Greetings from the chilly grey of Northern Indiana! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around here with re-adjusting to “normal” life… i.e. the non-European jet-setting life. Ugh. Take me back to Austria, please! But we are finally getting caught up and things are happening. Good things. Busy things. Lots of things! (P.S. Official Blog launch, coming in Feb!!!)
One of those things is the fact that Core de Force is kicking my booty into shape and I have zero clothes. I’ve held onto my skinny clothes for 7 years and finally faced the reality last year that they likely would never fit again, so off they went to a new home. Needless to say, here I sit, in too large clothes, and nothing to wear. It’s amazing what a little Brazilian Ju Jitsu inspired working out can do for a body. Seriously, it’s amazing. I lost 7 lbs pre-vacation by sort of half-way doing the program. (I was only doing 2-4 workouts a week in what is a 7 day a week workout plan.) The week after we returned from the big holiday trip, I buckled down and committed to the 7 day a week calendar, as well as cleaned up my eating (no dairy, no grains, little to no sugar) and here I am… 7 more lbs gone and two sizes smaller. To be fair, some of the sizing was due to food allergy bloat. I swear I can go up an entire pant size when I eat something I’m allergic to. That’s the power of inflammation, my friends.
Enter the scene, Stitch Fix. Trying this shopping service was something that had been on my wish list for a while, but to be honest, they didn’t offer any sizes that fit me. As soon as I reached my first goal weight, my sweet hubby insisted I give it a shot and get some clothes. Don’t need to tell me twice! So here’s the skinny.
First, download the app to your smartphone or go to www.stitchfix.com on your computer. You’ll set-up an account and enter in some sizing info then take a short style quiz. Then you’ll answer a few questions about colors, items you do/don’t like, and how much you prefer to spend on different categories of clothing. There’s a “notes” section where you can write a quick blurb to your personal stylist with any wants or needs for your shipment of clothes, and that’s all there is to it. You finish up and wait for your Stitch Fix to arrive.
My box took about a week to arrive by mail, and here’s the unboxing video.
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Next, you try on your lovely things and make some decisions about what stays and what goes back. My honest thoughts on the clothes in my first box were that my stylist nailed it. And can we just take a moment to appreciate the thought of having a stylist? What a luxe feeling. I’m a horrible shopper. I stink at putting together outfits. I never know what’s going to fit my body and I just have given up being stylish at all. Until now, that is.
My stylist put together a box that had a pair of jeans, a knit top, a drape cardigan, a paneled blouse and a quilted vest. Everything fit perfect and was versatile. Most of the pieces could be worn as casual or accessorized up into something a little classier like date night – which is exactly what I wanted. They offer a 25% discount if you keep all five pieces, so I did. I actually considered sending back the sweater because we’re headed South soon and I’ve got Spring on the brain. When I did the math on the discount, it actually would’ve cost me MORE if I had sent the sweater back than it did to keep it and get the 25% discount,. Needless to say, the sweater stayed. Which is fine – it is cute and cozy and I’ve already worn it twice.
They make it easy to ship back any items you don’t want to keep, by including a pre-labeled and postaged package. Next you just log into your account on the app or your computer, let them know what items you’re keeping and what you’re sending back, you pay and you’re on your stylish little way!
A few final thoughts. Will I use Stitch Fix again? Definitely. Probably won’t catch me shopping much these days now that I’m hooked on having a stylist. Does it cost anything? When they ship you the box there is a $20 styling fee that is charged to your credit card, however when you purchase your clothes, the $20 is credited back towards your purchases. So keep that in mind. I wouldn’t order a box if I didn’t have a real intent of keeping at least one item in it, so as not to lose my $20. Last but not least, click here, and get yourself a stylist too!
Ciao, stylish friends!
Stacey
