Sunday, May 31, 2015

Stitch Fix Review May 2015

Well I did it.  I took the Stitch Fix plunge.  I feel like I was the last person on the planet to try Stitch Fix since many of my friends were raving about it.  However, after I started talking about my experience with my friends, I noticed many people had never heard of it and many were asking me to share images of the clothing that I received.  While I was waiting (not so patiently) for my package to arrive, I scoured the internet for all the info I could on Stitch Fix.  In my quest, I found blog after blog of women who were photographing their experience and then posting photos and reviews for all to see.  After I got my box I wanted to shout my experience from the rooftops so I thought this blog would be a good place to start.

 In case you are as clueless as I was or perhaps are just thinking about joining, here's the scoop.   Stitch Fix is a personal styling service that shops for you and sends 5 items of clothing or accessories to your door, either monthly or on the date you choose.  If you keep nothing, you send it all back in their prepaid envelope (my mailman received it as outgoing mail from my home mailbox) and they charge you a $20 styling fee. But if you keep at least one item, that fee goes toward the cost of your item.  Basically, you get YOUR OWN stylist to pick out clothes for you and you are under no obligation to purchase the items.  The clothes are extremely high quality (and yes high price tag). BUT my personal goal is to use Stitch Fix to build a wardrobe of great quality, perfect, modern, and stylish clothes that I love rather than a large wardrobe of clothes that I only sort of like.  I am in no way sponsored by Stitch Fix and I am not getting paid to write this blog.  Those lovely people at Stitch Fix don't even know who I am.  Well my lovely stylist, Victoria, "knows"me!

To begin, every Stitch Fix box comes with this lovely little note from your stylist.  When you sign up for Stitch Fix you fill out a very detailed style profile and they also request that you create a Pinterest board that is specifically for your stylist to use to get to know your style a bit better.  The stylist actually reads your profile and your Pinterest page and picks out clothes after LISTENING to what you like/don't like and wear/won't wear.  In my profile I explained that I am primarily a stay at home mom but I do have a part time job that requires me to have a casual business wardrobe as well.  I told her my style is romantic, boho, casual chic, and classic. Basically, I want clothes to replace my yoga pants and t-shirt to wear to the park with my kiddos but I also want to have something nice to wear to work.  Here is what my stylist wrote to me...
I can just picture Victoria sitting there sifting through clothes finding things just perfect for me based on my Pinterest page.  Thank you Victoria for caring so much about me (or at least getting paid to act like it)!  Now on to the clothes!

Just to add a bit about me, I am 37 years old with three children and I live in Ohio.  I wear a size 14 typically however I seem to be losing a bit of weight (yeah me!) so my sizes may be off a little.  A size 14 is the biggest size they have on Stitch Fix so I was terrified everything would be way too small on me and this experience would leave me feeling horrible.  In all the blogs I looked through, I purposefully looked at ones where people were about my build so I could see if this service was realistic for me.  I found some great Stitch Fix reviews by people who wore my size and this gave be a bit more confidence.

Easton Button Up Sleeveless Blouse
I must say I thought this shirt was going to be better than it was when I took it out of the box.  Victoria took this one right out of my Pinterest page.  I love navy blue and this type of blouse is perfect for work or to throw on with jeans.  I didn't love the material- it was not very soft and didn't feel high quality.  Here is what it looks like on.  I am so sorry about the selfies taken in my bathroom mirror! My sweet husband rolled his eyes when I asked him if he wanted to photograph me.

The shirt fit a little big (it is a large which is typically my size) and it hung funny.  If I bent over you could see right down my shirt.  Basically, I didn't like it for the money.  Verdict: RETURNED

Georgie Knit Tank
I was super excited to see this in my box.  I am really in to asymmetrical bottoms on shirts and the material on this shirt is light and flowy.  I also LOVE gray.  I knew that I could pair this with jeans, leggings, or even dressier pants.  The bonus is that it is sooo soft.
I threw this on with some lavender pants I already own and a long necklace.  I had to put a tank top under it but that's how I wear most of my clothes any way.  Verdict: KEPT!  I have worn this shirt a TON since I got it.  It was well worth the money already.

Avia Stripe and Dot Infinity Scarf
I love scarves and I don't have any that really work in the summer.  I pinned a bunch of summer looking scarves on my Pinterest account so I was hoping to get one.  When I saw this, I was in love.  First of all, I love pink.  Second, I love the soft, soft, SOFT material.  It's like getting a hug every time I wear it.  Third, I love the mix of polka dots and stripes. 
I can wear this with a white t-shirt and jeans or I can dress up a work outfit with it.  I guess this is no secret but- Verdict: KEPT  I have worn this a bunch since I got it.  It's a perfect accessory.

Alan French Terry Asymmetrical Zip Cardigan
Okay this cardigan is by far the softest, most luxurious piece of clothing I have ever felt.  Seriously folks, this is high quality.  I love love love the asymmetrical zip feature and the color is totally me. 

Despite how wonderful it was, there were issues.  First of all, it was huge.  I am a solid size L and this was way too big, especially in the sleeves.  Instead of feeling put together but comfortable, I felt like I was ready to crawl into bed.  My husband tried to convince me to keep it because my office gets cold and he knew I would wear it a ton but I couldn't justify the price for something that wasn't perfect.  I threw away the prices before writing this but I know it was over $70.  Verdict: RETURNED.  I left feedback that I would love this item, in a smaller size, during the fall.

Dilan Distressed Boyfriend Jeans
When I opened the box and saw that I was getting jeans I panicked.  How in the world can a stranger pick out jeans for me?  I mean jeans are almost as personal as a swim suit.  Yikes!  But then I put them on.  People, these jeans feel like sweatpants. They are seriously the most comfortable pants I have ever put on in my life.  I wanted to love these but...


These pants were way to distressed for me.  I can handle a bit of distressing but these showed clear through to my thighs and the hold in the left knee was huge.  I couldn't figure out why my stylist would pick out jeans full of holes for me.  Then I went back and looked at my style profile.  I had checked the box that I wanted some "edgy" clothes AND I had pinned almost these exact same jeans on Pinterest.  My stylist picked these out because I essentially told her to.  After this I made a point to go back and tweak my profile to be a little more "me" not the me I wanted to be.  Verdict: RETURNED  I did however leave a very detailed review of these jeans to let my stylist know that I would love love love to have these in a different style. 

All in all I was super thrilled with the two items I kept.  After getting my box, I changed my settings so that I get a box every month now instead of every other month.  I just couldn't see waiting that long to get another fabulous, personalized package.  It is my goal to never keep something that I don't 100% love and I think I did that with this box.  My other goal is to get rid of three items from my closet that I don't really wear or don't love for every item I keep from Stitch Fix.  This way I have a smaller but better wardrobe.  I am tired of staring at a full closet of clothes and thinking I have nothing to wear. 

If you have any questions about Stitch Fix or want to comment on anything I got in my box, please leave me a comment below!  I would love to hear from you.  If you are thinking about joining Stitch Fix, my suggestion is to do it.  Seriously folks, it can't hurt.  And in my experience, it was fantastic.