing I’m not looking for.

Policies:

Shipping costs within the U.S.: $5.95
FINAL SALE is non-refundable except for the first time. You can call Customer Service and they’ll make a one-time exception for VICI credit. However, you’ll still need to pay for postage to mail it back.
Return Policy: I think VICI is working on one, but as of right now, you can return an item through mail (with no pre-paid postage) in return for VICI gift credit. It’s plain horrible.
UPDATE***: Vici now has a return policy where they can send you a prepaid label, but only for non-discounted items.

Customer Service:

Generally customer service through e-mail responds back within a reasonable amount of time. But when I confronted them about a defected product, I found that they didn’t really read my entire e-mail, nor did they see the photo attachment and responded with the same response 2-3 times. Naturally, I was frustrated because I felt unheard, and I wrote back repeating that I would only accept a replacement or a refund (NOT VICI credit). Only then was my complaint forwarded to the manager, who thankfully chose to gave me a full refund.

*It pays off to make your voice heard. It’s extra work, but it doesn’t do you or the company any good if you don’t make sure you’re heard. You’re stuck with a defected product that you paid for, and customer service doesn’t learn to step up their game to help and obtain loyal customers.

Verdict:

After the frustration with the defected product, I never wanted to order from them again. But after thinking about it, I do have to say that I will order from them again just because the pricing is great with free shipping, and the styles really are cute. In fact, I’ve been eyeing some their sweaters and jeans/jeggings on their site, and have 2 of them in my cart already. Now that I’m a pretty experienced shopper with them I’ll just be extra careful to not order anything that I might not like to avoid dealing with their customer service or getting VICI credit. I really do hope they carry petite/plus size fashion, and I really hope they come out with a more generous return policy. ASAP.

*UPDATE: 5/30/19 Picked up 2 pairs of denim and loved them both! They were final sale and I took a gamble but they were reallly comfortable and chic-looking! I’ve been eyeing the distressed styles on their site so I’m glad those were a win.

Save Some $:

Even though I’ve had bad experiences with VICI, their prices are just unbeatable if you’re buying from the FINAL SALE section PLUS FREE SHIPPING, no minimum. They don’t ever advertise the free shipping except through Instagram or e-mail so my best suggestion is to subscribe to their e-mails. They sort of spam a lot (literally everyday, sometimes 2x/day), and it can get annoying, but it’s the best way to get notified.

Honest VICI Collection Shopping Experience Review