I need a Fix

Once upon a time, I considered myself a bit of a clothes horse. While I never enjoyed Sarah Jessica Parker heights of fashion, I did take tremendous pleasure in shopping and plumbing the depths of my closet for new and interesting combinations.

But sadly things have changed. Pregnancy and now my post-pregnancy body have made shopping significantly less fun. For nine months I purchased maternity staples like stretchy waistband work pants and ruched tank tops. Not exactly items that make one swoon. The few super cute maternity dresses I splurged on are now lovingly put away until either my next pregnancy or some lucky friend's.

But Harper is nine months old, you say. Surely your old clothes fit again, right? Well sort of. I can wear most of them, but they pull in funny places or highlight parts of my body I would rather keep under wraps right now (hello, muffin top!). Some look great when I'm working on my laptop sipping coffee, but become annoyingly X-rated or impractical when chasing Harper around the house.

I need some clothes that fit my new body and baby lifestyle. Enter Stitch Fix.

Now maybe Stitch Fix is something you all know about already. It is entirely possible that I'm the last one to this trend. But you guys, it is rocking my world so I wanted to share the magic. Stitch Fix was wisely advertised to me by those genius Facebook algorithms. Usually I ignore Facebook ads, but the Stitch Fix ones were seriously so cute. Outfits I would absolutely wear everyday. And when I clicked on the link to learn more, the concept was intriguing to me. Using a combination of data science and personal styling to send outfits straight to my door? Which can all be returned if I don't like them? Yes, please!

Here's how it works. You go on to Stitch Fix and start your account. They ask you a whole bunch of questions about your size, favorite brands, occupation, parental status, favorite colors, perceived problem areas, how much you like to spend on clothing items, etc. You look at groups of clothes and give feedback on whether you love them, like them, or hate them. It's like online dating but rather than finding your perfect match, you are finding your perfect outfit. An optional but even more fun thing you can do is start a personal Stitch Fix board on Pinterest and pin clothes that you love. On your pins, you can leave notes to your personal stylist about why you love the thing you pinned. This might sound like a lot of work, but honestly, it has been a perfect mindless activity to engage in at the end of the day after the kids have gone to bed.

And then there's the intrigue. Can they get it right? Can a computer (with the help of a human stylist) pick clothes for me, with all my years of experience, better than I can?

And the anticipation. You have no idea what's going to show up. It's like opening a birthday present. Granted one you pay for yourself, but it feels like a present nonetheless.

My first "Fix" arrived yesterday. I was so excited that I savored every moment.

Packaged joy

As I lovingly unwrapped my Fix, I first read the note from my stylist. It gave some helpful hints on how to pair the items in the box and even included some ways to style the different items. I looked at the style notes but intentionally ignored the price list. This is something I do while shopping as well because I prefer to try on clothes first, make a judgement about how much I would spend on something, and then look at the price. My sister-in-law thinks this is crazy (amiright, Heather? ;) because if something is out of my price range, why try it on? All I have to say is this system works for me. When I try something on, a number pops into my head of what I think it's worth. If the actual price far exceeds my estimation or is way below, that information can make or break my purchase. Back to Stitch Fix...

Stitch Fix style tips

The first item I tried on was a cream colored "Alasandra" lace dress pictured here with wedges and gold earrings.

Next up was the Rubeus Crochet Detail Top:

Too bad we don't have a cat because those tassels would provide hours of entertainment.

While I was trying on clothes, Harper put her seal of approval on the Stitch Fix box:

I tried the third and fourth items on together, the Sam Tee and Julie drawstring short:

Fashion show moved to the bathroom with helpful style notes on the counter. 

And now with my own jeans. Necklace, also mine. 

Last up were a pair of beaded sandals, the "Alita Embellished Thong Sandal."

Badly in need of a pedicure

I really liked the dress so I tried on another permutation with boots and a denim jacket:

While weighing my choices I saw that the grey tee -- which while kind of boring was really, really soft -- had a hole in the seam.

Lame.

Decision time. The first thing I put back in the return bag was the pair of sandals. I found the colors drab for summer, and didn't think they warranted the $60 price tag. Honestly, I liked my current sandals from Target better and they were like $16.99.

I decided to send back the blue crochet top next. Those tassels were just really killing me.

