Stitch Fix #4

To start - I made a mistake in the last post and referred to the stylist as Katie. Her name is, in fact, Kristen, and she did a great job AGAIN. I emailed customer service after the last Fix to request her again and fortunately, they are smarter than I am and did not give me a stylist named Katie. They gave me Kristen. So, yay!

(Skip this paragraph if you've already read previous SF posts) 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).

For October, I made a couple of specific requests and Kristen did very well, even if what I thought I wanted didn't end up to be what I actually wanted!

First up, I asked for some olive pants. I have lots and lots of jeans...and nothing else besides the pants from the last Fix. So she gave me the LIVERPOOL Anita Skinny Pant in olive and they were almost great. As you can see, they are super skinnies, almost more like leggings than pants. Very comfy, perfect length, and great color. However, after I wore them around for a couple of hours just to test them out (learned that lesson after the jeans fiasco), they definitely became TOO stretchy and very big in the waist. So on checking out, I requested a smaller size. Once again, customer service there is great. Very quick turnaround on the exchange and now I am happily wearing my olive pants as I write this. The pants are also the same in all the upcoming photos so you can continue to admire them. Obvious verdict: kept!

Next up, we have the DANIEL RAINN Wilcox Tie Neck Blouse. Kristen clearly got the boho message! I love this shirt...I am also wearing it as I write. Well, almost. The one in the pictures, unfortunately, was missing one of the tassels. And it's just low cut enough that it needs to be tied. But again, a quick note during the check out process and two days later I had a replacement with both tassels. Great color, great fit, great pattern. Verdict: kept!

Moving right along, we have the RD STYLE Calandra Side Button Hooded Poncho. It is tragic that the pictures of this didn't turn out that well (you may have noticed that the background changed slightly on the next photos. We did this the day after a sleepover and my resident photographer was VERY overtired. And cranky. And apparently taking pictures downstairs was just TOO MUCH, so we moved operations upstairs). This sweater is the best. I am seriously annoyed that the weather turned warm again because I want to wear it all the time. It has a hood. It has built in sleeves. It has fun big buttons on the side. I wish there were photos of the buttons. But again, cranky photographer. So this is what you get. Either way, verdict: kept!

It's all seeming pretty good, isn't it? You're all thinking this could be a 5/5, aren't you? I was too. Then this sweater happened. This is the EVOLUTION BY CYRUS Flora Zipper Detail Pullover Sweater. I wanted to like it. It seemed like I should like it. It had a fun pattern, a good length, a little bit of funky design with the side zippers. But it all added up to...no. The color did nothing for me, the neckline was too high (not a fan of the crewneck in general), in spite of the funky design it felt very boring. Verdict: returned.

 Last (and least), we have the other item I sort of requested, the EVOLUTION BY CYRUS Leesa Hooded Cardigan. I had actually requested a regular Evolution cardigan, but I am never one to turn down a hoodie! Love em. This sweater was sooo soft, it was a joy to wear it. But not to look at it. Something about the length just didn't work. I wanted it to be about three inches longer and everyone who looked at it agreed. You can see from the pictures when I put my hands in the pockets (it had pockets!) and pull it down, the length that would have been perfect. But it wasn't. Plus the color just wasn't that interesting and since I was already returning one, it made sense to return two. If I was keeping the others, I'd have kept it to get the discount. But alas, verdict: returned.

So there it is for October. The good news about NOT getting a 5/5 is that now I can do a November Fix (I was going to skip a month if I bought five items). Then I will probably skip December no matter what because it's the holidays and time to buy for others, not myself. I am also really pleased with Kristen as my stylist and hope that the relationship can continue. Happy Halloween!

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!

Stitch Fix Customer Service

I am sad to report that the jeans that looked so great from my last Stitch Fix didn't work out. I wore them around the house for a couple of hours the Sunday after I got them and by the end of that time they had gotten all stretched out and were sagging in the crotch and rubbing against my inner thigh in a most unpleasant way. I agonized about it for a while and tried to search online for other people's experiences. It didn't seem like anyone had ever tried to send anything back after they already sent back the other items - Stitch Fix didn't even address this possibility in their FAQ's. I reached out to Katie, but she had also never had that experience. She suggested I email customer service directly and just ask them, which was next on my list of ideas anyway. I had already received an email from customer service because I had rated my last Fix as "unsatisfying." It was nice of them to reach out, but at first blush, I also found that email "unsatisfying," as it was clearly generic and told me to do things I already had done, namely writing the stylist a note to let her know if there are any trends, styles, or items I was coveting. I pointed this out in the first part of my reply, saying "Thanks for the follow-up. I was very happy with my first Fix, even though only two items ended up being keepers. I was disappointed that the second Fix wasn't as successful, but please know that I am not angry about this. I get that this is a process and these things happen. I will try to be more specific (although I think I was pretty specific last time and both my style profile and pinterest page pretty clearly reflect my style interests)."

