It isn’t where you look for a bargain

If you’ve ever looked in your closet and said “I need a new style”, but you hate clothes shopping like I do, adding quality items to your wardrobe is almost impossible and always unpredictable. Clothes shopping takes too long and many people need help to know what looks good and what’s trendy. Millions of people are like that and it’s sparked a clothing subscription industry. Think of it as…Netflix for clothes. So I signed up. 

For my experience, I chose Stitch Fix

For my experience, I chose Stitch Fix, one of the more popular services caters to men as well as women and children. What drew me to this choice is the artificial intelligence and a real human stylist it uses to select the clothes it’ll send to you.

When I signed up on the Stitch Fix website I filled out forms that asked my sizes for everything from shirts to shoes. It also wanted personal information such as my occupation, whether I dressed casual for the office and where I live. It wants my Instagram feed and LinkedIn. Stitch Fix says my personal shopper will use my social media and all of that other information to get to know me better.

The website then it asks me to look through clothing items and check the ones I like. They’ll charge a $20 ‘styling fee’, which I can use as a credit if I buy something. You can choose to get a box of Stitch Fix clothing every 2-3 weeks, every month or every two months. For new customers Stitch Fix waives the styling fee provided you sign up for three deliveries in three months. You can unsubscribe at any time. 

A few days after ordering I received my clothes.

A Burgundy mesh V-neck shirt, a checked long sleeve dress shirt, a mockneck sweater, a pair of jeans and a pair of leather shoes from Sperry. I have 4 days to try them on and decide if I want to keep any of them. The company includes a pre-paid return label for what I don’t want.

I’m asked to review the products on the website. How they fit, how I like them and whether I want to keep the same stylist for my next shipment. The clothes are excellent quality. The shirt is from a brand owned by Stitch Fix.

 The stylist did a good job selecting items I would like and the company says the stylist and algorithm will learn about me from every shipment and review. Like Netflix, my stylist will figure since I like this sweater I’ll probably like the next one. 

Really, I’d like to keep everything except the mesh v-shirt. But if you keep the entire box, there’s a 25% discount. Once the styling fee is credited, the total price for the 5 items is $239

I missed my shipping deadline and kept everything.

As someone who only shops during sales, the price is a bit high. It’s full retail price which I’m not used to paying. You’re not shopping to save money with these subscription boxes, you’re getting help from a professional stylist to build a wardrobe that is both trendy and will last a long time.

So who are these clothing subscriptions for? I’d say anyone who hates shopping and who doesn’t mind paying full price. They’re not inexpensive and if saving money is important to you, you’ll have to spend time in stores looking for sales.

By the way, if you’d like to try Stitch Fix, they’re giving my friends $25 credit to their order by using this link.

https://www.stitchfix.com/invite/dyhx9w7y7n?sod=w&som=c

My next box is due in January. I don’t know if I’ll stay with it or not but I like what I’ve seen so far.