I have a love-hate relationship with the Iconic. I love shopping, but I hate it when things don't…read morego according to plan, which seems to happen very often with these guys.
The Iconic does only online shopping, so if you're searching for a physical outlet, they don't have one. Clothes are delivered from a warehouse in Sydney, so if you live in Sydney, lucky you, the clothes will be delivered faster.
The store has a good selection, dominated by local brands. More recently, they've started stocking more international stuff and I saw a promo for House of Harlow (Nicole Richie's label) on the front page.
It's not cheap, and prices range from about $60 to $1000+. BUT the sales are fantastic (2014 boxing day had 3 for the price of 2). The reductions (when stock is low) are also very good, but only very bad if they don't have your size left. They also have a 100 day return policy (postage paid), but beware if you try to return/exchange something after 14 days - it will sit around in their warehouse without action and you WILL need to follow up.
Talking about sizes...all models allegedly pose with a "size 8" for every single outfit on the website. I doubt the validity of this "size 8" thing, especially since fit varies from designer to designer, so sometimes a model would need a smaller size, and sometimes a larger size. To me, it's just confusing and not particularly helpful.
Also, unlike other online shopping sites, The Iconic doesn't have a gallery of its shoppers wearing the clothes and discussing fit and quality. On other online sites like Free People, Showpo etc, that discussion and real photography is vastly beneficial in gauging the fit and quality of an outfit.
The Iconic offers free express delivery to your nominated address or to a ParcelPoint of your choice. There is an $8 ($7.95 actually but really, we all know that's like 8 bucks) delivery fee if you choose saturdays or "twilight" delivery. The express delivery, 3 hour delivery, twilight mail etc are all great. If you have a last minute corporate function, need to go someplace fancy after work etc, chances are you COULD get that outfit by close of business.
Except...there's one little problem...the mail companies used by The Iconic are absolutely atrocious. I've had my stuff delivered to the wrong place, delayed, and most recently, the guy didn't even come to my apartment to deliver...he just...left? (Oh, and this is especially annoying when you've PAID for your delivery to get it at a specific time, and, you have to wait till the next day or until Monday for re-delivery but you've basically already paid for that delivery and you can kiss goodbye to that).
The fault for this, I strongly believe, still lies with The Iconic. While placing the order, there is no opportunity to provide "delivery instructions". For example, I live on a main road, but the entry is around the corner. So if there is very little effort from a delivery company to check if the order is being delivered to the correct address, it will be sent back to the warehouse and re-delivered at another time (unless the driver feels it's safe to leave outside the premises).
The Iconic's complaint handling is fine. I've had issues with the complaints team, who failed to understand the issue (despite me making several attempts). When I finally wrote their customer relations team a letter, it was understood and I received my refund. Other minor issues have been resolved with ease.
The store also has an online live chat function, but that's the option most people go with so there are times the chat won't load. I still recommend picking up the phone and calling them.
Realistically, nobody's expecting stellar 10/10 service...this is after all online shopping. Will I continue to purchase from The Iconic? Yeah maybe, they have some great stuff on there, and it's a convenient option...but I think it might take a while before I'm back on the site.