Maybe not the most well written of paragraphs, but it got the point across and when Erin, one of the customer service reps, replied, she noted "I see that you've been leaving great feedback on the items you are receiving and that is the best way to help you stylist improve on her selections so that we can send you pieces you love! If you have any additional feedback or suggestions for your stylist, feel free to let me know and I would be happy to help build your style profile." I appreciated that she took the time to check and offered to provide additional help. She then went on to offer to send the jeans in a smaller size or I could return them for a full refund. Since the jeans were just hovering on the edge of what I consider "too short" (I'm weird like that and I think we've already covered this), I decided a smaller size wouldn't work and I opted for the refund. Erin immediately sent me a return label to print out so all I had to do was buy a padded enveloped at the UPS store and we were good to go. Now, I don't know if "full refund" includes the $20 styling fee, but I'm okay with it either way. The process was easy; the rep was responsive; and I am walking away satisfied and still looking forward to September's Fix. In my note to the stylist, I will make sure to emphasize patterns, request no more blue denim (if they want to send another color, that's fine) and perhaps some transitional items, and include the direct link to the Cosima wore it page. I can't remember if I've linked to it before, but just in case, here it is.

Stitch Fix #2 - Sophomore Slump

I haven't posted in quite a while...not because I haven't wanted to, but because life has just been too busy around here with summer winding done and back to school looming ahead. Can I just say how utterly wrong the school calendar is out here in the heartland? The first day of school should be the Wednesday after Labor Day, no ifs, ands, or buts. August is too hot to go back and June is too soon to be out. The pools haven't warmed up yet and it's all just wrong. But unfortunately, I am not in charge. So next week it is. Sigh. However, I am taking the time to post because Stitch Fix, everybody!

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).

Last month was so fun even though I didn't keep everything that I was really psyched for the next one. The shipping notification came while we were on vacation in the Smoky Mountains and I of course peeked ahead and looked up pictures of what I was getting, all on my phone with very spotty coverage. At first blush, I was quite disappointed in what was coming my way, but resolved to keep an open mind since you never really know until you see the clothes on you. Plus there is no guarantee that what images you happen to find on Google are, in fact, the articles of clothing you are about to receive. That said....

First up, the Elisha Zipper Accent Structured Satchel in...let's just call this color tangerine. And let's just say I don't like it for me. Katie has the exact same bag in a lovely shade of teal and I think it's adorable, but both colors are definitely spring colors and therefore not very useful as a brand new item in August (and please know, I am pretty much an idiot when it comes to shoes and handbags so I don't actually care about this stuff, but I also know I am not drawn to these colors as the weather cools down). Plus, this bag is huge and not designed as a crossbody. I am all about the crossbody bag, which does not mean a very structured bag with an optional strap to put across your body. That just looks weird. My daughter looked at it and just shook her head. Verdict: returned.

One of the (many) weird things about this Fix is that it's a different stylist than last time. Katie assured me that this happens and I'm okay with it, but this stylist didn't appear to have looked at any of the Pinterest stuff or even read the feedback I gave on my last Fix. Well, she read one part where I asked for some tops to match the fantastic maxi skirt and she claimed that both tops matched it. Let's examine this claim, shall we?

This is the LaRoux Dolman Knit Top in peach. I guess you could make an argument that the color matches the skirt - in the picture it appears to, but in person, no. Plus it's way too big to pair with a maxi skirt. The cut does nothing for me either way (as you will see when it's paired with the jeans) - too boxy and the line up the middle of the shirt pulls in a strange way. The color is also very blah. As Katie said, it's basically the same color as my skin and there's just something disturbing about that! And from the back, it looks like pajamas. Verdict: returned.

Here is the shirt again, but this time with the Maribel Straight Leg Jean...well, hello, jeans!

They are stretchy, well fitted, and a definite keeper. Katie, my daughter, and the husband are all in agreement. Katie's exact comment was: They look "ditch-an-older-pair" level amazing. So there's a bright spot! Verdict: kept!

Then the Henri Surplice Ruche Sides Knit Top happened. I was intrigued by this one when I peeked beforehand, but the actual experience of it was pretty awful. It hits me in all the wrong places in the front - I look very wide in the hips and stomach here and very small in the bust...I prefer shirts that have the opposite effect! The shoulders have all kinds of weirdness going on - zoom in on the picture to see - I have really wide shoulders and it takes a lot to make them look too thin, but this shirt did it. Plus the color is awful. Gray is a tough one for me - it has to have a lot of blue in it to work, I think - whatever it is, this shirt didn't have it.

Which is frankly too bad because the back is pretty great. Sigh... But let's bear in mind that the stylist said it would pair with that maxi skirt. I didn't even try because the colors aren't close and the fits would have given me nightmares. Verdict: returned.

