My Honest Reviw of the Bates Sisters Boutique
I came across the Bates Sisters Boutique soon after I started my first “real” office job as a web designer. My wardrobe at the time consisted mostly of college sweatpants and sundresses- neither of which felt like appropriate options for the office. So, I started searching the internet for some cute, modest dresses to wear to work and that’s when I stumbled across the Bates Sisters Boutique.
The shop was still in the early stages at the time, so I’ve been fortunate to watch the brand grow and prosper. As I mentioned earlier, I work as a web designer, so I was overjoyed to see the improvements that took place earlier this year when the shop did a major website remodel. While I was a fan of the brand before all the advancements, I greatly appreciate all the new features and expansions.
“The Bates Sisters’ Boutique was born out of a vision that three sisters had to provide feminine and stylish apparel at a reasonable price. We search and search for great finds that we know will please our customers and not break the bank.” -BatesSistersBoutique.com
The Bates Sisters Boutique is an online women’s clothing store that launched on April 19th, 2019. The shop was founded by three sisters, Whitney Bates, Erin Bates-Paine, and Carlin Bates-Stewart, of the Up TV reality show Bringing Up Bates.
The shop is inclusive to women of all shapes, sizes, and stages of life. Sizes start at 18-24 months and go up to 5XL. They also include maternity and nursing-friendly styles.
The Dresses
Black & White Stripe Hoodie Dress
$21.99
The Mia is easily my favorite BSB purchase so far. I feel like it has such a different fit from the rest of the dresses, and the style is very unique in my opinion. I’ve never owned a dress quite like this one, with the casual hoodie style top. I will admit I was initially concerned that the dress be slightly see-through, given the white stripes, but I’m happy to report that is not the case here! I would imagine that some people won’t like the pocket right over the stomach area on such a form fitting dress, but I haven’t really found it to be too unflattering. I love wearing this dress with my all time favorite shoes- my classic black Vans Perf Leather Slip-Ons. It’s the perfect casual skater dress.
How I Styled It
Mauve Maxi With Side Split
$31.50
There’s a lot that I like, and a lot that I dislike about this dress. Overall, I’m glad that I bought it though. Trust me, this gets PLENTY of use, mostly because of it’s versatility. You could wear the dress as is, at full length, or you could tie a knot at the bottom for a more casual style. You can dress this up with heels for a formal event, but more commonly I wear it with flats or sneakers. I personally wish the dress material wasn’t so thin, because you have be very mindful of what you’re wearing underneath. I’m fairly sure that black underwear would show right through this dress. There are pockets on the dress, which serve as a pro and a con for me. On one hand, they’re POCKETS. But on the other hand, the pocket fabric tends to bunch up in an unflattering way sometimes. I’ve washed this dress half a dozen times already, and it holds up well, so that’s a bonus.
How I Styled It
Navy Sweater Dress
$33.99
This dress is so warm and cozy, it’s my favorite thing to wear on a cold, rainy day when I just want to be comfortable. The full length skirt and long sleeves make this a very modest option, which I’m actually finding tons of use for. I personally feel that there are not many options like this out there for young women. It is assumed that every 20-something wants to wear miniskirts and crop tops. Don’t get me wrong, I own my fair share of short shorts, but I appreciate having the option to cover up and feel a bit more modest on occasion. For that reason, I find this a perfect dress for work. I will admit that I’m not a huge fan of the fabric for this dress. It is 97% polyester, which feels a bit abrasive in my opinion. It’s still a very comfortable dress, that I wear on a regular basis.
How I Styled It
Color Stripe Sweater Dress
$26.50
How fun and unique is this dress? I love color, and I enjoy feeling like I’m wearing something “out of the ordinary.” The fact that it’s knee length makes it appropriate for the office, but it’s also a great weekend dress when you feel like standing out in the crowd.
Stripes seems to make a reoccurring appearance within the Bates Sisters Boutique. While I don’t normally gravitate towards stripes, I’m finding myself branching out with BSB dresses.
How I Styled It
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Shipping & Packaging
The packaging is sweet and simple. The tissue paper and gold “thank you” sticker adds a small personalized touch that reminds you why it’s nice to order from small boutique’s like this.
I haven’t had any issues with my orders so far. Sometimes when I shop online at other stores, I’ll recieve the wrong item, or it’ll be the wrong size, but nothing like that has happened in my experience with the Bates Sisters Boutique.
Inside the package you also receive a return slip and a packing slip, so you don’t have to pay for shipping if you need to make a return.
Based on my experience, it took about 5 days, on average, for the items to be delivered. Of course, this delivery timeline will vary depending on your location, but I was personally very pleased with the speed of delivery. Typically, I would receive the item within the same week that I ordered it. In a society that lives and breathes Amazon Prime, it’s easy to become accustomed to fast, free delivery. The Bates Sisters Boutique maintains fairly reasonable shipping prices though. Based on the three separate orders I’ve placed, the cost of shipping averaged out to $6.19.
Item Availability
Since the Bates Sisters Boutique isn’t a massive corporation, certain styles do tend to go out of stock fairly quickly. Although, if you have your heart set on an item that’s out of stock, you can enter your email and receive a notification when that item becomes available again. They do announce restocks and new arrivals on social media, which is extremely helpful.
I’ve found that most items have a limited lifespan on the site. Products are removed from the site fairly regularly and may not return for quite some time. During the time it took me to research and write this article, all of the dress that I featured were taken off the site. (Which is why I am unable to link to the exact dress in my reviews). While it may be frustrating at times, the shop is constantly circulating in new styles and keeping things fresh. I just sometimes wish I was able to reorder old favorites.
Return Policy
I haven’t had to utilize the return policy yet (*knocks on wood*) but they do accept returns with 15 days of purchase. Click here to read their full return policy.
Overall Ratings
Never had any issues recieving my packages in a reasonable amount of time. I just wish the shipping costs were was slightly less pricey, especially when I’m ordering multiple dresses.
All of the dresses hold up well in the wash. Some of them I’ve even put through the dryer without any issues. (I mostly hang them up to air dry). I wish the fabric was slightly softer for The Jessica, and I’d enjoy The Sydney more if the fabric wasn’t so thin.
As someone who has been avidly perusing this shop since day one, I’ve been The Bates Sisters Boutique expand into several different style options. For example, The Mia and The Erica really stand out to me and offer an edgier side. I do wish they offered some more tops and skirts though. I sometimes feel limited to dresses on this shop. (Update June, 2023: Their variety has greatly expanded into tops, skirts, pants, and even accessories, since this review was originally written)
The site has always functioned properly for me, without a single hiccup, which is great. I’ve built e-commerce sites at work before and I know how it can be to work out all the kinks in a retail site, but they nailed it with BSB. Although, I would enjoy the capability to “favorite” items or create a wish list.
No complaints here. There was clearly a good amount of thought that went into the packaging here, and I really appreciate the small details. Packaging gets a perfect score for being sweet and simple.
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