Amazon’s Prime Wardrobe Service Lets You Try Item Before Buying It

Nothing frustrates you more than ordering an outfit online, only to realize a few days later that it doesn’t fit.

To rival successful personalized shopping platforms like Trunk Club, Le Tote, and Stitch Fix, Amazon has officially launched Prime Wardrobe. This service enables their customers to sample clothes at home and decide which items to keep and which items to return.

Let’s explore more about Amazon’s advanced shopping program!

What is Amazon Prime Wardrobe?

Prime Wardrobe is a program for Prime members that allows you to try on clothes at home before making a purchase. Although the program was initially announced in June 2018, it is now available to all Amazon Prime members (Amazon Prime paid and 30-day trial memberships and Amazon Prime Student paid and six-month trial memberships) and members of their Amazon Household.

Eligible items include women’s, men’s, kids’ lines, baby clothing, shoes, and accessories. You will select what you want to try (eligible items have a “Prime Wardrobe” logo), and once your box arrives, you have seven days to try on the items and send back what you do not want to purchase. You can try up to eight items at once, and there is no minimum dollar threshold.

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Prior to the conclusion of your seven-day try-on period, go to Your Orders to review and indicate which items you are keeping and which you are returning. You have until the end of the try-on period to mail your returns using the provided return label. Amazon will send you reminders along the way to ensure you won’t get charged, in case you forget.

How Does Prime Wardrobe Work?

There are several simple steps you can follow to receive your order.

Step 1: Add Prime Wardrobe items to your Prime Wardrobe Cart. 

Prime members can add a minimum of three items and a maximum of eight items with the Prime Wardrobe icon to their cart.

Tip: You cannot include more than one identical item in a single order (e.g., same size and color). There is no minimum dollar threshold for a Prime Wardrobe order.

Step 2: Place your Prime Wardrobe order. 

Keep in mind that the checkout process will be different from the regular checkout for other items on Amazon.com, but the process is similar.

Step 3: Await your Wardrobe items.

Orders typically arrive within 4-6 business days (this is a longer expected delivery time than most 2-day shipping Prime items). Once the items arrive, you have seven days to try them on and decide which items to keep and which to return.

Tip: Amazon cannot ship these items within two days because they prefer to send the order in as few boxes as possible.

Step 4: Complete checkout and indicate your decisions.  Within the seven days, you can access your order in Your Orders and mark which items you are keeping and which ones you are returning.

Tip: You can only checkout once. If you change your mind, Amazon says:

• Marked keep on something you want to return: Request return for a purchased item in the Online Return Center.
• Marked return on something you want to keep: Keep the item, and Amazon will charge you if they do not receive it.

At the end of your Prime Wardrobe try-on period, you will be charged for the total value of your order if you have not completed checkout by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Step 5: If you decide you do not like the item(s) sent, you can return what did not work out. 

Any items you decide not to purchase must be placed in the resealable Prime Wardrobe box or bag using the enclosed, adhesive prepaid return label. Prime members have until the end of the try-on period to mail returns at the UPS drop-off location of their choice.

Step 6: Verify the unwanted items have been returned. 

Prime Wardrobe will send an email to notify you when all your return items have been received. If you want to track the progress of your return package, you can visit amazon.com/returns to view the return status. These straightforward steps make the process hassle-free.

What types of clothes and brands are included in Prime Wardrobe?

There are numerous brands available that have already gained favor with customers. 

The service offers clothes, shoes, and accessories from lesser-known labels as well as national names like Levi’s, Calvin Klein, AIX Armani, Adidas, J Brand, and Theory as part of Prime Wardrobe, and they are available in women’s, men’s, kids’, and baby clothing, shoes, and accessories. There are affordable options, designer variations, and everything in between. Browse them by the category you desire.

Prime Wardrobe competes with similar services from companies like Nordstrom’s Trunk Club, and innovative startups like Rent the Runway and Stitch Fix, but without the requirement to pay a fee for every box received or to spend additional money on a membership to the service (assuming you already have Prime). However, if you need someone to curate the right clothes for you, you can pay $4.99 per month for a curated styling version of Prime Wardrobe called Personal Shopper.

