Basically, this consisted of Stitch Fix asking me a bunch of questions whose answers were far more complicated than you would think.
STITCH FIX: What is the size of your jean waist?
AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: Theoretically, the waist is the tapering point of a girl's torso, but in actuality I seem unable to locate my waist. I've measured what I think is my waist with the Seamstress's measuring tape five times, and the result was never the same. So here's the number that seems most accurate to me. Crossing my fingers that it's right.
STITCH FIX: How often do you dress in business casual clothes/for work?
AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: Most of the time.
STITCH FIX: How often do you dress in laid back casual clothes?
AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: Also most of the time. Which makes no mathematical sense yet is somehow true.
STITCH FIX: Is your jewelry mostly classic jewelry or mostly statement jewelry?
AWKWARD MORMON GIRL: Mostly classic, though I have some statement jewelry. I don't know why you call it "statement" jewelry, though. It just seems to be bigger and weirder than classic jewelry. I literally saw a bunch of big, plastic flower jewelry with rhinestones that was being sold under a "Make a Statement" label at Target. But I feel like the only statement those necklaces make is that you think big, plastic flower jewelry with rhinestones is good fashion.
Then Stitch Fix asked me to write a note with any additional information that they should know. I started to tell them important stuff, like my life story, but they had a strict character limit so I just ended up telling them “I'm an endowed member of the LDS church, so I wear special garments under my clothes. Items shouldn't be too low-cut, back-baring, shoulder-baring or too short (just above the knees is probably fine) unless they can be layered. I need business-casual clothes for work, casual clothes for after work, and dressier clothes for church and other events.”
The second thing that I did after signing up for Stitch Fix was schedule my first Fix. To schedule a Fix, I paid $20 up front. This $20 covered the cost of styling the box, but it also went towards anything I decided to purchase. I would only lose the money if I decided not to keep any of the items in the box. I also had to choose what day I wanted my Fix to arrive. I scheduled it for a Thursday so that I could take the weekend to examine the clothes I received. Stitch Fix also asked me to write another note that mentioned any specific items I needed or wanted in this Fix, so I wrote something like, “I am in need of long shorts and some fun date outfits.”
The last thing I did was go on Pinterest and pin a bunch of clothes. I heard that the best way to get stuff you like from Stitch Fix is to create a Pinterest board and then put a link in your Stitch Fix style profile, so I pinned like 54,285,342 pins. I pinned so many pins that whereas Pinterest used to mostly recommend food, quotes, and geeky stuff pins to me, they began to recommend a ton of clothing pins. Not sure how I feel about this.
The next two weeks were spent in excitement. I’m not a super clothes-oriented person; in fact, I usually go out of my way to buy the cheapest clothing possible. However, I once had an institute teacher who said that one of the keys to happiness was to have something to look forward to. Therefore, I always try to give myself something to look forward to. Sometimes that thing is going to New York City; sometimes it’s completing college; sometimes it’s a new movie or a new book coming out; sometimes it’s a special or fun event; sometimes it’s spending time with someone I love. And sometimes, that thing is a mysterious box of fun new clothing picked out for me by a stylish stranger.
For me, the fun of the anticipation alone was almost worth the $20.
Then, the day before my Fix was scheduled to arrive, I received a text…
Little Sister: YOUR CLOTHES ARE HERE!
I zoomed to my parents’ house to pick up my package (because I have all my mail sent to my parents’ house due to my landlord’s philosophy about mail, which is to deposit all the mail into a locked box and open it only when bills are due). Older Sister and Little Sister were excited for me and wanted me to open the box right away, so I did.
Opening the box was like an episode of a soap opera. First the excitement as I tried to rip open the tape on the box with my keys (this failed, because my keys are not pointy enough). Then the agony of the slowness ripping the tape off with my bare hands. Then the panic right before I opened the box.
“What if I hate all of it?!” I exclaimed. But, with the encouragement of my sisters, I separated the flaps and removed the envelope with the stylist’s note.
Here’s what it said:
Hi Awkward Mormon Girl! I had so much fun styling you for your first Fix, and welcome to the Stitch Fix Family!
Oh, so we're a family now? Did not know that was a thing.
Try the Elyott Dress for a fun date night option, I love this dress with the Marianna Layered Beaded Necklace and a cute pair of flats. I did not have any shorts that were knee length but I think the Huntter Cuffed Shorts will hit just slightly above your knee, I hope these work out. The Huntter Cuffed Short look so cute with the Eugene Swiss Dot Blouse- this blouse will be great for date night or casual looks. I can't wait to see what you love in this Fix! Xo Jessica V
I’d seen other people’s stylist notes online, all of which seemed to end in XO. Is that signoff required? No matter. I set the note aside and pulled out the tissue-paper wrapped bundles.
