Stitch Fix #3 - Back on Track

I am happy to report that September's Stitch Fix was a vast improvement over August. Still not a 5/5, but I think they took the feedback from last time and tried to work with it. A new stylist again - Katie. She seemed to mostly get it. Before we dive in, of course, we need the explanation:

If you are not familiar with Stitch Fix, here’s the deal: Stitch Fix is an online personal styling service. You can subscribe for regular Fixes or just schedule them as you like. You fill out an extensive online profile of your tastes, sizes, and budget preferences and for a $20 fee, one of their stylist puts together a box of 5 clothing and accessory items to ship right to your door! You have 3 days to try things on, solicit opinions, balance your budget, whatever — you send back anything that doesn’t work for you in a prepaid envelope, and keep whatever you love! Your $20 styling fee is applied to anything you decide to keep, and if you buy the whole box of items you get 25% off the entire box! Prices vary but they say the average cost per item is $55 – 65. If you haven’t ever tried it and are interested, please consider using my referral link. If you use my link to schedule a Fix, I get a $25 credit towards my next purchase! (Note that I do not receive any compensation for reviewing this service; I just enjoy doing it).

On to the clothes!

We'll begin with two at once: DV8 Cheyne Western Booties and Le Lis Eldon Dress. I love the dress. The pictures don't quite do it justice (again, a reminder that my nine year old daughter is my photographer...we're still working on how to hold the phone straight up and down when taking pictures) and I should have posed with my hands on my hips so you could really see how cute it is, but I promise you, it is. It has elastic at the waist so it pulls in nicely and the sleeves are super fun bells. I was a little concerned at first that it would be too short for my taste, but the length works. Verdict: kept!

Then there are the booties. I haven't yet jumped on the bootie bandwagon as I still have mixed feelings about them. I've seen some that are cute and people wearing them who can really pull them off. I've also seen the opposite. Still, I was cautiously optimistic when I saw I was getting a pair. However, the pictures I was able to find beforehand of these booties all had them in black. I think I would have been more excited about them in black. This color...it's not brown, exactly. It has more of a cinnamon thing going on, which to me makes it harder to match with stuff. I didn't take any good up close pictures of these, but they have a pointier toe than I like plus a little stitched spiral thing going on on the tops - the "western" look. It just added to kinda meh. If I want cowboy boots, then I'll just get real cowboy boots. The other thing I thought was weird was the style card for the dress had it paired with black booties. So why not just send black ones? I'm still open to booties, I think. These just aren't it. Verdict: returned.

But here's one more shot of the dress with high black boots because...yes.

Next, we have another two together: the Brixon Ivy Elmar Embroidered Cutout Blouse and Kut from the Kloth Elyse Printed Slim Straight Leg Pants. We'll start with the blouse.

I wasn't sure what to think of this when I peeked ahead to see what was coming. Some people that had received it loved it, others not so much. I was a little concerned that the sleeves might be more grandma chic like we had before. But once I put it on, I really liked it. The cut is flattering, the sleeves are fun, and the color is great. I have a lot of dark blue, black, and brown in my closet, so the purple is a welcome change. 

The husband and daughter liked it right away. My trusted fashion advisor, Katie, was not sure at first, but over the course of about five minutes, changed her mind:

"The purple shirt color is Awesome but the sleeves feel like...a lot."

[...] 

"On a second look at the purple shirt, I like it more. It is very flattering on you."

[...] 

"And the more I look at the purple the more I like it. :)"

Verdict: kept!

Then we come to the pants. The stylist suggested I pair both shirts with the pants, plus cuff the pants and wear them with booties (again - the pants are black and gray with some purple/maroon running through the plaid. If you wanted me to wear them with booties, why didn't you send black booties? I don't understand). The pants are very comfy and stretchy and overall flattering. I will confess, it took me a couple of days to make up my mind on these. I don't really know why. Katie loved them, but the husband was on the fence. The day after I got them, I showed the pictures to several friends and all deemed the pants keepers. So I tried them on a couple of more times and decided they would be a great addition to my wardrobe where the only pants I really own for fall/winter are jeans.

Verdict: kept!

This is my attempt to cuff the pants (on one side) and wear them with the booties. I don't know if I just wasn't doing it right or if the color was throwing me, but whatever the problem was, there was a problem and it all looked weird.

But they definitely are not a problem with high black boots. They also look pretty cute with Danskos. So it's all good and I can't wait to wear them with my big black sweater. And my big gray sweater. And my big, drapey maroon cardigan. So many things to pair them with!

Last in the box was the Fate Goodwin Cowl Neck Sweater (paired again with the pants because that's the what card said to do). I wanted to like this sweater. I really, really did. And there were many things I DID like about it. The picture doesn't really show it well, but this sweater has a front pocket. I love me someplace to put my hands! I like the cowl neck, I like the length, I like that the color is a good neutral that doesn't wash me out. And look how cute the sleeves are!

But.

Sadly, yes, but.

It's cut weird on the sides. It scoops way up on either side and the sleeves are the kind that don't attach under the armpits but somewhere mid-torso and this happens:

Now, I realize I could wear a tank or something under it. And I also realize I generally don't lift my arms way over my head in the course of a normal day. But I don't want to HAVE to wear something under it (it's a pretty lightweight sweater, meant for those slightly warmer cool days) and when I do lift my arms at all, I don't want to have to be thinking about it.  Plus, as Katie said, "if it were me and I knew I was returning one thing, I'd start looking at the other pieces with an eye to definitely returning at least one (fiscally, if you are not keeping five, it usually doesn't make sense to keep four)." So...verdict: returned.

I'm a little bummed that the booties and the sweater didn't work out since with just a little tweaking they would have been great, but still and all, I'm satisfied with this Fix.

Now my photographer and I just need to agree on whether or not my head should be in these pictures!