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It’s that time of year again! After the success of last year, I was excited to place my order for a mystery box or two! I actually noticed the dates a few days before, so made a mental note and as soon as the date arrived, I ordered a tops box and a classic outfitting box. The tops box was $68 (I’ve forgotten what this was valued at), and classic styles was $148 (valued at up to $378). I ordered them on 15th Feb as part of the “VIP early access list” and they arrived 1st March via USPS.
In the first year I ordered a mystery box, there was supposed to be a survey to get an idea of what you liked but that never happened. Last year, there was a survey that popped up straight away but this year there was no mention of a survey and the only thing I think there was preference choice on was the tops box whether you liked v necks or round necks (I’m fairly sure I chose round necks, so as you’ll see from what I got, that wasn’t really paid attention to!). As I mentioned over on Instagram, this year felt more like a lucky dip rather than a curated choice.
So, here’s what I got…
I’m going to assume that this is what I received in my tops box, I’ve tried to find links to the same or similar items to give a comparison
| Item | Linked Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Crew Neck Dolman Sleeve Top – Oil Green | Dolman Top * | $68 |
| MB Tank Top – Black | Tank Tops Page * | $44 |
| Cap Sleeve Tee Rex – Navy Peony | Cap Sleeve Tee Rex * | $48 |
| Total | $160 |
This is what I’m assuming was in the classic outfit box, again with links to similar items for costing purposes
| Item | Linked Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Full placket Knit Elbe – Mahogany Rose | Knit Elbe * | $80 |
| Double V Sweater – Black | Sweaters Page * | $88 |
| Pull on Cigarette – Maritime Blue | Cigarette Pants * | $128 |
| Total | $296 |
So, what are my feelings this year?
Meh. Like, I didn’t hate the things I got, but none of the colours I got are ones I would choose to wear (besides black, of course) The clothes still seem to be great quality, but when I was putting this post together, I was surprised to see that the pink shirt I received was the same name as the black shirt I received last year, because there are little features that I love in the older style that haven’t come through to this one (I’m thinking about the boob poppers, where there are popper buttons between the three buttons that go over the breast area)
The way that the sale was marketed was pretty frustrating as well – I made sure to get my order in quickly under the VIP release and thought I was getting in early with the most choices, but then they kept sending emails out to release new boxes. If they had shown all of these items under the early release, then I would have been tempted to get one but once I’d placed my order, that was it! (and they even released more boxes a few weeks later)
As for value for money, I think I did well again – $160 worth of items for $68, and $296 worth for $148 is a great deal, but is it such a good deal if I don’t care too much about 2/3rds of the boxes? Last year I was pretty emphatic about ordering again this year, but this year I’m wavering. I probably won’t be as eagerly awaiting the release in 2023.
(want to see my previous Universal Standard Mystery Box Review posts? Just click that link and see the past few years!)