For a couple years now I've been hearing about this Stitch Fix thing, but I always had plenty of excuses not to try it. Mostly, "I don't have anywhere to wear nice clothes." and, "I can't justify spending money on myself." My jeans and sweaters purchased when I was 18 are getting WAY old and tired by now, and I'm recognizing the benefits of not wearing workout clothes 100% of the time. (Maybe just 80%...) Plus, I'm less than 2 years from turning 30 now and it might be time to start dressing like a grown up. Not wanting to drag 3 kids around to several stores and try to focus on decision making and fitting room mirrors (ugh) over a million questions about dinosaurs and where we left that green car that one time, a box of clothes sent to my door was extremely appealing. So I got myself signed up and schedule my first fix.
My box arrived last night. I. Loved. It. I kept everything. It was like Christmas morning all over again.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I know people have questions about what Stitch Fix is and how it really works. So let's start there before hearing my clothing reviews.
So. Like I said before, Stitch Fix is a company that has stylists hand pick clothing for you and sends it to your door. You can schedule a box (each one contains 5 pieces) to be delivered twice a month, every month, every 3 months, or you can just schedule a one time delivery (which is what I did.)
When you sign up, you're asked to fill out a style profile. Basic questions like your pant/dress size, if you typically buy small/med/large in shirts, if you work outside the home and what the dress code is, and general questions about body shape (Are you curvy on top or bottom? Do you have especially long legs/torso/arms?). Then there's questions about how you typically like to dress. A list of body parts (shoulders/back/legs/cleavage) and whether you'd rather flaunt them or keep them covered, if you prefer pants to skirts, whether or not you like to wear accessories, or if there's any colors you avoid. They provide pictures of several different outfits for you to rank (which is super fun). There's also a place for comments or to ask for specific pieces (if you have a formal event, like a wedding, coming up that you'd like something for they can do that for you!) and a place to provide links to social media accounts like Pinterest. You can create a fashion board on Pinterest and pin photos of outfits that you really like and your stylist will be able to view those. You can even pin pictures of shoes and accessories that you already have for matching purposes. When your profile is filled out you choose the price point you want to stay in and schedule your fix(es). At that time you're charged a $20 stylist fee. If you choose to keep any clothing from your box, that $20 is credited to the cost of them.
When your box comes (it's fast!) there's a prepaid envelope to send back anything you don't want (can you say EASY?!) and little cards for each piece with outfit ideas. You check out online you're able to leave feedback for everything in your box, whether you're keeping it or not. It's helpful to leave a lot of feedback for the items you send back so that your next fix will be even more personalized to you. If you chose to keep all 5 pieces they offer a 25% discount! I didn't realize that til I got my box and it was a pleasant surprise!
Ok so now the fun part! My clothes! For reference, here's my normal wardrobe:
And, to be clear here, I'm not totally turning my back on the yoga pants. I love them way too much for that ;)
In my style profile, I asked for basic items that were easy to mix and match. I mentioned that I'm a mom of 3 small children so I need casual and comfy, but that I wanted to dress it up a bit. My stylist (Ali!) was right on with what she sent.
I selected the "as cheap as possible" option and everything averaged out to about $50 each (shirts and necklace less, dress and jeans a little more). It's more than I would normally spend on myself, but it feels very worth it to have some nice, well made clothes to mix and match with some of my cheaper stuff.
In my box I got jeans ("a combination of jeans and leggings without being 'jeggings'"), a striped shirt, a cardigan, a black dress, and a necklace. At first glance, I thought I'd send the necklace back. I don't wear necklaces very much (ever) because of little hands, BUT the discount for keeping all 5 items was way worth keeping the necklace. And I want to step out of my comfort zone a little right?
My outfit cards!
When I saw the cards, before even pulling out the actual clothes, I said to James, "Oh I won't keep the jeans. I have enough jeans." Then I put them on.
Holy. Comfort.
I have never in my life worn pants that were THAT comfortable. They're high waisted (bye muffin top!) without being "mom jeans" and have just enough stretch.
I was a little nervous that the shirt and cardigan would look frumpy since they were pretty loose, but I liked the fit a lot more than I thought and they were crazy comfy.
The dress I love because who doesn't love an LBD? This one is so perfect for me because it can easily be dressed up with heels or down with leggings and boots. It looks great with the cardigan I got too!
The necklace I almost didn't keep totally grew on me too!
So I am a Stitch Fix FAN! I will definitely be scheduling a box again. At least one for summer, if not sooner!
Another fun bonus? When you're signed up, you're given a referral link to share with friends. Anytime a friend signs up for Stitch Fix through your link, you receive a $25 credit to your account once their first fix arrives! Which is pretty awesome.
So, obviously, I'm going to share my referral link ;)
If you're on the fence about doing this for yourself, hop off that fence and let somebody else dress you. It's super fun ;)
