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Troubles with Torrid

Posted in Non-Stationery Reviews

I tend not to write about negative experiences if possible, as I prefer to dwell on the positive. However, in this case, it’s more of an annoyance and inconvenience. Also, I hope this post will help other who are considering purchasing from this store.

Until recently, Torrid was my favorite clothing store. I could purchase anything, online or in-store, without having to worry about sizing. The clothes were well-made, so I knew I’d get my money’s worth. And the general look and styles fit my personal preference.

I purchased so much from them that I hit the platinum level of their points system. Torrid was almost the only store I shopped for clothing from.

However, my most recent purchases have been major failures. The fit has been horribly inconsistent, and the quality seems to have gone down a bit. Allow me to share my most recent fit failures. Don’t want to read the backstory? Just jump down to the wrap up.

Jeans Dilemma

I’ve purchased three pairs of Torrid’s boyfriend jeans over the years, always size 12, as the boyfriend cut runs large. They generally last about a year, with around 3 wears a week, before the thighs wear through. Big thigh problems, am I right?

So, when I wore through the thighs of my last pair, I darted in to my local(ish) Torrid and picked up the same jeans, same size. Unfortunately, once I got home, I found out that the jeans were a bit large. Well, probably a full size too large.

Now, I know that different seasons can mean different sizing, so it’s possible that the sizing difference stems from that, but the difference is only by a couple months, and both were cute in 2017, anyway.

Shirt Issue

A couple weeks after the jeans dilemma, Torrid had a clearance sale, so I ordered a few shirts. All three were Georgette material (a matte-finish, crêpe-like fabric), mainly because I’ve purchased several shirts in the same material and similar styles. They have all run large in the past, so I figured I wouldn’t need to worry about fit. Silly me.

I regularly wear a size 0 at Torrid in tops, size 1 if they run small or I want them a bit oversized. Because they styles I was ordering tended to run large, I didn’t foresee any problem with ordering the size 0 closeouts – 0 was all they had left.I did get one shirt in a size 1, simply because size 0 wasn’t available in that shirt.

But, when they arrived, both size 0s were snug. Oddly enough, they were snug across my shoulders. I carry most of my weight around my hips, so for them to fit just fine across my hips but be snug across the shoulders is very odd. I can still wear them, but I’d need to lose about 5 pounds to really make them fit properly. Even more annoying, the size 1 was baggy. I could have used the 0 in that one.

I also noticed several hanging strings that I had to trim. There didn’t seem to be any defect in the clothing, but considering Torrid’s price, you’d expect details like that to be taken care of.

The Pant Fiasco

Feeling somewhat skeptical, I decided to give Torrid one last try when they had a 40% off sale. I needed some work pants, and Torrid’s ponte pants are really comfortable.

Because of what was available, I had to order two tall inseam pants, but I’ve hemmed pants before, so didn’t think it would be an issue. I ordered two size 14 tall inseams (14T) and one 14 regular inseam (14R). All three were the same studio ponte pant that I have three other pairs of, just different colors. I also made 100% certain they’d be returnable.

When they arrived, things got interesting. The first 14T I tried on reached halfway to my boobs. The fit around was OK, and the length was fairly long, as expected. My first thought was, clearly they lengthen more than the inseam with tall pants.

But, just for giggles, I tried on the other 14T. it was an acceptable rise, but the fit around was super tight. As in, hard to zip tight. When I checked the cute dates, thinking maybe they were from different seasons, they were cut on the same day! So, same brand, same material, same size, completely different fit.

The 14R was a different cut date, but it had the same super high rise problem that the first pair did. It was also a bit on the long side for a regular inseam.

So, I packaged them all back up and took them to my local(ish) Torrid to avoid paying the return fee.

Turns out, because I chose to pay with PayPal, I couldn’t just return the items in store. They won’t just give you a cash refund. I don’t know why. After all, they have the money from PayPal, so they aren’t losing anything in giving me a cash refund. They also won’t give you store credit, which seems really stupid. After all, they don’t need to give you back real money for that, it’s just a card symbolizing money you’ve already spend. But now, my options were to send the clothes back via mail, or exchange them. I chose exchange to avoid fees.

I grabbed both size 14R and size 16R ponte pants in black and grey, along with a couple other things and hit the fitting room.

I tried the grey 14R first. They were ridiculously long. So much so that I checked every tag on them trying to find out if they were mismarked. If they were, they didn’t have a tag with the “correct” size. I set them aside figuring I could try a 14 short inseam.

Next came the black 14R, which, amazingly, fit perfectly. Just another reason to think the grey 14R pair was mismarked. Out of curiosity, and a hope that I wouldn’t have to make another trip to the dressing room, I tried the grey 16R. And damned if they didn’t fit perfectly.

I doubt that there’s even a centimeter difference in circumference between the grey 14R and grey 16R. There certainly isn’t enough difference between them to warrant a full size up. I was tempted to try the black 16R to see if they were the same size around as well, but I had places to and needed to hurry.

My Thoughts

I’ve experienced similar fit issues at many stores over the years, but this time it’s hit me harder for two main reasons.

1. Torrid has been great for years. And having a go-to store means less clothing shopping, a huge benefit for me. Plus, finding a store with reliable sizing has been hard. I don’t want to have to try on everything I see in order to know if it will fit. I want to know that what I’m eyeing is actually wearable.

2. Torrid’s current tagline is “First at Fit.” They have a page on their website dedicated to how their fit is great. They even promote #TORRIDFITSME as a way to get your social media photos featured on their website. If you’re going to brand yourself that way, you’d best make sure you can live up to it.

At this point, my days of shopping at Torrid are at an end. So, if any of my in-between sized women (size 12-16ish) have a suggestion of where I can find clothes with a reliable fit, then please, let me know. I’m desperately in need of a go-to store, preferably one that’s not very pricey or has great sales fairly often.

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