A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the online styling service, Stitch Fix.  As you might recall, it was a complete hit for me and I kept all of the items that were sent.  The service was such a success for me, that I decided to sign up for another fix.  Honestly, I was really curious to see if my first box was just luck.  
I just received my second "fix" and wanted to review the items again.  If you're wondering if I kept all of the items... you'll just have to keep reading!

Wait, what isStitch Fix again?  Well, Stitch Fix is a mail order styling service for women. You sign up on their website, answer their questions to create a style profile, pay the $20 styling fee, and receive 5 items curated for you by one of their stylists.  You also have the opportunity to create a Pinterest board to link to for your stylist and a place to write notes about any details you want to share with your stylist that you think will help them understand what you're looking for.  Clothing goes from sizes 0/XS-14/XL and they've recently introduced maternity and petite sizing.

I typically request my fix be sent later in the week on a weekday, so I can have the weekend to try the items on, photograph them and then decide which items I want to keep.  For that reason, I only can pick up the box late at night after work, which means that I'm hard pressed to get a great picture of the packaging before I rip into it.  But, I did grab a picture of amazing folding job that is a Stitch Fix:

Seriously though, how to they get everything folded so neat and tidy?!  

As soon as I opened the box, I could see that there were some fabulous prints and I was so excited to try them on!

When I first saw this kimono fabric in the neat stack, I thought "wow, is that beautiful!" and sure enough, this semi-sheer light blue and burnt orange paisley fabric is gorgeous.  I was eager to try it on, because I'm always having Pinterest kimono envy (that's a thing, right?).  When I did get a chance to see it on, I have to admit I was a little disappointed.  It's not that the item isn't beautiful, it's that it wasn't as beautiful on me.  Truth be told, the subdued colors don't suit my skin tone as much as I'd hoped, so I had to really consider whether it was a keeper.  Despite it not being the perfect color, it still is a cool piece with stellar draping and I can't really see myself parting with it.  

VERDICT: kept.

After the Success of the Stitch Fix Jeans, I decided to be bold and actually request a pair of black skinny jeans, (AKA the bane of my existence).  I have been searching for black skinnies for at least a year to no avail, so I figured it might be worth asking for.  

Sure enough, my stylist added a pair of the requested black skinnies, which were made exclusively for Stitch Fix.  At first I though that these jeans were not going to work out because 1) they are very low rise (at least for me) and 2) they're very stretchy (usually a sign that they're cut small).  I was right about both those things, but to my surprise I was able to wrangle myself into them and found that they weren't that bad.  While they are both tight and fairly low rise, they still look attractive because the fabric is a high quality, thick grade.  I'm still on the fence about these as I do love the way they look with my shoes, but I don't want to be hiking my jeans up because they feel or look too low.  After crunching the numbers, I decided to get the 5 piece discount and keep them.

VERDICT: kept. 

I like the idea of receiving items that I wouldn't normally be able to find in the average store, so when I pulled out this striped dolman sleeve shirt, I wasn't entirely convinced that it would be worth the money.  But let me tell you, this is a pretty sweet shirt.  The fabric is soft, without feeling flimsy and the color is just lover-ly.  It maintains the shape of a classic dolman-sleeve shirt, without clinging to my hips, which I love because with dolman-sleeve shirts, I often find myself pulling my shirt down because it's too tight on the bottom and the sides and rides up.  But guys, I have to admit, I'm just a sucker for a dolman sleeve and this is a good one.

My inclination is to wear this as a causal top, but the styling card also suggested it with a skirt, so I tried pairing it with a blazer/skirt combo in the picture.  The combination didn't photograph very well, but actually looked pretty good in real life.  

VERDICT: kept.

Was this shirt love at first sight?  Maybe it was.  It's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for in a curated box coming from a professional stylist.  The thing I love about this top is that it looks like the kind of shirt one of my really cool girlfriends would find while vintage shopping.  It's got a great pattern that reminds me of the African prints my friend used to wear when she was in the Peace Corps and is an awesome, funky shape that's a little weird in a great kind of way.  I want to be the girl who wears a shirt like this.  I wanted to immediately buy a pair of short boots and a 90s inspired bowler hat, so that I could live up to this shirt.  It's not something I would wear everyday and I don't want to entirely change my style for it, but I love that I can do hipster cool girl, if I feel like it. 

VERDICT: kept

This must be the opposite end of the spectrum from the Phelan blouse.  This dress is just plain pretty.  I love the classic shape and the modern floral-inspired print.  My stylist wrote that this dress screamed Spring to her and I agree, though I think the graphic nature of this print, combined with the shades of blue will keep this dress relevant through Spring, Summer and the early months of Fall.  The shape is perfect for me and the overall look made this dress an easy "yes." 

