It’s not always easy to find the time and energy to go shopping in person, especially with the rise of online retailers. Services like Nadine West and Stitch Fix have you take a style quiz, then based on your answers, ship a selection of clothes directly to your home so you can try them on and style them with your favorite clothes. Nadine West specializes in clothes ranging from around $10 to $30 dollars: around the cost of dining out.
In my Nadine West bag, I received 2 stretchy dresses, 3 flowy tops, 1 tight black top, 2 pairs of leggings, and 2 pieces of jewelry. None of the items really fit my style, but I liked trying out the dresses because they were way out of my usual comfort zone but still flattering.
What We Like About Nadine West
There were a lot of things to like about my Nadine West experience.
First, they give you a pretty wide selection of clothes in each bag. I got 10 items total, with a pretty neat breakdown between different items: 4 tops, 2 leggings, 2 dresses, one bracelet, and one pair of earrings.
Nadine West keeps their clothes at an affordable price. They advertise most of their items as falling between $10 and $30. A few of my items were $40, but overall they are definitely much more affordable than the clothes I get from other try-on services.
The service is a small company, and they add a lot of personal touches and care for each subscriber. They gave me a phone call asking if I had any questions and emailed instructions on every step of the process.
The clothes were all comfortable, casual pieces that I imagine are perfect for a lot of subscribers.
What We Don’t Like About Nadine West
There are a few areas where Nadine West didn’t wow me.
Some of the pieces felt a little cheap. There’s always a compromise when you’re looking for the most affordable clothes, but I felt like with a little hunting, I could find similar pieces for a lower price at discount stores. If you’re short on time, though, the convenience could be worth the slightly higher price.
The clothes that Nadine West sent just did not match my style at all. I personally hate wearing stretchy, flowy clothes, and that’s pretty much all they sent me. I can imagine those outfits working well for some subscribers, but it’s just not for me.
I’m not sure if it’s an incompatibility between me and the service or if it’s just that the styling quiz didn’t work out well for me. Either way, I don’t think I would try another Nadine West bag. I think the service could definitely work for other people, though.
Blue Cold Shoulder Dress
This dress is a gorgeous royal blue and hits about knee length. It’s made of a thin, drapey knit fabric. The fabric is a little too thin and clingy for my taste.
When I saw this dress in the bag, I immediately thought: not interested. I’ve never worn a cold shoulder dress or shirt intentionally. This dress surprised me, though. I like the combination of shoulder cutouts and flared sleeves. It gives off kind of a fantasy vibe with the draping and sleeves!
Patterned Leggings
I did say I like bold patterns in my styling quiz, but I admit this isn’t what I had in mind. The geometric pattern looks cooler than I expected, though, especially with an edgy top. I’m not sure these leggings would hold up to workouts or athletic use, but they’d probably be great for brunch and downtime.
Printed Mesh Shrug
This shrug is made of a fine mesh with a floral print. It’s a draped little top layer that I think would look great over a summery dress or t-shirt and shorts. I folded it over itself for the picture, but you could wear it open, too.
This item is described as “Flutter Kimono” and at $40, it’s tied with the blue dress for the most expensive item. That’s more than I would pay for something like this, honestly.
Wine Keyhole Top
I didn’t mention liking flowy styles or cutouts in my styling quiz, but Nadine West decided that I love them, haha. I love this cranberry color (Nadine West’s site calls it “wine”) and honestly, it’s a very flattering and low-maintenance style.
Even after several days all rolled up in transit, the soft, knit fabric is totally ready to wear with only a few small winkles. The tunic length felt awkward to me, but it’s perfect with leggings.
Gray Dress
This gray, empire-waist dress is made of the same stretchy knit polyester as most of the other items in my bag. This is another item that definitely isn’t my style but is more flattering than I expected. Kudos to the stylist for broadening my horizons!
The dress has small pockets you can use to keep keys or other small items. They’re definitely not big enough for a phone or wallet, but they could still come in handy.
Black Astronomy Shirt
This is my favorite shirt from the package. Another keyhole, this time at the front and the back. I like the astronomy-inspired print and the cut of this tank top. I could have lived without the cutouts, though. This shirt feels better for summer wear than winter, and I kind of wish Nadine West had sent me some sweaters or something.
Eggplant Top
I wasn’t sure how to wear this shirt, so I tried pulling it down and wearing it at the waist. I think it looks a little better pulled down. I do like the color! I like the pleats at the neck, but I’m not so sure about the waistband. That part feels a little dated to me and keeps this from being a basic staple piece I could wear all the time.
Black and Red Leggings
These leggings were very small and calf-length. I’m not sure this photo does justice to how very small they looked compared to me! I decided not to try and wiggle into these and instead show them like this. I like the color gradient, but these are the kind of very tight and stretchy leggings I always avoid.
Gold-toned Earrings
These French hook earrings give me a boho feel. I didn’t put them on since I don’t plan on buying them. These earrings just aren’t my style and I don’t see them fitting into my wardrobe at all.
Gold-Toned Bracelet
This gold-toned bracelet has white and blue stones. I’ll be honest: I couldn’t figure out how to open the clasp on this bracelet, and I didn’t want to risk breaking it. It seemed a little delicate, and it also seemed like it might be too small for my wrist, so I photographed it like this instead.
It’s cute and delicate, but not my style.
Final Thoughts
To give an honest Nadine West review, I can say that it is designed with affordability in mind. They select between 4 and 14 items that match your style profile and send them so you can try them on. They only charge for shipping, and you can send back anything you don’t like.
The styling for my bag didn’t reflect the kind of clothes I actually wear at all. Some of the items felt a little cheap. I wouldn’t try Nadine West again, because I think they just don’t have what I’m looking for.
I didn’t have to deal with Nadine West customer service this time around so I can’t really comment on whether that is a factor here. You can look at some of our other honest Nadine West reviews to get a better idea of their customer service.
Nadine West does accomplish its goal of making it more convenient to shop and try out clothes, though. Since the styling fee for your first shipment is free, it’s not too risky to try out a Nadine West box. If you like the styles I showed here, you’re probably a good fit for this service! I think Nadine West works best if you need comfortable and reasonably-priced clothes but don’t have time to shop.
If that’s not you, I would recommend trying one of the other fashion subscription services we have reviewed, like Stitch Fix.