Anyway, last but not least we have the Harper Bootcut Pant, shown with the same shirt because why not? These pants aren't terrible. The problem here is that she seems to have mistaken me for someone who works outside the home. If I worked in an office, these would be close to a winner, but I don't. And I already have several pairs of black pants in my closet that I never, ever wear. So I certainly don't need one more. Plus there is the issue of the actual fit of these pants. They are very comfy, but a little big, especially in the waist, as you can see from the last picture. Verdict: returned.

So there it is. Only one out of five, which is too bad. I'll admit, I was more disappointed at first than the situation merited. As Katie and I messaged back and forth about this, she said she had the same experience when she first started, feeling "WHY DON'T YOU GET ME I WANT YOU TO SO MUCH" which is it exactly. There is something almost weirdly parental about this service, where I have someone to understand and pay attention to what I need and take care of it so I don't have to. Because being an adult sucks. So when they don't get it, it's pretty easy to get all those childhood needs triggered in the strangest way. But recognizing it as such helped me move past that pretty quickly. Because I am an adult and can take care of myself and this person doesn't know me at all (although I will point out again the stuff on the Pinterest board....if it's all Cosima from Orphan Black, I really don't need black office pants!). And as an adult, I can give feedback and be understanding of the process to make it more a conversation rather than the demands of a petulant child. As I said to Katie, it puts a whole new spin on the term "retail therapy"!

Stitch Fix #1!

So...yeah...it's been a loooong time on this blog. So long I kinda forgot I had it. But it still exists and it seems like the perfect place to post about my entree into the world of Stitch Fix. I joined courtesy of my friend, Katie and the below paragraph is copied directly from her fantastic blog: https://alltheserenity.wordpress.com/ (other than the referral link - that's mine b/c I'm not that selfless).

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).

So why am I doing this? For a long time, I was a devoted shopper at a local boutique in my little town. I have lots of fun pieces from there. But lately, the owner seems to be catering much more to the teen crowd (she's always done a thriving prom dress business) and those styles don't work for me. She is also hiring a lot of teenagers who will tell me things look great on me that don't. And I don't need that. So it was time for a change. Plus I don't really like shopping all that much. Therefore having someone else do it for me and it comes right to my house is a win-win all around.

In my style profile, I checked off a lot of casual/boho looks. Since I don't work outside the home, I don't need clothes suitable for the office, which means I can just get a lot of fun stuff. I also finally joined the dark side, aka Pinterest, and started pinning looks I like, which includes a whole lot of Cosima from "Orphan Black." Apparently all her stuff comes from Anthropologie, in case I ever feel like venturing to the mall. But onto the actual clothes!

First up: the THML Sanuk Lattice Detail Top. I thought this was going to be white b/c I peeked at my Fix before it arrived and googled all the stuff and every picture of this top was white. But it was navy with a red stripe. My stylist, Staci, recommended pairing this shirt with the jeans she sent, but I started with the pants I had on (white linen from Old Navy). (BTW - full disclosure, my 9 year-old daughter took most of these pictures so the quality is what it is!)

I liked it with the white pants - it's a nice flowy summer look. However, the top is fairly sheer, even in the dark color, and I have LOTS of navy tops already. So then I tried it with the Dear John Kyleigh Straight Leg Jean she sent.

Meh. I actually tried it on again later with some other bottoms and while I liked it, I didn't LOVE it. My daughter just said it didn't seem like my style. I realized there are lots of tops out there so...VERDICT: RETURN.

But here is more of the jeans:

I really like the way these fit up top. But they are kinda wide at the bottom - too wide to be really straight leg. Katie's comment was: "I love the way they fit you above the knee, but the wide leg/wide cuff around your dainty ankles feels a little Huckleberry Finn." My husband agreed. Plus they were too short to do anything except cuff them. There are better jeans out there. So even though you will continue to see these jeans in the pictures...VERDICT: RETURN.

Next up: the Diaz Crochet Detail Top. Another shirt I thought was coming in white. But it, too, is navy.

I so wanted to love this shirt. I SHOULD love this shirt. As soon as he saw it in the pile, the husband said it looked like a me shirt. But...no. The shoulders are fussy and weirdly poofy. Husband thought I had shoulder pads in. I have wide shoulders already so that's no good. Katie referred to it as "grandma chic" - she got the same shirt in white and sent it back.

So, alas, VERDICT: RETURN

But then we got to the Loveappella Contrast Trim Knit Top.

Yes all around from everyone. So fun. I love the fit, the feel, the look. VERDICT: KEEP!

Last up, the Loveappella Deanne Printed Maxi Skirt.

I love maxi skirts and dresses. Love them, love them, love them. The colors in this one are great - plenty of choices to pair with a top: black, white, tan, blue, maroon. It's super comfy and fits really well. VERDICT: KEEP!`

And there it is. My first fix and my first attempt at blogging about it. Full disclosure: I keep looking at Katie's blog and wanting to copy everything about it b/c it's all great. But she just hit Fix #40 and this is only my first, so I'll let myself be okay with the uninteresting formatting and tweak things as we go along. And it's nice to have this blog back in action...maybe someday I'll even write about books again.