I am currently in fashion purgatory. I spent my summer inside of a law office and two museums, all of which encouraged conservative clothing and no jeans. My clothing, while professional, lost a lot of the color and personality that I had cultivated during the previous spring. In addition, each location had temperatures similar to northern Canada in the dead of winter, so any “summer” clothes that I wore were quickly replaced by heavy cardigans and long pants.
I also just began my busiest semester of college yet. In addition to class and clubs, I am interning and waitressing off campus. While I know that I need new clothing – and the confidence boost that comes with this – I simply don’t have the time to go shopping. Enter Stitch Fix. The concept that others, especially real stylists, would pick my clothing for me is so appealing at this time in my life. Moreover, I have always loved reading articles in which family, friends, coworkers, or total strangers dress the author. Other people can look more objectively at you. I find that my friends and my boyfriend never notice the areas of my body that I am most self-conscious about. In fact, some of them highlight these areas as my best features.
Now, I’m far too busy to have my boyfriend or best friend dress me (although this should definitely happen), so why not invite a total stranger to send me new clothes? These are professionals, after all, and I need help to get out of my fashion rut. The following is my honest review and reaction of the entire Stitch Fix process.
Stichfix is ridiculously user-friendly, and I say this as someone who can’t turn on most computers (I wish I was exaggerating). After creating an account with just an email and password, I had to fill out a pretty extensive questionnaire. Stitch Fix clearly wants to get a in-depth idea of each user, which made me feel a lot better about trying out the service.
After covering my measurements (height, weight, normal clothing size, and proportions), I got to choose which areas of my body I was more comfortable showing off than others. I really like my back, butt, and legs; I do not like my midsection. I also got to decide which articles of clothing I didn’t want to be sent. I chose bags and scarves because those tend not to be necessary to my lifestyle. In addition, I asked not to be sent wedges or flats. I am very comfortable buying shoes for myself, so I didn’t feel the need to ask for basic shoes. Most importantly for me, though, was that I could say which prints I don’t like. I’m open to trying all colors, but I hate animal prints and paisley. I wouldn’t consciously act on these preferences while shopping, but Stitch Fix made sure that they knew exactly what I liked. While I don’t consciously avoid the bag section of stores, my Stitch Fix stylist needed to know that bags weren’t on my priority list. For the most part, my questionnaire gave a strong presentation of my style. I also got to write a note, which I copied below.
“I don’t wear bras, so please make sure that the shirts aren’t see-through! My style inspiration is Selena Gomez’s street looks. I love mom/boyfriend jeans. I carry my weight right above my abdomen and in my upper thighs. Please don’t do anything too tight. My go to look is boyfriend jeans with a lace cami tucked in and fashion sneakers. Thank you so much, and I’m excited to see what you pick!”
My package arrived about five days after I answered the questionnaire. Campus delivery is a little iffy, so I can’t be sure of the official date. I was embarrassingly excited to try on my new clothes. I exclusively go clothing shopping for myself – no one has bought me clothing in three to four years. Receiving unknown clothes was a genuinely enjoyable experience. I hate this cliche, but it actually felt like Christmas to open the Stitch Fix box.
I received two shirts, one cardigan, one pair of jeans, and one necklace. I’m going to go through each piece.
The Jory Split Neck Top. Photo credit of author.
The first shirt was a Jory Split Neck Top, priced $40. I really liked the colors of this one, but it had a distinctly maternal feel to it. My mom wears shirts with similar cuts, which definitely aged it for me. I quite enjoy dressing my age, especially at my internship. I have learned that working professionals value the opinions of young people; I no longer try to look older than I am. I want my outfits to reflect that I’m a 20-year-old with new ideas and perspectives, which this shirt just didn’t do. I’d like to note that this top did fit well, however the cut just wasn’t what I was looking for in a new article of clothing. I will not be keeping this shirt.
The Jamelya Back Detail Cardigan. Photo credit of author.
I received a beautiful mustard yellow Jamelya Back Detail Cardigan. This color has been on my radar, but I have yet to purchase something in the hue. I really did like this cardigan, however at $46, I decided that the price wasn’t worth it. The material, especially, wasn’t too strong or rich. I could definitely find a knock off at half the price. However, it was nice to see myself in that color. The cardigan will serve as inspiration at cheaper clothing stores.
The only bottoms in the package was a pair of Erika Distressed Skinny Jeans. The jeans were by far the most expensive article of clothing, coming in at $68. If I were to spend that much money on a pair of jeans, they would have to be the most amazing pair of high rise denim jeans in the world. Unfortunately, the material of the jeans felt too soft to the point that I didn’t feel like I was wearing denim. Instead, the texture was more similar to leggings with a jean pattern on the outside. Moreover, the jeans were 2-4 sizes too big. This, however, is not the fault of the stylist. I marked down that I was a size 8 in bottoms, which was just a mind blip on my part. I wear between a 4-6 and have absolutely no explanation for why I put down a size 8. Even if the jeans did fit, though, I wouldn’t have kept them. They were way too expensive, especially for the weird quality of the denim.
The last piece that I received was a Sawyer Circle Pendant Necklace for $34. The necklace was surprisingly beautiful. I normally wear short necklaces with small pendants – everything that this necklace wasn’t. As with the cardigan, I am not going to keep this necklace due to the cost. However, it is a gorgeous piece of jewelry that I will keep in mind. I need to mention that I recently got a necklace from my boyfriend for my birthday. I wear it pretty much everyday, as it makes me incredibly happy. Had I not gotten the necklace from him, there is a strong likelihood that I would have kept the necklace from Stitch Fix.
The winning top!!!! Photo credit of author.
The second shirt is a Krisantha Tie Front Blouse. HOLY HECK I love this top. At $42, it is more expensive than most clothes I own, but dear lord this top is beautiful. I will be keeping it, and I know that I will wear it for many seasons to come. Because of this top, I could tell that my stylist actually read my notes that I wrote for my profile. I mentioned that I don’t wear bras (one of the many pluses of having a breast reduction), so I requested that my tops be opaque. This top fit every requirement that I put in. Definitely the winner of the package.
Overall, I am impressed with my Stitch Fix package. Of the 5 pieces that I received, 3 (the black tie shirt, the cardigan, and the necklace) perfectly aligned with my style. As previously mentioned, the ill fitting jeans are entirely my own fault. If I do use Stitch Fix again, I will change my sizing. Another added bonus is that Stitch Fix allowed me to extend my return policy for about three and a half weeks. The Hofstra mail system isn’t super convenient, and I didn’t have time to return my package when Stitch Fix originally requested. I really appreciated that Stitch Fix let me push back my return time.
I did not expect the clothing to be as expensive as it was. When creating my profile, I selected “the cheaper, the better.” I don’t think that this translated into the prices of the clothing – especially the jeans. I also wrote in my note that I was a college student. I had hoped that my stylist would have better taken price into account given my multiple indications that I didn’t have a large income. I had also decided to try Stitch Fix after a group of girls, around my age, told me about their positive experiences while I was waitressing at work. They all seemed quite happy with their purchases, and I think I assumed that since we were all the same age, we all had similar budgets.
I will not be trying Stitch Fix for at least another five or six months given that the process was much more expensive than I anticipated. However, if I was out of college making an income beyond three nights of waitressing, Stitch Fix would easily become a staple of my wardrobe. I quite like the idea of letting other people pick clothing for me and receiving new packages with each season. If you do need some new clothing, though, and you are comfortable with your money, absolutely go ahead and try Stitch Fix! I don’t regret my experience at all, and I think that in the future, I will become a much more regular user of the company.