I love to shop. I never thought a personal styling service would be my thing. I have a decent eye for what works well on my body and enjoy the whole dressing room ritual, perusing through the store and finding the perfect item for my event.

But then I started working full time, with an awful commute, and suddenly my weekends were precious. In addition to laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning my house and working out on the weekends, I wanted to squeeze in as much fun as possible. And while I do love a good trip to the mall, it doesn’t relax me like a hike, or lunch with a friend, or trip to the beach does. For the past few years, I’ve shopped sporadically the day before an event and borrowed clothes as much as I can. I wanted to give my wardrobe an upgrade, but just didn’t have the time. Pretty common sob story, huh?

When I first heard about Stitch Fix, I immediately wanted to try it out. Stitch Fix is a mail-order personal styling service. Sign into their website, fill out a style profile on questions like your preferred brands, sizes, and styles, and schedule when you want your box delivered. When your “Fix” arrives, you can try on the 5 items they send you in the privacy of your home. You have three days to decide what you want to keep. Any items that don’t work for you can be dropped in the mail in the included pre-paid envelope. Then hop back online and pay for the clothes you want to keep.

It was so easy to navigate through their website, and exciting to get the box in the mail. There’s a $20 styling fee but it goes towards any clothing you buy. So if you buy at least one product, the styling is free. And if you end up keeping all 5 items, you get a 25% discount of the price of the box.

Onto the good stuff! The clothes I got last night!

Margaret Murray, a stylist with Stitch Fix, explained to me that when she’s picking clothes for someone, she tries to build a story from what they reveal in their style profile. She uses clues like their lifestyle, where they live, what they do, and much more. She loves when the customers write and give context about what type of clothing they are looking for.

The box arrived!

This polka-dot shirt made me squeal when I pulled it out of the box. Here at Dot Complicated, we’ve been wearing a lot of “dots” recently and I knew it would be perfect for work. But when I tried it on, I felt like it was too much fabric to complement my body. Also didn’t want to worry about ironing.

Ellison: Brooke Dot Print Tab Sleeve Blouse. $38.

Decision: return

**Disclaimer: I took photos that don’t include my head because I had just gotten out of the shower and was doing a hair mask. What’re you gonna do? **

I love colored skinnies, and these pants were so soft and adorable. Unfortunately they were too long for and so I had to awkwardly roll the ends.

Just Black: Adora Ankle Length Jean. $58.

Decision: return

This necklace was perfect and just my style. Unfortunately, just a little too pricey to keep.

41Hawthorn Mini Spoon Drops Necklace. $28.

Decision: return

This dress fit perfectly and I loved the stretchy material. I can tell it’s well made. It’ll be great for work (with flats) or a night out (with boots or heels).

Ark n Co: Sterling Belted Striped Minidress. $68.

Decision: keep

This sweater was initially my favorite thing in the box. I love Free People and comfy clothes. But it ended up being too loose and boxy. It wasn’t very flattering.

Free People: Karle Mixed Stripe Oversized Sweater. $48.

Decision: return

Overall, while not everything fit me perfectly, the whole experience was so fun and easy that I didn’t mind sending most of the clothes back. Finding one dress that I adore was worth the 15 minutes it took to fill out the style profile, and I know that next time the clothes will fit a bit better when I give my stylist some feedback.

Will I try it again?

Definitely.

Did Stitch Fix give me an incentive to write about their service?

Yup.

Have I been telling my mom, aunt, friends and every other female in my life to try Stitch Fix for the past few days?

You bet.

Written by Liz Wassmann

Liz Wassmann is on the Dot Complicated editorial team and has written for a variety of Bay Area publications over the past several years. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found daydreaming about her next trip overseas and practicing parallel parking.

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