The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Adventures in Online Shopping: Sole Society




Back in March, I reported that members-only shopping site Hautelook had launched a shoe boutique called Sole Society, which offers members their choice of a new pair of shoes each month for $49.95 (includes shipping).

I was skeptical at first (when am I not skeptical) because when you do the math, if you bought one pair of shoes each month for a year, you'd have spent $600 on shoes. That's not exactly chump change for most of us. Then again, shopping habits have changed a lot in recent years and many of us buy a lot of shoes over the course of a year, and when you think about it, $50 isn't a ton of money to spend on a pair of genuine leather shoes (which Sole Society offers).

Anyways, I debated whether or not I would try them out, and finally decided it was worth a go for the sake of writing this review. When you sign up with the site, you fill out a quick survey to define your style profile, then Sole Society recommends 6 pairs of shoes you might like. If you don't like the initial recommendations, you can request a new batch which can take up to 24 hours (I didn't keep track of my "closet" recs but it didn't take a full day, maybe a couple hours).

You're under no obligation to make a purchase and can opt to skip a month at anytime, however, if you don't skip a month, your credit card will be charged and you will rack up $49.95 in Sole Society credits which can be redeemed at any time. This bothered me because I'm sure I'll forget to opt out one month, but the good news is that you can only be charged a maximum of three months, and your credits won't expire for one full year. So as long as you stay on top of things, you should be okay. (If you have any doubts, don't do it - you know yourself better than anyone!)


{totally retouched casual outfit photo}


Through Sole Society's referral program, I earned enough credits to get one pair of shoes from Sole Society, so I took scooped up the pair of red sandals shown above to see what the quality was like in person. I really do like the shoes I got this month, they're unique and well made and really quite comfortable. I wore them for the Fourth of July with a striped Lucky Brand tank dress and got lots of compliments. They're easy to dress up or down and the fit was true to size.

I think Sole Society will be a great fit for certain customers - if you love shoes and buy new pairs often, you'll like Sole Society. Since I used credits, I will speak to the quality and say that the pair I got seems comparable to Nine West. Can you find shoes for less? Sure. If you hit the sales racks at Macy's you can usually find shoes for $40 - $50. Marshalls and T.J. Maxx are both great places to get name brands for around $30 to $40.

What Sole Society offers is convenience, that fun "insider" feel and the joy of getting a new pair of shoes shipped to your doorstep. If these things appeal to you, I'd recommend giving Sole Society a look.

Have you purchased shoes from Sole Society? Would you recommend them to a friend?
Comments
I love Sole Society! Sure, their shoes are a little pricey, but I've also seen enough of them in person to vouch for their quality. I'm also a huge fan of the Sandras (that you ordered) and try my hardest not to wear them every single day. Great and informative post!

XXo,
Neekoh
#1 Neekoh (Homepage) on 2011-07-05 14:29 (Reply)
thanks for the great feedback. i have seen a lot of bloggers rocking sole society's shoes which definitely played a role in my decision to try them out. i've worn the sandras three days in a row now, they match everything!
#1.1 The Budget Babe on 2011-07-05 18:30 (Reply)
thanks for the feedback. i've passed on it mostly because i'm all about scoping out a better deal. don't like that it's a fixed price in this instance (esp. if it's a nine west-type quality. good but not amazing!).
#2 alyson (Homepage) on 2011-07-11 17:03 (Reply)
Question- is there a brand name with these shoes? Or are they "sole society" branded? There were a couple of shoes I saw on there that I swear I had seen before- identical patterns.
#3 Jeannine on 2012-03-19 08:52 (Reply)
All my Sole Society shoes say "Marco Santi."
#3.1 The Budget Babe on 2012-03-19 18:57 (Reply)
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