Why I have fallen in love with Stitch Fix…

This month marks a big milestone for me — I turned 40! And to celebrate I decided to take the leap and give Stitch Fix a try. Okay, I also went to Mexico with some of my favorite people.

I’ve been hearing about Stitch Fix, a personal clothing styling service, for a couple of years but was holding off. Then my good friend tried it and loved it so I thought, “why not?”

After trying it out I thought many of you might enjoy it as well. So, here’s everything you might ever want to know about Stitch Fix and how to get the most out of their service. Enjoy!

What is Stitch Fix?

Stitch Fix is a personal online styling service. You get your own stylist that shops for you and sends five items of clothing and/or accessories either monthly or on a date of your choosing.

Once you receive your box, you have three days to try everything on and decide what you want to keep and what you want to send back (shipping is free both ways).

How does Stitch Fix work?

Getting set up with Stitch Fix is actually kind of fun, but it takes a bit of time to do it thoroughly, so I suggest you set aside 30-45 minutes. You definitely don’t want to rush the survey portion. You can update your profile at any time.

First, head over to Stitch Fix and create an account. Next, fill out the Style Profile, which is a fairly detailed questionnaire that covers your sizing, style preferences, your lifestyle, and your budget so your stylist can choose items that you will enjoy.

You can also create a Pinterest board and link to it so your stylist can better understand what you like and don’t like. (You can see my Stitch Fix board here.) Make sure you write your commentary in the text section so she knows why you pinned it. I pinned things I hated as well as what I liked to make sure she didn’t go off the rails on me.

The last section of the Style Profile is your Final Thoughts. Don’t skip this part! This is when you get to fill in the gaps that weren’t necessarily covered in the profile. You have a limited number of characters, so use your words carefully. Here’s what I wrote in my section:

I never dress up. I DO NOT WANT outwear, tailored jackets, jewelry, accessories, scarves, bags – allergic to all metal. ONLY CLOTHING. Skirts @ knee or shorter, a-line or straight. I have a proportionally larger waist & short/petite legs. Most colors look good on me. No neutral, basic tops – I can shop ON, Target. I only wear flats. Modest – no super short bottoms. I wear a tank under everything.

You will now be prompted to schedule your first “fix” — your first Stitch Fix box. They schedule a couple of weeks out, although they were scheduling out almost a month when I ordered my first box (they must have been busy). You will have a chance to tell your stylist the specific items you’d like to receive in your first box. My instructions for my first box are gone now, but I think I reiterated no accessories or jewelry and that I was looking for fun spring/summer tops.

Once you’ve completed all of this, head to checkout! Your debit/credit card will be charged the $20 styling fee now and you’ll pay for the items you keep from your box after you receive the items in the mail and try them all on.

Now sit back and wait for your first box to arrive!

When the box comes, the fun starts. You will get a little note from your stylist with her commentary on the clothing including what she thinks you should wear with what.

You’ll get a card for each item in your box with styling tips, including what you could wear with the item. You’ll also receive a full invoice for your box. It’s at that point that you’ll realize that someone’s making some caz-ash on higher-quality clothing.

Start trying stuff on! Even if you think you’re going to hate it, try it on. DO NOT take the tags off, or you get to keep it. Don’t let your children or animals come anywhere near the box.

It’s probably at that point when you’ll realize that there is a difference between a $25 Old Navy dress and a $98 La Made dress. Because you look AMAZE-BALLS in the $98 dress.

Where have they been hiding this fabric all this time? Oh, yeah. Nordstrom.

You have three business days to figure out what you’re going to keep and what you’re sending back. Around day three Stitch Fix will start emailing you about “checking out.” At some point I’m sure they will just charge your card for all five items if you don’t go through their checkout process.

If you keep all five items you get a 25% discount on everything. The math typically works out for you to keep all five items if you want 3-4 in your box. It was the same price for me to keep all five in my first box with the discount than to keep the dress and two tops.

When you checkout, you can give specific feedback on each item in your box so your stylist gets to know you, your body type, and personal style better. For instance, I let me stylist know that if tops run a bit big, she should send me a small instead of medium.

