Stitch Fix #1!

At the encouragement of my wonderful husband, I decided to take the plunge and join Stitch Fix! For the uninitiated, Stitch Fix is a clothing subscription service that lets you try on stylist-selected clothes, bags, and shoes in the comfort of your own home. You simply pay a $20 styling fee (which gets credited toward any purchases you make), fill out a style profile, and the package shows up at your door. From there, you have three days to decide what you want to keep. You send back whatever you don't want in the prepaid mailer.

Being a stay-at-home mom, I was wary of Stitch Fix, because it seems to cater more toward working women in search of a work wardrobe. The clothing also costs more than I usually spend on clothes. But I'm at the stage of my life where I feel that it's worth it to spend a little more if I'm going to get something that's more stylish and of higher quality than my typical Old Navy clearance finds.

I'm also at the stage of my life where it's really hard to just go shopping when my wardrobe needs a little boost. I'm either trying to placate my sleepy/hungry/teething baby or I need to wait until my husband has a weekend off so I can take some time to make a run to Style Encore.

Well, my first fix came in last week, and I can see where this is addictive.

 My stylist, Heather (I love saying "my stylist"!), sent me a personalized note, which is always a nice touch.

 Bancroft Nora Hammered Coin Bracelet, $38, Returned
 I actually really like this bracelet. It's stretchy, so it slipped over my hand without any buckles or clasps and it had a really chic "boho" look to it that I loved. To be honest, if I hadn't gotten anything else, I definitely would have kept this. I just felt that I could find a similar thing somewhere else (T.J. Maxx or Old Navy) for way cheaper (like $20).

  
Skies are Blue Dorian Embroidery Detail Blouse, $58, Returned
I loved the color and the boho feel of this top, just like Heather said I would, and I almost kept it. First of all, there's the price. I know the average price of Stitch Fix items is around $55, but I just felt that $58 was too much to spend on a "date night" top when I don't really get that many chances to wear the other nice tops I have. Why pay nearly $60 for another one?

Then, there was the fit. I love loose tops that I can pair with skinny jeans (they hide my leftover pregnancy belly), but this hung just a bit too large on me. The bust darts didn't even make it to my bust. Maybe this was how it was supposed to fit, but regardless, if I'm paying $58 for something, I need it to be perfect.

Oh, it was also a little itchy and the instructions said to hand wash.

Skies are Blue Loni Open Back Detail Knit Top, $48, Returned
When I snuck a peek at my Fix, I was disappointed to hear that I would be getting an open back top. Going braless is NOT an option for me. But when I took it out of the box, I noticed that it's not completely open backed. Point for Heather! The problem?

 My bra still showed anyway. It showed in the back. It showed in the underarms. It just hung out all over the place. I was able to make it work with another (non-nursing) bra, but that would mean I might not get to wear this shirt for another 6 months.

And while I love red, I felt that this particular shade didn't go with my skin tone. I'm Lebanese and Mexican on my dad's side, so I have quite a bit of yellow undertone in my skin. Warm colors make me look a little sick. (Note to stylist: Jewel tones work the best on me.)

All of that would have been forgivable, even the price, if the washing instructions didn't say HAND WASH. Grr. I specifically made a note in my style profile saying that I would NOT KEEP (yes, it was in caps) anything that I couldn't machine wash. I'm fine with "hang to dry" or "lay flat to dry" but I throw everything in the wash, guys. And I would have risked it with this shirt (I thought long and hard about it), but it was rayon and the Almighty Google informed me that machine washing rayon was probably a bad move. Not worth it.

 

Skies are Blue Hovelli Embroidered Detail Knit Top, $44, Returned
Alas, I cannot think of anything good to say about this top. Granted, it looks okay in the picture here, but that's just it. At best it was just okay. It fit like a too-large T-shirt and the embroidery detail looked like something my grandma would wear. Yes, my grandma is a very stylish 81-year-old, but she's still 81.

Guess what the washing instructions said? You guessed it, HAND WASH.

Kut From The Kloth Dayna Skinny Jean, $88, Kept
Needless to say, I wasn't holding out much hope for the "Toothpick Skinny" jean, but Heather was right. The stretch in these jeans makes them super flattering and super comfy for crawling around on the floor with Baby Bear. I could do yoga in these things. (Sorry about the bad lighting, and don't you love the random tuft of dog hair? LOL! Shlomo is a Corgi mix and sheds year-round.)

I didn't think I needed another pair of skinny jeans, but these are way comfier and also not maternity, LOL! So my maternity jeans will be retired so that these can step in.

They're also machine washable. ;-)



I wasn't expecting to love everything in my first box, so 1/5 isn't bad. I also understand that I'm probably very hard for them to style because a) I'm so cheap thrifty, b) I don't need a "work wardrobe," and c) their website straight up says that most of their inventory needs to be hand washed or dry cleaned.

Bummer.

Time will only tell if Stitch Fix is right for me. Right now, I get Fixes every other month (I was going to choose once a season, but my husband talked me into getting them more often. Isn't he awesome?) and my next Fix is due on March 17. I can't wait to see what's in store!