Luxe Gold

Posted on June 13, 2016

I had initially written an anguished post about the events that unfolded on Sunday morning in Orlando, but after reading it several times, I realized it just made me feel even sadder and more helpless. So instead, I’m going to publish the post that I had originally scheduled for this morning, and ask that if your heart is aching as mine has been to offer some kind of assistance to the victims and their families, please consider donating to the Pulse Victims Fund on GoFundMe, or visit this post on Strawberry Singh’s blog where she has graciously outlined various ways people can help. My heart, my thoughts, and all my love goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy. My dearest hope when we begin to rebuild and heal is that we can all unite around a common desire for peace, acceptance, respect, and equality. We won’t get there in a day, but in the words of Lao Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

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There are only two days left to sign up for the June round of the Luxe Box (sign-ups close at 11:59pm SLT on June 14th), and I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts. I’m featuring one of the lovely items that came in May’s box, the Verna Dress by Tee*fy, which I really adore. It’s a simple design done exceptionally well, and I think that really exemplifies much of what we found in the inaugural Luxe Box. Nothing too fancy or thematic; just high quality, beautiful, easy-to-wear clothing with a value far beyond the initial sign-up cost of L$1000. (The box also contained a number of wonderful non-clothing items, but I will always personally get the most use out of wearables, so that’s what I’m focusing on where the value is concerned.)

The June round of the Luxe Box is L$1500, which means it increased in price by 50% over last month. Predictably, this caused some irritation amongst people in the Blueberry group, and I ended up turning off instant messaging in the group settings, because I just didn’t wish to see the complaints go further. The wonderful collective of designers behind the Luxe Box are happy to accept constructive comments and feedback; this actually led to a few designers graciously sending out updated items with more color options last month. But complaints over the unknown contents of the box prior to joining the group, and of course the cost to the end user, could have only been frustrating and discouraging for the designers and organizers to deal with. After all, potential consumers of the Luxe Box will assign value in different ways, and here is my mode of thinking:

I really adore the brand Blueberry, and if I had the funds, I would very likely buy and frequently wear about 75% of the items in their store. At Blueberry, fatpacks for newly-released items typically sell for around L$1299, and they are one of the brands that I believe have confirmed that they plan on providing full fatpacks in their Luxe Box offerings. So if there’s a 75% chance that the item that Blueberry includes in the Luxe Box is something I would happily buy for L$1299, then at the current purchase cost of L$1500, I’m only spending L$201 more for 11 additional items from the other participating designers, many of which are also brands I love. Sold!

If you’re new to the concept of the Luxe Box, or you’re still pondering whether to join for the next round, that would be my recommendation for assessing the value if you’re unsure about the cost. You might have a different favorite brand from the line-up (and you can always find out which designers are participating in the next round on the Luxe Box website), so use that favorite designer of yours as a jumping off point. But most importantly, have fun with it; remember that much of the delight in the subscription box model is the surprise factor, and the allure of the unknown. And it won’t be for everybody; just like I rarely play gachas, some people aren’t particularly keen on winding up with inventory items they may never use.

But there’s also terrific news for those who prefer to wait and see what a box contained: all previously-released Luxe Boxes are available to purchase at the in-world location beginning on the 1st of every month. You must join the Luxe Box group to be able to purchase them, and they will cost L$2000 above and beyond the group joining fee. (Ex: If you’re interested in purchasing the May 2016 box, you will need to join the June Luxe Box group for L$1500, visit the in-world boutique, and purchase the May box for L$2000.) It’s clearly much more economical to just join the group each month and get the box at its lowest going rate, but if you happen to miss one, I think it’s brilliant that this second-chance option is being provided.

So are you going to be receiving the June Luxe Box? What did you think of the May offerings? I’d love to know your thoughts! ♡

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