Are you familiar yet with Stitch Fix? I learned about it last spring, when I was in the process of trying to refine my wardrobe a bit and several of my flickr friends were trying it out. It’s a personal styling service – you fill out a style questionnaire on their site so that they get a sense of your “style profile.” Then you pay a $20 “styling fee” and they hand-pick five items for you, based on your preferences. They ship the box to you, you try everything on, and then you select what, if anything, you want to keep; the $20 styling fee goes toward the cost of anything you choose. If you don’t want to keep anything, you ship everything back in the package provided (they keep the $20 styling fee). If you decide to keep everything, you get a 25% discount (minus the $20 you already paid them). Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?

It is, actually. At least as long as they ship you at least one thing you want to keep. I’ve done it three times now, and each time, I’ve kept at least one item. I got the first box in May. Here’s what they sent:

Stitch Fix #1 – May 2013

I received five pieces:
1 – a dark purple v-neck cap sleeve jersey top
2 – an orange skirt with a little front zipper that unzips at the thigh
3 – a necklace with white, blue, and orange squares
4 – a faux wrap tank dress – they call the color red but to me it is more of an orange-red
5 – a white longsleeve open cardigan

I fell in total and complete love with the dress, which is not something I would’ve ever picked out for myself – I would’ve skipped over the color entirely, and, even in a different color, I would’ve skipped it because it’s sleeveless. (professionally, I don’t wear sleeveless clothes except with a cardigan or jacket). But I really loved this dress and the price was just right.

I loved the dark purple jersey top, too. It’s got a really nice neckline and I love the feel of it (and the color). It’s pricier than I would tend to pay, but I’ve actually gotten so much wear it out of it that it’s definitely been worth it.

I really liked the skirt, too, but I sent it back. It was the most expensive thing in the box, and I just won’t pay nearly $90 for a cotton/spandex skirt. I know how easy (and cheap) it is to make a skirt, and this one just isn’t worth that price, even with the cute zipper detail. I love the color, though, especially with the purple top and white cardi.

I also sent the necklace back, even though it was cute. It felt really cheap and trinkety, not at all worth the almost $50 they were charging for it. I typically don’t pay more than $25 for costume jewelry – anything more than that and it needs to either be sterling silver, or have actual gems/stones in it, or be handmade.

The white cardi is the one piece I was on the fence about. I really liked it – it’s definitely my style. I have something similar to it that looks a bit worn now, so it could’ve been a nice update to replace my old cardigan. But it was again more money than I would typically pay for a piece like this in the store, so I sent it back.

Overall, I was very pleased with this way of shopping. The dress was a real find for me, and I’ve enjoyed wearing it to summer weddings and out for dinner. The purple top has been a perfect work piece for me. Even the items I didn’t keep gave me ideas of what to look for as I shop elsewhere.

All-in-all, it was a great experience, and one I was eager to repeat. I did it again in June – I’ll be posting that review next Friday.

In the meantime, if you’re interested, you can schedule a Fix for yourself on their site here. (Full disclosure: if you use that link, I will get a credit towards my next Fix!) If you have questions about how it works, you can see their FAQ here – and I am more than happy to answer any questions based on my experience, too.