I wish I had taken a picture of the bundle of clothing (next time!). The side view of a Fix is a thing to behold, and mine was no exception. I let out an audible noise of admiration as I looked at the beautiful layers of color and texture.
“Look!” I said, showing my sisters.
“What am I looking at?” Older Sister asked.
I tried to explain the loveliness of just looking at the stack of clothing, but I soon gave up in favor of opening the package. Here's the side view of someone else's Fix:
This is what my items looked like collectively:
And individually:
Mavi Huntter Cuffed Short: I had never, ever before considered buying cuffed denim shorts. It surprised me that I actually really liked these shorts. However, they were not only too big (curse you, inexplicable failure to measure waist correctly!), they didn’t reach my knees as my stylist had hoped. They were a longer pair of shorts, but they were still too short for garments. And the final issue—the little rips in the denim also revealed my garments. Verdict: Send back.
Le Lis Elyott Dress: I really liked the fabric of this dress. It was navy blue, which I liked, and had polka dots, which I also am a fan of. The fit was right for my body, but once again, too short for garments. Verdict: Send back.
Market & Spruce Soyer Henley Top: At first sight, this blouse was the one item I was sure that I would keep. I loved the colors and the pattern. However, when I put it on, I discovered that the shoulder seams fell really far forward. They reached my clavicle. This resulted in the neckline gaping strangely. I thought about asking my mom to alter the shoulders so that I could keep it, but I decided that if I had to do that much work to get it to fit, it wasn’t worth it. Verdict: Send back.
Brixon Ivy Eugene Swiss Dot Blouse: Initially, I didn’t like this blouse as much as the other one. However, when I tried it on, it fit really well, and I found that I liked the way it looked. I tried it with different undershirts, with jeans, with a pencil skirt, and with my favorite necklace. The more things I tried it with, the more I liked it. There was a button missing, which irked, especially because it was one of the more expensive items in the Fix. But there was an extra button included with the blouse, which I could sew on myself. Verdict: Keep.
Then there was this necklace. I went back and forth on it like every fifteen minutes for the next twenty-four hours.
ME: I don’t really wear beaded necklaces.
ALSO ME: Maybe now is the time to start. The coral and gold is so pretty!
ME: For a necklace, it’s expensive.
ALSO ME: Expensive, but not out of your price range.
ME: What would I wear it with?
ALSO ME: Good question.
What would go with a coral and gold beaded necklace? I tried it with the white blouse, but it didn’t go very well with the neckline. My stylist recommended that I wear it with the polka dot dress she sent, but as I wasn’t keeping the polka dot dress that thought wasn’t exactly useful. Stitch Fix sent me style cards that show different ways to wear each piece of clothing, but the style card for the necklace just had the name of the necklace on it. I guess they don’t give styling tips for their jewelry? Boo. Finally, I remembered that I had 48,258 navy blue t-shirts and probably like 52% as many gray t-shirts. This necklace would be an excellent way to dress those t-shirts up, especially when worn with the Mokey Fraggle that I got for New York. Verdict: Keep.
Once I decided what I wanted to keep, I logged on to my Stitch Fix profile and checked out. In the checking-out process, Stitch Fix asked for my feedback on both the items I kept and the ones that I didn’t. They say that the more specific your feedback, the better your next Fix will be. My feedback was very specific about what I liked and what I didn’t, what worked for me and what didn’t, the missing button, and the pricing of their items. We’ll see how this affects my next Fix.
After I checked out, I put the items I wasn’t keeping in a prepaid envelope and mailed them back to Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix gives you three days to check out and mail the items back. I was worried when my Stitch Fix came early that they would expect me to check out earlier, too, but they gave me three days from when the Fix was scheduled to arrive, which I appreciated.
My overall thoughts? Stitch Fix was a lot of fun. It’s not exactly bargain shopping, but if you hate to shop/love surprises and have a little extra money, it’s pretty great. I felt like my stylist did a great job. Even though not all the items worked for me, I liked everything I got. I could tell that Jessica V. paid attention to my style profile (the tops fit perfectly and it seemed like she tried to accommodate my garments), the note I’d written to go with the Fix (she referenced the shorts and the date outfit I’d asked for), and my Pinterest board (I’d pinned a lot of polka dots and some coral items).
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed exploring Stitch Fix vicariously through me. And if you wanna try it for yourself, go ahead and try it. << If you use this link to sign up, I will receive referral credit.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Questions, comments, concerns, complaints?