I recently won a $100 Tea Collection gift certificate from a giveaway hosted by HoboMama. I promptly went shopping. Combined with a 10% off my first purchase coupon, my gift certificate bought me four adorable outfits for my baby girl for only $13.65. I bought the Sedap Malam Baby Dress for $30.00, the Lotus Batik Romper for $30.00, the Botanic Garden 2-Piece Set for $39.00, and the Etla Stripe Baby Dress on sale for $19.50. I bought all four outfits in size 6-9 months, which fits a child between fifteen and eighteen pounds.
Upon receiving my order, I was highly impressed by the quality of the clothing. Unlike some clothes that I have bought for my daughter in stores, none of the pieces that I purchased from Tea had any lose strings. I therefore did not have to worry about seams coming undone after my daughter wore each outfit for the first time.
Immediately after opening up my order and removing my purchases from their packings, I washed all four outfits. I followed the directions on each tag, which indicated that most of the clothes should be washed inside out with like colors. I went ahead and washed all four outfits together in the same load. I used cold water and the delicate cycle on my washing machine. I used my regular laundry detergent. After the washing machine had finished, I threw all four outfits in my dryer for twenty minutes. I am pleased to report that all four outfits look absolutely the same after their first wash.
The quality of the clothing that I bought for my daughter from Tea is also very high in general. I pulled and stretched the pieces gently to simulate the wear and tear that the clothing will go through as my daughter wears each outfit. All four pieces held up to my abuse.
As far as pricing goes, all of the outfits that I bought from Tea cost a bit more than I would usually spend on baby clothes. However, at $30.00 for a dress and matching bloomers, the Sedap Malam Baby Dress, for example, is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive outfit that I could buy for my daughter. The quality of this clothing line, though, definitely outweighs the price. I would definitely consider buying more pieces from Tea for my daughter in the future despite the higher cost of the clothes compared to other retailers.
I do have two complaints about my experience shopping from Tea. First, when I tried to pay for my order online using my credit card, I received a fraud notice. When I called my credit card company, Chase told me that the order had been accepted even though my online Tea account claimed otherwise. The order was therefore cancelled. When I contacted Tea the next day, I was told to put my order through again. The same problem with processing my credit card occurred. Finally I gave up and paid for my order using PayPal, which worked fine. At the time of my purchase, Tea was experiencing problems with processing credit cards online. I am not sure if this problem has been fixed.
Second, I was displeased with the amount of plastic packaging that my order came in. When I received my packaged, I noticed that the bag in which all my clothing was sent in was reusable. All I had to do was open the bag correctly, and then I could reuse the plastic bag. I at first thought that Tea was concerned with reducing its amount of plastic waste. However, I was saddened to see that each outfit that I bought was individually packaged in another plastic bag. The waste was a little ridiculous. Hopefully Tea can figure out how to sent its clothing to consumers in a less wasteful fashion in the future.
All in all, however, I am extremely pleased with my experience buying designer baby girl clothes online from the Tea Collection. I am in particular delighted with the quality of the clothing that I bought for my daughter. I am excited for her to wear each piece later this spring and summer. I will definitely consider buying her more outfits from Tea in the future.
For more information or to make a purchase, visit the Tea Collection website via my affiliate link.
Image Credits
Review of Designer Baby Girl Clothes from Tea Collection © 2012 Heather Johnson
Sedap Malam Baby Dress © 2012 Heather Johnson
Lotus Batik Romper © 2012 Heather Johnson
Botanic Garden 2-Piece Set © 2012 Heather Johnson
Etla Stripe Baby Dress (Matching Bloomers Not Pictured) © 2012 Heather Johnson
Infant Wearing the Sedap Malam Baby Dress © 2012 James Johnson
Infant Wearing the Lotus Batik Romper © 2012 James Johnson
Infant Wearing the Botanic Garden 2-Piece Set © 2012 James Johnson
Infant Wearing the Etla Stripe Baby Dress © 2012 James Johnson
