Unsponsored review of Quince clothing
Top left: Quince linen button up and linen pants in chocolate; top right: Quince linen pants in chocolate; middle: Quince linen shorts in chocolate; bottom: Quince mens merino tshirt, sunglasses.
This post is unsponsored and contains no affiliate links.
I cannot recall ever being more inundated with a brand than I have with Quince - a lot of hype from influencers, including those in the sustainable fashion space. Another direct to consumer company, citing high quality clothing and other goods for a mere fraction of the price of competitors. It sounded too good to be true.
I was specifically looking for linen sets and merino wool pieces, that would be hardwearing and versatile for a month long Europe summer trip. Because of this specific hunt, combined with a generous healthcare worker discount, I decided to place an order with this brand.
The pieces I kept:
100% Merino Wool All-Season Base Layer Tee
100% European Linen Long Sleeve Shirt
100% European Linen High Waisted Short
100% European Linen Pants
Brixton Polarized Acetate Sunglasses
My general thoughts:
100% Merino Wool All-Season Base Layer Tee
I’ve found it hard to find merino wool basics that don’t look like athletic wear clothing. I want the benefits of merino (odor resistant, temperature regulating, somewhat wrinkle resistant) in a tshirt cut for travel; most companies create this garment in more sporty cuts.
I liked the weight and the feel of the Quince merino tshirt. It was soft, but substantial, and not itchy. I ordered 2 colors - black and blue. At the time of writing, Quince only had 3 color options (white, blue, black). The blue is more of a true blue, and doesn’t read as a neutral navy, which I would prefer.
My husband also ordered some in mens: the scoop neck, and the v necks, in various color ways.
Every single shirt in our order, so about 6 or so, had the same glaring issue: the fabric was not cut on the grain. The correct way to cut fabric is on the grain, but this requires more fabric. The reason that this is a big deal is that when the item gets worn and used, the fabric will stretch along the grainline, so the shirt will get lopsidedly worn out, and not lay correctly.
We also found the sizing to be inconsistent. For example: The mens round neck tshirts were too big for my spouse, the mens v necks, in the same size, did fit.
I kept 1 merino tshirt, Joshua kept 2. These items weren’t exactly perfect, but it filled a needed purpose in our wardrobes. If another brand had just a basic tshirt in merino, however, I would have gone with the other brand based on the grain issue alone.
Summary:
fabric not cut correctly when it was patterned
sizing inconsistent between different cuts
lack of color options
color options not to my preference
100% European Linen Long Sleeve Shirt
100% European Linen High Waisted Short
100% European Linen Pants - later returned after wearing
I was initially quite pleased with the linen set I purchased: the long sleeve shirt, shorts, and pants, in the colorway chocolate. I liked the color a lot. I like the fit of the shorts, which is typically a harder item to fit. I liked the pants the least, the fit was a bit tight and short for my liking, but I liked them enough to keep them. The linen was a good weight, not too thin, not too thick. After a single wash (on gentle, with gentle detergent, and then hung dry) the color started to show some mild fading on all three items, and there was some general wear. The appearance of the wear was greater than what I would expect from a singular wash - it looked like it had been worn and washed repeatedly, and looked worn to the point that I would not have purchased the items used if I found at a thrift store. (I wonder if other colors, like white, would wear in the same way? Or if this particular to the brown being a dark color?) I continued to wear all three items (I had brought them on a month long trip). I appreciated the versatility of the pieces, and that I could mix and match them together and with everything I brought, it was a win on the cut and color side. But at the end of the trip, the long pants especially look very worn. I estimate I wore these pants about 3-4 times over the course of a month, each time only washing in washer, and hung to dry. I would not expect pilling of magnitude with only a few wears. It speaks of low quality linen material in my opinion.
Summary:
very early pilling and color fading
Pilling after 3-4 wears.
Brixton Polarized Acetate Sunglasses
What really stood out to me about these sunglasses was that they are polarized lenses for a very affordable price ($50). I’ve also been on the lookout for some clear taupe sunglasses, as most sunglasses are dark brown or black, and can tend to wash me out. These sunglasses are a great color, great shape, and I have enjoyed wearing them. They came in a very nice case as well. I think this was a good purchase.
Items I tried on, but did not keep:
Italian Leather Box Shoulder Bag
Appeared very poor quality - already had indentions and marks from shipping alone; a weird flat texture that looked prone to showing even more marks. Was very stiff, I could imagine that this would be hard to use as a purse.
100% Organic Cotton Eyelet Smocked Midi Dress
Weirdly constructed, a tube with two straps sewn onto it, was ill fitting. Did not appear to have been designed to accomodate a chest.
100% Organic Cotton Gauze Smocked Square Neck Midi Dress
Weirdly constructed, a tube dress with sleeves attached by the edge, was ill fitting. Did not appear to have been designed to accomodate a chest. Could not wear a bra with it.
100% Organic Cotton Fisherman Boxy Cropped Cardigan
I liked the cut of this. The camel color was not for me, it was too close to my skin tone. This arrived with some surface wear, that made me nervous it would not wear/wash well.
Washable Stretch Silk Tiered Maxi Dress
The color and fabric of this were lovely. It is a thin stretchy silk, that looks very pretty, is more light weight. The construction of this garment is rather odd though. The bust was very tight, but the sleeves were too big. If I went up on the size, I would worry that the sleeves would look even more oversized. I think this dress is only for smaller busts. If it fit me better, I would have considered keeping this. Sleeves are never too big for me, so I think something is off about the sleeve size in the overall design.
Tencel Jersey Fit & Flare Mini Dress
Way too thin of material, makes it bunchy when worn. Looks very sloppy.
100% Organic Cotton Striped Crew Sweater
I loved the look of this sweater. Great design, color, and cut, very thick. I wanted to love it. Mine came with a very obvious flaw, a hole in the center, where two tied strands of yarn had come undone. Perhaps this was a one off error in this sweater alone. I was worried about how this sweater would wear/wash.
Mongolian Cashmere Oversized Boyfriend Cardigan Sweater
I got this in a Medium, and I was swimming in it. I would be curious about how a small would fit. The material is thick and feels very nice. There is something not very flattering about the cut, I think that it’s an awkward length. I was nervous about how it would wear/wash. For $140, I thought I could find something else that was cheaper that I was more certain of the quality (like secondhand Vince cashmere for example).
Summary:
dresses are not designed for larger busts
construction is overly simplistic, or odd, and does not account for human form
multiple items arrived damaged
low quality materials
Returns process
I made two different returns: one return of unused items, and one return of the lined pants with pilling. Returns were free and easy. For the faulty pants, I uploaded a picture online, and customer service reviewed it and refunded my order within minutes. Customer service seems to be functioning well, and the return period is very generous.
Transparency
I also find it very perplexing that all the reviews are very high - nearly all 4.7, 4.8 / 5 for every single item. No brand makes 100% 5 star items, and it makes me think that they are paying people for good reviews and/or selectively posting good reviews only. As a consumer, I appreciate reading honest reviews so I can better assess whether a garment will fit my particular needs and concerns.
Overall, the Quince claims felt too good to be true. And from my experience, the quality does not live up to the hype.
I think you might get lucky and find some hidden gems, but the quality and fit is hit or miss. I will be wearing my current pieces until they fully wear out, I do not anticipate being a repeat customer.