VERDICT: kept. 

So, as you can see, this was another successful fix for me and I kept the whole box (again!)!  I have to admit, that while I believe this is a great service, I think maybe I did get lucky with a stylist who has a great eye and really understands my style.  

A few other details: Every fix comes with a personalized note from your stylist describing briefly why s/he picked the items for you.  In addition, there is a card that shows two ways to style each item in the fix in order to give you inspiration.

When it comes to checking out, the $20 styling fee is credited back to you, even if you keep just one item.  Also, if you buy all five items, then the whole lot is 25% off.  It's interesting how the 25% off plays into the decision-making process.  If the discount weren't a part of the equation, I probably would have returned the jeans, but with discount, it makes more financial sense to keep them and save on the total.  It's really important to crunch the numbers!

I want to reiterate a couple of things I think anyone doing this service should keep in mind when they sign up:

1.  Realistic Success Rate:  My hope going in was that one item would be a keeper, because the $20 styling fee is applied to any item you buy.  I figured if I liked one item, I would not be losing the $20.  Because I only hoped for one item, having all of them work out felt like a home run.  I still think that hoping one item will work out it a reasonable expectation going forward. 
2. Willingness to Pay:  Let's be clear: you can get clothes for cheaper than what you'll pay doing Stitch Fix.  While they do ask what price range you're looking to spend when setting up your style profile, the clothes are going to be closer to retail.  The clothes I got are also more stylish and higher quality than what I feel I often get at discount/traditionally inexpensive stores. If you're not willing to pay the true cost, then I think you may be setting yourself up to be disappointed.   
3.  Honest Details:  I told the truth about my weight, clothing size and proportions, whether I liked it or not.  I think this made a world of difference in getting the clothes to fit right.  If the clothes don't fit, no matter how cute they are, you won't keep them. 
4.  Lots of Information - I think my Pinterest board made a big difference.  I set up a board solely for Stitch Fix and only pinned things that I would both love to wear and thought that I could wear in terms of shapes and styles. 

FINALLY, if you refer a friend (or inspired stranger), then you received a $25 credit when that person  orders and receives their first fix.  So, if you're interested in trying this service, I'd love for you to use my Referral Link. ;o)

Thanks for reading all the way to the end!  I hope the review was helpful :).  I will probably set up another "fix," but since my vacation is coming up soon, it may be a while until I get another box on my front porch.

To read the review for my 1st Stitch Fix, click here

*disclosure: this is not a sponsored post, just a service that I'm using that I want to share

I'd first heard aboutStitch Fix when one of my favorite bloggers,Joy the Baker mentioned the service on her website.  It sounded like an interesting concept and, being me, I spent a lot of time after that first review researching and reading up on what the service actually was.  In brief:  Stitch Fix is a mail order styling service for women. You sign up on their website, answer their questions to create a style profile, pay the $20 styling fee and receive 5 items curated for you by one of their stylists.  You also have the opportunity to create a Pinterest board to link to for your stylist and a place to write notes about any details you want to share with your stylist that you think will help them understand what you're looking for.  Clothing goes from sizes 0/XS-14/XL.  

Once you receive the items, you have 3 days to try them on and decide which item(s) you want to keep.  The rest can be sent back with the prepaid shipping bag that comes with your order.  All shipping is included in the price of your styling fee.  For the items you want to keep, you go through a simple check-out process on their website. 

I decided to try the service for my birthday and wanted to review the items that I got.  Spoiler Alert:  I loved this service and actually kept the whole ox of items!  Score!

When I opened the box (with flourish) I immediately fell in love with this bright, geometric print shirt dress. It's all kinds of cute and can be dressed up for work or down for something more casual.  In fact, I wore it to a job interview and felt 100% comfortable, appropriate and authentic.  When I first opened the box, I was interested to try it on, because I find that shirt dresses can be hard to find where the proportions are correct with your shoulders, waist and bottom half.  I was happy to see that the bottom fit without drowning me on top.  The waist could have been a bit smaller, but still fit just fine.  The fabric belt was pretty long, so I ended up wrapping it around twice for a kind of obi-inspired look.  I also like the epaulets on the shoulders and the detailing on the sleeves (<3 3/4 length sleeves!).  All-in-all I loved it. 

