Shameless Commerce, pt 2

Okay, so the next thing I want to shill--I mean, tell you about, is this really cool, online personal stylist service called StitchFix.  R happened upon it and thought I would like it.

Here's the deal, you go to their site, fill out the personal profile where you tell them your size(s), your personal style, how much you would spend on certain items, and if you are looking for work clothes or casual or something for an upcoming event, etc.  Then you pay them $20 and wait a month.  A box full of clothes, and sometimes accessories, comes to your door.  You jump up and down and squeal  like a little girl, then try the clothes on.  You keep what you like, pay for it on the website, and return the things you don't like.  The $20 styling fee is deducted from your bill.  If you send everything back, then they keep the $20.  You can schedule regular shipments monthly, quarterly, whatever.  If you want to halt a shipment, you go to the website and halt it or reschedule.

They request links to your blogs, Pinterest account, Twitter, etc., so they can see what you like.  You can also send them photos, I think.  And if there's something you don't like, you can tell them on the website why you didn't like it.  It helps them refine their search for you.

I love, love, love this service.  My first box came last week.  It contained:  dark-wash skinny jeans; a tulip-patterned blouse; a long-sleeved tee with lace embellishment; a grey cascade sweater; and a black shirtdress.

I bought:

The jeans, because they fit great and were exactly what I wanted.
The tulip blouse.  This one gave me pause, because it's not something I would have ever purchased for myself.  However, I thought that it was something I probably should have.  I wore it the same night to a birthday party, and got lots of compliments, so it was a good move to keep it.

This is the untucked version.

I ended up tucking the blouse in and not wearing the necklace.  On Sunday, I wore it with a grey pinstriped skirt and a camel-colored cardigan, accessorized with my Young Women's medallion.  

I sent back:

The tee, because it was pretty boxy.  I have a rectangular shape from side to side, so things like that just make me look boxier.

The sweater, because I already have something quite similar (so it's a win for StitchFix that they chose it for me).

The dress, because I thought it was so beastly that I wouldn't even try it on.  It was a simple, black shirtdress, but it had a very 80's shape to it, with gold buttons down the front, kind of epaulet shoulders, and a skinny self-belt.  I knew it would look terrible on my shape, for one, and for another thing, I thought that I would have to have big, boofy Dynasty hair, too much blush and some gold hoop earrings to wear with it.

Maybe someone could style this and look really good, but I doubt I could.  Yuck!  It just reminds me of too many bad fashion choices in the 80's.  Note the always-stylish Mr. Oliver Hammond.  He did not give any opinion about the dress, except to sniff at it.

So, if you count the sweater, 3/5 things is a pretty good result, better than I usually do when I shop for myself.

If you want to try StitchFix, just click on this link:  http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3469648