I hemmed and hawed over the shorts. I thought they were cute and they were off the charts comfortable, but both Tiina and Robert thought they were "too big" and looked like "athletic shorts." Back in the bag they went.

The t-shirt actually had me on the fence. It was so soft, you guys. I could picture myself wearing it until it disintegrated. But I just couldn't spend $44 on a t-shirt that needed to be mended. Back in the bag.

Ultimately, I kept the lace dress which is cute and versatile and got rave reviews from Tiina and Robert. I wore it to the park later that day and received a compliment from a stranger so yay!

After my first "Fix" here are my reflections:

I wasn't over the moon for my first round of selections but hope springs eternal. I have a vague idea of how data mining works, and theoretically my Fixes should get better each time since I provide more data points and feedback with each box. Since Stitch Fix requires you to pay full price for an item, I won't keep anything that doesn't wow me, or "spark joy" to use the trending phrase. However, you DO pay a $20 styling fee if you send everything back which provides incentive to keep at least one thing to avoid the fee.

And I do really like my new dress, which made my first Fix worth it. If the tee wasn't damaged I would have kept two things.

Time for the nitty gritty. Prices. All five items would have cost $296. If you keep all five items, you get a 25% discount, which I thought at first glance brought the price down to $202 (see the clever bolding and font choices on the invoice below). In reality the 25% discount brought it down to $222, but minus the $20 styling fee (already paid upon shipment), the whole box would cost me $202. Got that? The psychology of Stitch Fix is that almost everyone keeps at least one thing to avoid the styling fee and that if you like four items, you may as well keep the fifth to get the discount.

Final thoughts on who SHOULD use this service:

1. People stuck in a fashion rut. We become myopic with our closets. We start wearing uniforms. We stare into the depths of our closet and can't find anything to wear. Mix it up, ladies.

2. The fashion challenged. Can't put an "outfit" together? Every Stitch Fix item comes with instructions, or I guess suggestions, on how to wear it. Brilliant.

3. Busy people. Time is money. You can waste hours hunting down the perfect pair of sandals. Or you can log your preferences into an algorithm and send a note to your stylist that says, "Send me a pair of sandals." You choose.

4. Bored people. I have to admit, I found this process incredibly fun. It adds a novelty to shopping that I haven't felt in a long time. Live a little.

Final thoughts on who SHOULDN'T use this service:

1. People who refuse to pay full price for anything. There are no discounts on Stitch Fix; everything is full price unless you happen to love all five items in your Fix. I know this would kill some of my friends. Look, bargains are awesome. I get that. But my time is worth something too, and right now taking a nine-month old and a ten year-old to the store is just not fun. I make poor choices under duress, which is how shopping with two kids feels.

2. Control freaks. Having someone else pick out your clothes means giving up a degree of control over your own wardrobe. But let's face it, sometimes we are too close to our own closets. We get comfortable and find ourselves buying the same item of clothes over and over and over again. We don't keep track of changing trends and slip closer to being that like that old guy who still wears super short shorts from the 70's because that's what he's always worn. Don't be that guy.

3. People who enjoy shopping. I used to love the chase too. In fact, nothing used to be more fun for me than spending a day at the mall trying to find the perfect little black dress. But now, I would much rather spend my Saturdays playing with my kids or even (and I can't believe I'm saying this) cleaning or getting projects done around my house. I can't stand pushy salespeople. I loathe the harsh lights -- both physically and metaphorically -- of dressing rooms. Even the endless choice of the mall has become wearing. It's the perfect example of the paradox of choice, where too many choices paralyze me into inaction. I would rather select what I like out of five things than five thousand. Psychologically, this makes sense.

4. People who suck at returning things. In my opinion, this is the biggest downside of Stitch Fix. You have to return what you don't like in three days. Three days. That's a pretty tight turnaround especially for busy people, which is like everybody. Yes, they give you a free return label and bag, but you still need to get your lazy butt to the post office, get out of the car, drop the bag in the mailbox, and drive home.

Alrighty, friends. That was my Stitch Fix experience. Have I tempted you to try it? Do you agree with the item I kept and those I sent back, or was I way off the mark? If you would like to try your own Fix, make sure to use my referral link so I can get a $25 credit for my evangelism. Now go forth and shop!