If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard about Stitch Fix, allow me to enlighten you.
Stitch Fix is basically a personal shopping service that delivers clothing and accessories right to your doorstep. You fill out a profile online that includes your personal tastes, sizes, current style needs, as well as your budget. Some of my more frugal friends love Stitch Fix so don’t assume it will be out of your price range. You also get a referral code to use to share Stitch Fix with your friends, which of course I’m using in this post! I’m not affiliated with Stitch Fix in any way; I’m a customer just like everyone else.
A personal stylist is assigned to you, and she selects five items to send you based on your profile. She also includes a personal style card that shows each piece styled a couple different ways, which is helpful if you’re not super confident in the fashion department. Their website and blog also has lots of great style advice too.
You keep what you like and return the rest. They send a handy pre-paid mailing bag for your convenience. It couldn’t be easier.
There’s an initial $20 style fee that is applied towards your purchase. If you keep the whole box, you get 25% off, which is a great deal — IF you like everything. You rate the items you received and provide feedback on your Stitch Fix profile so the stylist knows how to better style your next box.
Here’s where you have to have a bit of patience. I ordered my first box a few months ago and I didn’t like anything inside. Everything was a bit too big, and the styles just weren’t me. I sent it back and had to forego my $20, and I decided I’d rather shop for myself. I told them so in my feedback.
But every time I turn around, bloggers are posting adorable photos of clothes they got in their Stitch Fix boxes, and I decided to give it another try.
My second box came last week.
Here’s my unboxing video — you can see each piece I received and my initial impression.
This box was MUCH better than my first. I’m SO glad I tried it again. The style card included a note from my stylist, who said she was sorry I didn’t love my first box and that she had looked at my Pinterest boards and was sure that I will be happier with this one.
Well, she was right. Not everything was perfect, but she definitely had the right idea. Here are photos of everything. These are just lame basement photos. I handed my husband the camera while he was studying and he didn’t even get up, so pardon the bad lighting and strange angles.
So let’s break it down.
The dress looked promising in the box. I liked the quality and at $138 it was definitely affordable. I do have a similar black and white dress, and this one — while it actually fit well — I just didn’t feel it was terribly flattering, and I can’t pinpoint why. But needless to say, it went back.
The coral blouse was a surprise. I thought it would be too baggy, but it actually has just enough shape to it that it works. I wasn’t 100% confident about it, but my husband said it was very flattering, and when I posted these pictures on my Facebook page, everyone liked it. So I kept it. I think it was around $55. I wore it to church on Sunday with white jeans and got several compliments on it.
The teal top was the one I really expected to like, and it fell flat. Or, maybe that is a poor choice of words because it definitely does not make me look flat. HA! But it certainly isn’t flattering, and back it went. I believe it retailed for around $65.
Finally, the jeans. I DO NOT NEED NEW JEANS. However, these I absolutely love. They were $118 which is a price I am comfortable paying for jeans that I know I will wear often. While I do have a pair of light-wash jeans, they do not have any distressing as these do (ironically, my position above does not allow you to see that detail.) My other jeans also have a “cigarette leg” while these are ankle-length skinnies. No, they’re not terribly different, and yes, they will serve about the same purpose, but I didn’t have the heart to return them. I know I’ll wear them a lot.
(Also pictured, before you ask, are my Sam Edelman Romy Sandals, which I adore, AND they are 33% off at Nordstrom with free shipping and free returns. You are welcome.)
There was also a necklace in my box. Again, jewelry is not really something I need at the moment, considering that I’ve recently added QUITE a few pieces to my wardrobe with being a Stella & Dot stylist and all. But this necklace is different than anything I have, and also different than anything Stella & Dot has, and I was tempted to keep it. (Also pictured, Stella & Dot Demi Earrings, $24.50.)
Before I made my final decisions, I actually walked down to the bus stop in the coral/jeans/necklace with all the tags still attached. I wasn’t intending to ask anyone’s opinion, I just didn’t have time to change before the bus came. I happened to run into a neighbor, who immediately commented on the necklace, and I knew then and there it was a keeper. I told her about Stitch Fix, and we discussed my jeans dilemma, and before I went back into my house I had ripped off the tags and declared them mine.
And that’s how I happened to acquire a necklace and jeans that I totally do not need and a new blouse that I love but is nothing I would have chosen for myself.
(The teal top and dress are going back.)
As my husband said, “It’s a brilliant business plan, but not so great for the budget.”
True nuff. But I still say, if you are in the market for new clothes, and you a) don’t have time to shop or b) don’t know what to buy or c) want to broaden your horizons and see what someone else might choose for you, give Stitch Fix a try. And if you don’t like your first box, don’t despair. Give it one more try. I know a LOT of people who didn’t like their first box and had great success after that.
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