Originally Posted by meaganola /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Okay, fellow fat chicks, Outrage Letter composed. I'm debating sending it as is or toning it down. Even though I was prepared for this box, as I was writing this, I found myself on the verge of tears. It's really dredging up some shit I wasn't aware was there for me. I really don't want to cancel, but if this is the beginning of a trend and not a lesson learned to not send this stuff, I'll have to cancel because this is just too much *stuff* for me to receive when I can't use it (you do *not* want to see my spare room. I'm not a hoarder as much as I am someone who can't toss something out if it's still usable).
Hello --
I just received my February box, and I'm verging on canceling out of rage, and I wanted to explain why.
Okay. With the socks in October's box, I could *just* wear them. I have size 10 feet, but by some miracle, the medium socks *just* fit. But I have a hard time getting socks in general that fit, so I could dismiss that as just what happens when you have canoes instead of feet (and when you're 5'9", you *need* larger feet, so that works out). The StyleMint code in the November box was disappointing until I realized that it worked with JewelMint. The Gorjana bracelet in the November box was two inches too short for me, but I convinced myself that this size-dependent issue was an anomaly and didn't write to point out that THIS BRACELET DOES NOT WORK FOR PLUS-SIZED CUSTOMERS. It is still sitting in its box unused because I don't know anyone else who it would fit. December was great because nothing was size-dependent, and the watch in the January box fits. My watch didn't light up, but I did receive a replacement, and that was fantastic.
However. This brings me to January. A spa wrap that I'm not even opening becuase I've done some research on it and have discovered barely fits around a 36D chest (I'm 42D) and size 16 hips (I'm… decidedly not a size 16), never mind the length (boobs + butt + hips = does not cover anything important)? A so-called one-size-fits-all thong -- except "all" only includes sizes 4 to 14? I would have been more than happy to use a code to ensure that I would be able to get one that actually *fits*, but as it stands, this smacks of all of those catty girls in high school who giggle and say, "But it's one size fits all! What do you mean it doesn't fit *you*?" This is flat-out insulting, and to be honest, it's verging on enraging, especially since this arrived on Valentine's Day. All this says to me is, "Of *course* you're a single fortysomething with two cats. You're fat. This is your lot in life.. Eat some chocolate and shut up. That's what your kind does." The retail value of the items in this box I can use (ignoring the fact that I despise Nicholas Sparks with a flaming passion equalled only by my hatred of Stephanie Meyers) is barely $35, and that's not even touching the fact that all I can think of are those witchy high school girls that snicker at the fact that *gasp* I'm not stick-thin. I'm 41. I should be past this, but I'm not, and whenever I get a box like this one, I'm reminded of the fact that I'm excluded. This sure as hell isn't like getting a taxi in the rain. THis is more like an empty cab speeding by you, splashing you with muddy icy water, and having the cab driver *laugh* at you while holding up his phone to make sure he has something to post on YouTube.
I've been an enthusiastic subscriber since the very first box, and at that time, it appeared that there would specifically *not* be anything size-dependent like a wrap bracelet, a spa wrap, or underwear, but this is turning out to be not the case, and the inclusion of these items is insulting and demeaning. For the sake of keeping your plus-size subscribers, please stop with size-specific items ("one size fits all" is a *lie*, regardless of what your suppliers might tell you) and find someone who is at least a size 20 to help weed this crap out. Size 14 people might be able to shop at Lane Bryant, but size 20 people cannot shop at Forever 21, The Gap, H&M, Chico's, Guess, Juicy, Ann Taylor, J.Crew -- and that's just the stores at the small mall by my office. We are limited to a very small handful of shops and *one* small section of Nordstrom/Macy's/etc., usually tucked far back in a corner and holding *maybe* a quarter of the variety of the other misses/juniors/sportswear/etc. sections -- if we're lucky. We like subscription boxes because, as a rule, they have nothing to do with size. This month's box is just one more reminder that we're not worthy of being allowed to spend money at these establishments or with these retailers, and if this continues, POPSUGAR is in danger of landing on this list, and that would really be a shame since last year's boxes (except November with the bracelet debacle) were really great. I just can't justify spending $36 a month on a box and *hoping* that I'll be able to use it enough items from it to equal the value of the box, especially when all I can hear are those snickering witches who picked things out *knowing* that not everyone can fit in them.
Thank you,
-- meagan
ETA: On the up side, I received the lip stain in Crush. I think that's probably the best color for me that they make. Time to look up swatches to see whether I want to put this up for swap.
/emoticons/
