Stitch Fix

I have never been a girly girl. Lace and frills have never appealed to me. And if being a girly girl means you have to enjoy shopping, especially clothes shopping, well then that just reinforces that I am not a girly girl. I HATE shopping, particularly clothes shopping (although I will make an exception for workout wear). I'm sure I am not the only woman who hates shopping for clothes. And I'm equally sure there are a variety of reasons for the loathing of clothing, but here are a couple of my reasons.

First, I'm five foot nothin' and shop in the petites department. Have you ever wandered through the petites department of any store? Actually, you are lucky if you can find a petites department. But let's just say you stumble across one. You know what you'll find in that department? Old lady clothes! I think the buyers must only believe that no one is little until they are old or no one shops in the petites department until they are old enough to qualify for a senior discount at other establishments. Lest you think that this is a regional thing, last summer when I was in New York I checked out the petites department in Macy's. Certainly they would have something trendy, hip and fashionable. Nope. Old lady clothes, polyester at its finest no less. Blech! OK, there are a few trendy things and they always seem to carry Ralph Lauren, but hello, can you say expensive! Expense is also what keeps me out of Nordstrom.

But what about Nordstrom Rack or other clothing retail establishments that might be less expensive? Well, I'm glad you asked because that brings me to my second point. They don't carry petites. So what, buy what you like and have it altered. Yeah right, cheapskate me pay even more money to have something altered? No way. Not going to happen. Well do the alterations yourself. Oh boy. That won't work either as I avoid hemming and sewing. Mostly because I suck at those things, but also because I'm lazy. Getting out a needle and thread, trying to find someone to pin the cuff for me, watching YouTube videos to make sure I'm doing it right, is all just too much bother for me.

And my third and final reason I hate shopping...because I hate trying on clothes in the store because I know they are all going to look horrible. I swear when I look in a dressing room mirror it is like looking in a fun house mirror. So I often buy things, take them home, try them on and then return them. I'm also not super confident in putting together outfits. So again, buy what I think I might like, take them home, try them on, and then return them. That's my process. I can't say that it works out very well for me.

So I'm trying something new. I'm giving Stitch Fix a try. It is an online shopping service that sends you 5 clothing items as often as every month or as infrequently as every 3 months. Basically you pick how often you want a shipment. They have a pretty in-depth survey to fill out so the stylists can get an idea of what your likes/dislikes are. Then when your 5 items arrive, you try them on, keep what you like and send back the rest. When you send the items back, there is an on-line survey to complete so you can offer feedback about the returned items. I figured since I never try on clothes before I purchase them AND I get someone do pick outfits for me, what do I have to lose? Is it pricey you ask? I would say it is about on par with prices you would find at Macy's. The only bummer is that there are never any sale prices (and confession time, I generally shop the clearance racks. Hmm, maybe that's why I only seem to find old lady clothes). So anyway, I'm giving it a trial run. I received my first shipment on Saturday. It had a pair of black and white pants which I returned because the print was way too loud for me. A black silk blouse that was too low cut at the neckline, too deep armholes, and was see through; that went back as well. I kept a green striped dress even though I thought it was a little too form-fitting; Dave said it looked awesome which was the deciding factor in keeping it. I also kept a turquoise dolman sleeved t-shirt, again not necessarily my taste, but I'm trying to branch out. The last item was a fabulous silver bauble necklace which I absolutely loved. My next shipment is due the end of July. Stay tuned.