Expert Insight on Amazon Prime Wardrobe

David Cooley at CPC Strategy recently tried out the new Prime Wardrobe program and stated:

“Once you select your category of interest (men, women, baby, etc.), Amazon takes you to a page with various products grouped together by brand, style, or occasion. In many ways, this page is similar to the experience you would have on a brand’s Amazon Store.“

Cooley ordered a total of six apparel items via Prime Wardrobe, mostly shirts.

“Unfortunately, Amazon would not allow me to order the same shirt & color in various sizes. Once I selected my 6 items, I was directed to the checkout page, which is separate from my normal Amazon checkout,” Cooley remarked.

“At the time of the order placement, my credit card was only charged $1 (to verify it was a valid card) and a few days later, my items arrived. Ultimately, I decided to keep half of the items I ordered and sent the rest back to Amazon using the prepaid reusable bag provided.”

When it comes to purchasing clothes online, customers have several concerns, with the most prominent being “fit.”

“With apparel, I want the items I order to fit right. Each brand has its own unique cut, set of styles, and sizing charts – so it can be really helpful when I’m shopping a brand I haven’t worn before to be able to try on the product before making a commitment to purchase,” Cooley added.

Prime Wardrobe is a fantastic shopping tool

Prime Wardrobe makes shopping online much more convenient by enabling you to try on clothing and shoes before making a purchase – all at no additional cost. What looks great in 2D doesn’t always look great in reality, and return processes can be cumbersome or difficult to execute properly. Despite this, many of us continue to shop online because the in-person shopping experience is so time-consuming and, for many, somewhat unbearable. To make online shopping more convenient, more and more services with “try before you buy” policies are emerging, as well as subscription services that help alleviate some of the stress of updating your wardrobe.

Amazon Wardrobe is user-friendly, and, unlike many alternatives, it comes at no extra cost with your Prime membership.

Room For Improvement

There are aspects that people wish were better. Even within the style categories, some colors or finishes of items are not consistently available through Wardrobe. For instance, from customer reviews, it was found that when a customer tried to select Clarks chukkas, they were unable to add a fresh, beeswaxed brown option to the Wardrobe cart, despite the company’s name being on the list. Later, they discovered that at least one of the chukka model colors was available, but not their preferred option. It can be frustrating when trying to create an entire look and coming close, yet being unable to complete it.

Another issue was availability. A customer made their selections during a freak blizzard in February 2021, and numerous colors were sold out in their standard size. A smaller number of sold-out options would have been preferable.

Another customer provided feedback about Prime Wardrobe, mentioning that while there was a wide selection to choose from, not all the items they wanted to try were Prime Wardrobe-eligible. Additionally, the search and filtering function does not always function as expected. If there is only one style or size available in an item you are searching for, it will still appear in the results – even if you specify your size. For example, even if you specify that you are looking for a size 15 shoe, you will only receive available results in size nine because that brand offers the shoe in size 15. 

As the service evolves, it is hoped that there will be a broader selection of items and sizes available, and an improved search filter.

Exclusive discounts associated with Prime Wardrobe

Occasionally, Amazon may offer special deals to Prime Wardrobe customers. If there is a Prime Wardrobe promotion, and there is a better Amazon promotion available at the time of your initial order placement or checkout, you will receive the better discount.

When there is no Prime Wardrobe-specific promotion running, Amazon will honor other Amazon promotions related to the items in your cart at the time of initial order placement or checkout. Discounts cannot be combined, but you will always receive the best of any relevant discounts.

The final verdict

Overall, Amazon Prime Wardrobe has been well-received. Customers are planning to use it again despite the limited choices initially. They desire more options in the wardrobe and will continue to recommend it to friends and family. 

While it was a bit disappointing that more styles and sizes were not available, the selection still surpasses what’s available through clothing subscription services. Additionally, you do not have to commit to anything or pay for items upfront. It is strongly recommended to try Prime Wardrobe the next time you want to shop online.