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Much of the Eastern third of the USA is being battered by freezing rain, snow and hail right now, so it’s time to distract ourselves with a dose of the pretties! Free People has unveiled its March new arrivals and I’m sighing with happiness. There are tons of new items I want.
With its clear point of view and consistent stylings Free People continues to please and delight. Though I can’t say that every piece is highly wearable or universally flattering they keep drawing me in with beautiful details and subtle boho stylings that translate well to my own preppy chic aesthetic. The versatility of pieces like the Love To Love You Midi Dress ($128) and the Secret Origins Pieced Lace Tunic ($128) that can be worn as a shirt or a dress or the Thats A Wrap Solid Top ($68) which can be worn under or over things yield an unexpected utility through enticing design.
Who doesn’t smile at dresses the color of sunshine with ruffles and tulip hems to delight? I’m enjoying their takes on peasant dresses and embroidery too — on dresses and jeans and such. But it’s not all lightweight; there are plenty of jackets and layering pieces too among the new items as a reminder that temperatures have not hit their warmest levels yet.
In the accessories section I’ve been very happy with pickups like this necklace, which I now own in two colors and these sandals which have just the right amount of shine.
Whatever your pleasure, Free People probably has something that will make you smile among its newest stuff. Below, my picks from the new and in a Facebook post today I shared my sale picks too. Have you liked my blog page on Facebook? I’m making exclusive sale + offer posts there, and sharing funny articles every so often too! Follow along and comment too when the mood strikes you.
I really love Free People clothing and accessories but I find that their colours are often not as depicted on their website and their warehouse quality control is the worst. I just ordered a $600 jacket and it arrived with no tag and possibly washed as it had lost all its structure, was wrinkled and the stitching was loose. Not acceptable! Before that, I ordered a vest and a t-shirt arrived in a bag with the sticker for the vest. It was clearly the wrong item. I am loathe to ever make an online order again. It is a shame because so much of what is available online is not in the Canadian stores.
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Oh lulu I am so saddened to read this! I feel you on this though, I do place a lot of online orders with Free People but whenever possible I try to go to the store first to make sure the quality is good and the item matches IRL how it looks on the website. Much like Anthropologie I'm frequently frustrated that so many of the FP items seem to be online only. In NYC for example we have 4 FP stores in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn, and they all seem to carry nearly the same items! Why not have some more product coverage spread around the various locations?? It makes so little sense to me from a strategic point of view.
It sounds like some of the same quality control issues plaguing Anthropologie are also an issue for FP, which makes sense since they're both under the same parent company in Urban Outfitters. Still, I'd hope for better than what you're reporting.
Thanks Roxy. I know. It is very disappointing. I rarely place any Anthro online orders for the same reason. I am sure that working in the warehouse is a fairly thankless job but, seriously, they could do better. It also really irks me that it costs me time and money to return the items that arrive in this condition.
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I don't know about that, as jobs go a warehouse worker gets paid pretty well and because the position is in high demand (especially around the holidays!) there are plentiful bonus opportunities. I have two cousins who work in warehouses and they both enjoy it quite a bit.
Truly I think the issue is quality control. All warehouses need it no matter how good the staff is. And that is one area where we know Urban Outfitters has been cutting corners for years now. I still have enough wins at Free People that it's worth it to me…but I completely understand how frustrating it must be in a no-store zone.
Who knew? I am glad to hear that the job isn't as thankless as I imagined it to be. Yes, Urban Outfitters needs to step up their quality control for sure. I don't do much online shopping but I have never had this issues with any other company. I have been particularly impressed by the Free People offerings this past year or so and, for that reason, I am very disappointed. The silver lining is that it will curb my spending so I will be saving money!
Really loving Free People sweaters lately. I'm not much into the boho style so FP hasn't been on my radar until this years sweaters.
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Interesting! It's true that FP is very boho and that's their main appeal but I've always felt they have some preppy chic to them too.