Jessica London

Full review
It’s really difficult for me to buy clothes. I have to try every single item on even if it’s the same item just in different colors. I’m short and round and busty and hardly anything off the rack fits me right. While chatting with some other vertically and horizontally friends and ShLEps, someone suggested I try Jessica London. I checked out the site a few days later and placed an order that I was very happy with. I’ve since shopped three more times and have been very happy with nearly everything I’ve ordered.



About Jessica London

From jessicalondon.com: For almost 10 years, Jessica London® has brought quality career, casual and special occasion fashion, plus classic, easy-to-wear separates, comfortable lingerie and sleepwear to women sizes 14W to 34W, including petites and talls; plus shoes to size 12, including a special collection of wide widths. To look great, clothes and shoes have to fit properly... and that's what Jessica London® does best.

Jessica London® - true fit... true value... true style, since 1997..



The website

The Jessica London homepage displays the current online specials, new items and promotional offers. The user can view the specifics by clicking on the picture or text associated with each special. The homepage also displays links to the major shopping categories on the site. They are New Arrivals, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Outerwear, and Clearance. Click on each category heading to see the items that fall within that category.

If you’re looking for a specific item, there are two quick and easy methods for finding it on jessicalondon.com. First is to enter a keyword in the Product Search field and clicking the Go button. For example, enter blue sweater into the field and click Go. The product database is searched for your entry and anything that matches will be displayed. If you happen to know the item number from a paper catalog, you can enter that into the Order From Catalog field and clicking the Go button. That specific item will be displayed if it is still available.



My latest order

I had received a catalog and saw a pink twinset that I just had to have. I searched for that by item number and clicked the Go button to go directly to it. I selected color, size and quantity from the drop-down lists and clicked the Add to Shopping Bag button to add the item to my cart. I also browsed the clearance section where I found some great tops on sale in a big way so I added several of those to my bag as well. I really like that Jessica London sells fashionable clothes. Some companies seem to think that big girls should just give up and drape themselves in floral moomoos or matronly clothing so it's refreshing to see cute, fashionable clothes that younger women are interested in wearing. They have everything from jeans and shorts to formal wear.



Checkout

When I was finished shopping, I clicked on the Shopping Bag link to view the contents of my bag and then clicked the Checkout button to place my order. The first screen that displays is the shipping information screen. As a returning customer who was already logged into my account, I have the option of selecting my billing address on file which automatically populates the billing address into the shipping address fields. Or if the order is to be shipped elsewhere, select New Address from the drop-down to manually add the other address. You can even opt to ship some items to one address and others to a separate address.



Shipping

The next step in the checkout process is the shipping screen. From this screen you can choose from three shipping options – Standard, Express, or Super-Fast. Standard shipping states that your order will arrive within 10 business days, Express is 3-4 days for an extra $7.99, and Super-Fast is 2 days and costs $16.99 more. I opted for the Standard shipping which was $9.99 and clicked the Continue button to finish checking out. My last order was placed on January 31, shipped on February 2, and delivered by UPS to my front door on the morning of February 7.



Payment

The next screen in the process is the payment screen where there are a number of options from which to choose. Jessica London accepts a TON of different credit cards. The big four - Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express are accepted, as well as the following: Jessica London, Woman Within, Lane Bryant, Roaman’s, King Size, Chadwick’s, Metrostyle, La Redoute, and Brylane Home. You can also pay by Jessica London gift card or merchandise credit.

When checkout is completed, an order summary is displayed on screen and an email is sent to the email address on file. The email contains all order information as well as a link so you can track your order as it travels to its final destination.



Packaging

Orders from jessicalondon.com arrive in thick plastic bags that are cobalt blue in color. I’ve never ordered shoes or anything large but I would imagine they would arrive in some sort of box. The individual items were wrapped in plastic bags and taped shut. The clothes within the bags were folded neatly and had either a piece of cardboard tucked inside to keep the folded shape or tissue to prevent wrinkling.



Other cool things on the site


Size chart – click this link to see sizing for women’s petite, average, and tall sizes.

Fashion glossary – Clicking this link launches a new window that displays a glossary of fashion terms, such as appliqué, basque waist, camp pockets, or dolman sleeve. This is a really nice feature that I’ve never seen on any other site.

Online catalog – click this link to shop from the online version of the paper catalog that is sent to customer’s via snail mail.

Order status – Click this link to see the status of current or past orders. You will be required to either log into your account or know your order number and zip code to access this information.

My Promotions – Click the My Promotions link on the homepage to see special promotions for account holders. You need to be logged into your account to see these promotions.

Email sign up – enter your email address into this field to receive emails about special promotions and sales

Wish list – While shopping on JessicaLondon.com you can add items to your wish list and forward the wish list to friends and family via email.





Returns

If you are unsatisfied with your purchase it can be returned to Jessica London for a full refund (minus shipping). Returns are easy. Two of the items from a recent order didn’t fit quite right as I’m a difficult fit. I’m short, hippy, and busty and the two wrap tops just didn’t fit right so I returned them and it couldn’t have been easier. I simply circled the reason for return (bust too small, arms too long) on the return form that was enclosed in my order and placed it back in the bag with the items to be returned. After taping the bag closed I affixed the return shipping label to the bag and placed it out on my porch. A quick call to the UPS dispatch center was made and the next day the UPS man picked it up while working his regular route. A few weeks later the refund, minus the $6 fee for UPS return shipping, was credited to my credit card account.


Dislikes

One thing I dislike about Jessica London is that the prices are a bit high. The pink twinset I purchased consisted of a pink zippered cardigan that was $39.99 and matching cami which was $19.99. Normally I’d walk away from a $60 twinset but I found a coupon code online for 30% off my highest priced item which brought the total down to $48. Still a little pricey but I really liked the twinset as it was more unique than anything I’ve seen in retail stores. Having said all that, everything I have purchased from Jessica London is made from high quality materials with good workmanship. All garments have held up nicely against lots of washing and wearing so they have been well worth the price. Other reviewers have commented that the clothes are low quality. Either I have different standards or have just been lucky or picky with what I have ordered but I’ve been quite happy with all but two items that I purchased. The two tops I didn’t like just didn’t fit right. The material was thick and high quality.

The thing I dislike most about Jessica London are the skinny models. I’m not jealous or anything like that, but if you’re selling clothes to the plus-size consumer, it might be a good idea to have a few plus-size models in the catalog. Jessica London sells clothes for sizes 14 and up but none of the models is larger than a size 8 or 10 so of course they look wonderful in them. I want to see models who look like me. I want to see how the size 18 model’s curvy hips, bust, and booty look in the clothes so I know how they’re likely to fit on me.



Bottom line

I have placed four orders on JessicaLondon.com and have been happy with each one. Ordering is easy and there are always coupon codes available to bring down the price. Nothing has been out of stock and shipping is fast.


Jessica London®
P.O. Box 4400
Taunton, MA 02780-0318
(800) 677-0357