The Truth About Stitch Fix

Stitch Fix seems to be REALLY popular these days.  People are blogging about it, people are tweeting about it, anyone whose anyone is getting these cute little boxes full of magic clothes.  

But I feel like no one's really telling the truth about it.  Well, they are, but I'm not seeing any prices on most people's blog posts about the clothes.  So here's the real deal, right here you heard it first.

Let's back up a bit and tell you more about me.  I HATE shopping.  Like hate hate hate hate hate HATE it.  I have been saying for YEARS that I need a personal shopper who buys my clothes for me.  Because not only do I hate shopping, but I also have NO fashion sense whatsoever and no patience to try to figure it out.  This is made worse by the fact that I'm an absolute cheapskate who not only buys most of her clothes at cheaper stores (Old Navy) but also INSISTS the clothes be at least on sale if not off the clearance rack with a coupon to boot.  

So that's me.  I'm a lazy cheapskate slob, basically.  Ha.  

 

But Baby J's not a lazy cheapskate slob!  Okay, he might be a little lazy...

 

So the dream of Stitch Fix sounds AWESOME.  The basics (if you're living under a rock and don't know), is that a personal stylist picks out your clothes (5 pieces) for you and sends them to you every month, you send back what you don't want in a pre-paid envelope.  If you don't keep anything, you pay a $20 styling fee, if you keep something that $20 is waived.  If you keep all 5 things you receive a 25% off discount off everything.  

 

So it's out there.  My husband now knows I just wasted $20 of our precious money.  Sorry JMan. 

So you go to the website and you complete this "fashion profile" about the kind of clothes you like and don't like.  The only problem is, what if you really have no idea?  Let's be honest, I have no idea what a "Bohemian" or "Chic" style is.  There was not an "Athletic" choice unfortunately because that's obviously what I'd pick, even though I sadly can't wear running clothes to work (wouldn't that be lovely?  All my problems would be solved).  Also, I'm not exactly sure what they mean when they ask if the cut should be "loose" "straight" or "fitted".  I said straight, but then I didn't like how the clothes that came fit, so maybe I should have put "fitted"?  

They do ask you about price, and there are several options, but I chose the lowest one, which was "as cheap as possible".  The next highest was $50-$100.  Keep that in mind when you see the prices below, because apparently these are the lowest the prices go.  I did figure the clothes were probably more on the expensive side, and I was okay with that for the fact a) I wouldn't have to go shopping, b) I assumed they'd be better quality than my normal clothes, and c) hopefully they'd be more fashionable than my current clothes.  But since I hadn't seen anyone else post prices I really had no idea how expensive they would be.

Anyway, let's cut to the chase.  Here's what I got:

Blue Grace Back Zip Detail Short Sleeve Blouse - $48

This had kind of a fun zipper on the back that you can't see, and I liked the color and the material, but it was much too short.  That was the biggest problem with everything I got - it all seemed to be designed for someone about 5 inches shorter than I (or maybe just 5 inches less torso).  

 

 

Off-White Pomelo Downing Striped Knit Shirt - $44

There was nothing wrong with this shirt - but there wasn't much right with it either.  It seemed much too loose - and reminded me of $10 shirts from Old Navy I usually buy.  I can go buy those on my own, I don't need to spend $44 on them.  Even considering the $20 I was losing either way, $24 seemed too expensive for this shirt.

 

 

Black Margaret Emer High Waisted Cropped Trouser - $98

I really did like these pants.  I really did NOT like the price.  Ouch.  This is really "as cheap as possible"?!  I haven't spent that much on pants... EVER.  However, I never would have tried these on in a store and I do now think I want something like this.  They also seemed to be just a tiny bit too tight - these were a medium and I would have liked to see what a large fit like.  So I guess that's another problem - if the size isn't great there's no going back and trying a different one (obviously).  

 

 

Black Hawthorn Dominic Belted Tabsleeve Shirtdress - $78

This dress was all kinds of wrong.  It was too big, it was unflattering, there wasn't anything I liked about it. 

 

You're probably not supposed to wear it with pants.

 

Light Green Pomelo Gwendolyn Printed Mixed Material Sweater - $58

I really did majorly like this sweater.  I almost *almost* bought it.  Again, it seemed to be designed for someone a little bit shorter than I - if it has been a bit longer torso wise and had a bit longer sleeves (aka - fit perfectly) I think I would have bought it, even though it was so expensive it hurt my eyes.  I also wish it hadn't been so sheer.

 

So there you have it.  The truth about Stitch Fix.  

I still think the idea "in theory" works.  I think I want to give it one more try (don't cringe JMan!) because I'm interested in the "learning effect".  Now I give them feedback about these pieces, and then they're supposed to use that information to send me better matched pieces next time (like formative assessment!).  One thing I didn't mention is that I think they normally send you an accessory as well - but I made it pretty clear I hate accessories and that would be a waste of time.  Wow, I just sound like a peach, don't I??!?!?!?!  