VERDICT:  KEEP

Next up: the blazer.  I admit, when I first pulled out the items from the box, I was a little dubious about this jacket, if only because it looked like it had been smooshed and beaten into submission in order to fit into the adorably neat stack that the fix arrives in (I'd share a picture of said adorable stack, except I was too excited to take a picture before I opened everything :)). So, I was worried that it would be wrinkled and that the shoulder pads would have lost their shape from the packing.  However, the amazing thing about this jacket is that it doesn't look like much "on the hanger," but when you put it on, it creates an amazing shape!  I think the genius lies in the placement of the leather pockets on the side of the waist, as opposed to the front of the jacket, as well as the shoulder pads which help create an hour-glass figure.  I also love that the jacket is made of a softer cotton material which makes it comfortable and easy to dress up or down.  

VERDICT: Keep!

When I saw this summery top in my fix, I wasn't surprised because it was one of the tops that I had pinned on my Pinterest board.  It is exactly the same top that I had pinned and I think it will be very functional during our hot summers for both work and play.  The colors aren't as vivid and the noncommittal white/cream on the shoulders wasn't visible in picture I had pinned, so I wasn't as 'in love' as I thought I might be, but still this top is a definite keeper.

VERDICT: Keep.

I have to admit that when I saw a pair of jeans in the fix I immediately thought "ugh, not jeans!" and then pronounced to anyone within earshot that I would NOT be keeping these jeans.  Honestly, finding a pair of great jeans is often the bane of my existence and when I saw that my stylist had boldly put a pair in my fix I was sure that they were going to be returned.  Even when I took a closer look, I thought they looked small and wasn't sure about the lighter wash on the thigh area.  On top of that, they were pricey.  I was shocked, however that once I tried them on  (always try clothes on - you never know!), that they actually fit and - what? - they actual looked pretty good.  What black magic are you playing with Stitch Fix?  I ended up being persuaded to pay slightly above what I was comfortable with because of the 5-item discount and the fact that I did actually feel really good in them.  

VERDICT: Keep.

Finally, the jewelry.  Jewelry is an enigma for me.  I search - and occasionally find - jewelry I can wear and when I do, boy do I wear those pieces to the ground.  I've tried time and again to get into the whole "statement necklace" thing, only to feel really silly wearing costume jewelry with a t-shirt.  Which is to say, I was so so happy to see that a really great, unexpected, and versatile necklace was added into this fix.  I probably would not have picked it up in a store, but I like the length and have worn it a lot already.  I think this piece epitomizes the point of a service like this: to help people find great clothing pieces and get them out of their comfort zone a bit. 

VERDICT: Keep. 

So once I tried on all the items, I had to decide what to keep.  While I was still on the fence about the jeans, the one thing I had to keep in mind was that if you buy all five items, the entire purchase is 25% off. When I crunched the numbers, I felt comfortable with the price and decided I would keep all five items. 

A few other details: Every fix comes with a personalized note from your stylist describing briefly why s/he picked the items for you.  In addition, there is a card that shows two ways to style each item in the fix in order to give you inspiration.  The necklace didn't have a "styling card," but my stylist did suggest to pair the necklace with the key-hole blouse, jeans and blazer, which made a lot of sense. 

Overall, I was very happy with the experience and have already scheduled another fix.  From the other reviews I have read,  I think that I had positive results with this company for a few specific reasons:

1.  Realistic Success Rate:  My hope going in was that one item would be a keeper, because the $20 styling fee is applied to any item you buy.  I figured if I liked one item, I would not be losing the $20.  Because I only hoped for one item, having all of them work out felt like a home run.  I still think that hoping one item will work out it a reasonable expectation going forward. 
2. Willingness to Pay:  Let's be clear: you can get clothes for cheaper than what you'll pay doing Stitch Fix.  While they do ask what price range you're looking to spend when setting up your style profile, the clothes are going to be closer to retail.  The clothes I got are also more stylish and higher quality than what I feel I often get at TJ Maxx on the regular. (No hate for TJ's - I lo-ove it!). If you're not willing to pay the true cost, then I think you may be setting yourself up to be disappointed.   
3.  Honest Details:  I told the truth about my weight, clothing size and proportions, whether I liked it or not.  I think this made a world of difference in getting the clothes to fit right.  If the clothes don't fit, no matter how cute they are, you won't keep them. 
4.  Lots of Information - I think my Pinterest board made a big difference.  I set up a board solely for Stitch Fix and only pinned things that I would both love to wear and thought that I could wear in terms of shapes and styles. 

FINALLY, if you refer a friend (or inspired stranger), then you received a $25 credit when that person  orders and receives a fix.  So, if you're interested in signing up, I'd love for you to use my Referral Link. ;o)

I hope you found this helpful!  I'm pretty fascinated by Stitch Fix and would love to hear other people's experiences!

To read a review of my 2nd Stitch Fix, click here!

*disclosure: this is not a sponsored post, just a service that I'm using that I want to share