After you’ve completed checkout you can either schedule your next Stitch Fix box or just wait it out. You can also grab your referral link and share it with your friends. You’ll get a $25 Stitch Fix credit when any of your posse orders their first box (you get the credit after their first box ships).

How much does Stitch Fix cost?

When you order your first Stitch Fix box, you will be charged a $20 styling fee which will be credited to anything you decide to keep from your box. You will save 25% off everything if you keep all five items.

If you send all five items back, Stitch Fix keeps the $20 styling fee, so don’t try this if you’re fairly certain you can’t afford to keep at least one thing your stylist sends you.

The items selected are NOT cheap. They work with higher-quality, higher-priced brands. You should expect items to be $40-$100 each if you select the “cheaper is better” option in your Style Profile.

Is Stitch Fix worth it?

Heck yes! It’s totally awesome. Here are my thoughts:

PROS — Why Stitch Fix is awesome:

It’s a really fun experience that you can do from home — I’ve done a bit of personal shopping at Nordstrom with my mom and it was great, but incredibly tiring. I like that I could do everything — the communication with my stylist and deciding what clothes I was going to keep — at home when I had the time and energy.

You get adorable stuff in your closet without “going” shopping — Some people love to shop and spend hours upon hours roaming the mall. Not me. By the time I actually make it to the mall I’m already in a rage at how much time I just spent driving and now I have to actually go inside and find something?

You get to try clothes that you would never pick from a rack — There were a couple of tops in my first box that I didn’t initially like but ended up looking super cute on. And there was not one grey or black piece of clothing in the lot which is pretty awesome.

CONS — Why Stitch Fix isn’t awesome:

Obviously, the price — The clothing is more expensive than what I’m used to buying. I typically shop at Target and Old Navy. Okay, exclusively. Those are the only two stores that have good return policies, offer full-sized carts, and I can whip in and out of in minutes. And also buy diapers and notebook paper in the same trip.

This will only work for you if you change the way you think about buying clothing. I had to decide that I was going to wear the four tops I received in my first box all the time. And that I was going to stay out of Old Navy and Target. I’m going to try my hardest to not go to Target as my primary form of entertainment. And I really, really want my closet to contain clothes that look fantastic on me and fit perfectly instead of overflowing with clearance tops that highlight my tubby belly.

If you have an incredibly tight clothing budget, don’t try Stitch Fix. It will just be frustrating. My 32-year-old self with three babies at home couldn’t have afforded this, and that’s just fine. But I turned 40 last week and I have some money to spend on clothing now. Your time will come, sweet young thang. Focus on your lack of facial hair and that you can go all day without peeing your pants a little.

Or you could ask for a Stitch Fix box for your birthday, anniversary, or Christmas. They have gift cards.

If you have a very standard body shape or love, love, love shopping, this probably isn’t worth the money. For instance, if you enjoy shopping and have the time to do it well, you might get your box and think “I could have found this same top at XXX shop in some obscure neighborhood in North Portland myself.” Just carry on with your trendy self. You’re already hitting it out of the park.

Also, if you’re someone who looks off the charts in every single piece of clothing you put on, you don’t need Stitch Fix. Just keep rocking the Old Navy clearance racks. For instance, I have a pint-sized friend who after five babies still wears a size 0 and as long as she can find her tiny, midget size, looks fantastic in every. single. thing. This isn’t for her.

The verdict

So, yes, I now love Stitch Fix. In fact, I will order from them again. And seriously, save the “I thought this was a frugal site” comments. You can be frugal and still spend money. Frugal is saving on items in your budget you don’t really care about to free up money to spend on what you do care about. The key is to be intentional with what you spend.

I care about clothing. Actually, I care about looking cute. I don’t spend my personal money on much else. And I’m honestly tired of feeling like I’m being a good steward of my money because I bought a shirt on clearance at Target only to never wear it because it doesn’t look great. And, as it turns out, my closet is filled with these “bargains” that I rarely wear.

Later next week, I’ll give a detailed review on what I received in my first Stitch Fix box.

Are you ready to join the fun? Head to Stitch Fix to order your first “fix”!

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