So - want to help me afford these clothes?  Hahaha.  I know you do.  Sign up for your own Stitch Fix delivery - if you use my link I'll get a $25 credit.  Then you can do the same thing to your friends!  Pretty please?!?!?!  Go here: http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3678488

Seahawks 12k Race Report... Finally!

1)  ECHO - You won my Hippie Chick Half Marathon giveaway!  I still haven't heard from you!  If I don't hear from you by Wednesday I'll pick a new winner.  Email me at ricoleruns@gmail.com.

2)  I finally got to try Nuun's new Energy product! #getelectrolit  It's awesome.  It's the same old Nuun you know and love all hopped up on caffeine and b vitamins.  What's not to like?  Go buy your own here.

3)  Last weekend Baby J "ran" (er, rode?) his very first race! 

It was the Seahawks 12k - my 3rd year of doing the race and JMan and Baby J's first.  Unfortunately, I remembered how NOT busy it was the past two years, not incorporating the "we just won the Super Bowl phenomenon", and I would not have recommended that this be our first race as a family with the stroller had I known how congested it was. 

JMan was a trooper and pushed the stroller the entire way, but it was a bit disappointing to be forced to a near walk at times because of the congestion.  It was kind of like an interval workout - we would go as fast as we could if we could, and then pretty much have to walk once we ran into another wall of people.

 See?  Wall of people.

Baby J LOVES to ride in the stroller - he has never one time minded and he has pretty much never one time not taken a nap (when it was nap time), and he has definitely ridden in the stroller for this length of time before.

See?  He loves it!

Until today.  Apparently all the millions of people and all the excitement got him all revved up and too excited to nap.  But not napping does not make for a happy baby.  So he was NOT pleased after a while.  It was kind of embarrassing, like we were these awful parents forcing our baby to join us on this race.  I SWEAR HE LOVES THIS PEOPLE!  At one point, we even stopped and walked and I carried him.  SERIOUSLY.  Talk about putting a dent in our momentum!

The race is cool in that you get to run around the Seahawks' training facility and some Seahawks (likely 3rd stringers since no one recognized them) gave us water! 

Finally we gave up on making Baby J happy and decided to just try to run as fast as we possibly could to the finish so he could get out and be happy.  Get this... Baby J fell asleep literally the SECOND we crossed the finish line.  I AM NOT JOKING PEOPLE!  Seriously.  RIDICULOUS CRAZY BABY!  :-) 

Anyway, so Baby J's first race wasn't such a success.  It was great to be out there as a family and a seriously wonderful day (see that blue sky?!) and fun to be out there with friends though. 

Total Distance: 7.71 miles      Total Time: 1:17:55        Average Pace: 10:06
Splits: 9:55, 9:27, 10:27, 10:00, 10:32, 9:49, 12:15, 7:43

Can you see where we walked carrying Baby and where we sprinted back?! 

Hippie Chick Quarter & Half Marathon GIVEAWAY!

As you all know Nuun dominates as the hydration-of-choice at my race-of-choice, Hood to Coast.  Well, in case you hadn't heard, they're also now partnering with the Better Series, which is a series of six races in the Portland area run from May-November each year.
 

 

The Better Series includes: 

1) Hippie Chick Quarter & Half Marathon May 10 (Hillsboro)

2) Helvetia Half Marathon & 10k June 7 (Hillsboro)

3) Red White and Blues 5k & 10k July 6 (downtown Portland)

4) Pints to Pasta 10k September 7 (runs from the Widmer Brewery to The Old Spaghetti Factory in Portland - what could be better?!)

5) Crawfish Crawl 5k, 10k, & Half Marathon August 2 (Tualatin)

6) Turkey Trot 5k November 27 (West Linn)

Well today's your lucky day, because thanks to Nuun, one lucky reader and I will be running the Hippie Chick Half Marathon!  Okay okay, you can choose the quarter marathon if you want.  But only if you can tell me how far that is.  And also you should probably dress like a hippie.

 

And just because I'm so nice, I'll also throw in a tube of Nuun's brand new energy product (#getelectrolit), which is part same old Nuun we know and love chock full with electrolytes plus now all souped up with caffeine and b vitamins.  You'll have to pick up your prize at the race though, because I'm lazy and going to the post office sounds way too hard for this Mama who's not getting much sleep (Baby J was up 3 times last night, WHYYYY??????).  

 He's still pretty cute though.

And to make it easy on you, there's just one way to enter.  Comment!  Tell me why you want to win, or what flavor Nuun is your favorite, or what other Better Series race you'd like to run, or how much sleep you got last night!   

A winner will be chosen using random.org in one week: on Thursday, April 10 at 8:00pm.  

COME JOIN ME!