Most people have to look nice for work.
I never used to have to look nice. I looked presentable, but never "nice" because there was at least a 20% chance of getting bodily fluids on me. Working with kids has that effect on you. (I used to work in a pediatric clinic)
But now I work with adults and most days I don't quite look like an adult. (I work in Family practice now...if you need a doctor, let me know! I work with some awesome doctors!!)
I think my problem is that I have all these clothes that are super comfy and I can't get rid of them because I'm all sentimental or something. But I'm growing up and it's time to look that way.
Well, it's time for me to dress that way at least.
It's just hard for me to pick out clothes that look nice, are good quality, and then actually fit well.
Combine that with the hassle of not being able to drag my husband to the mall very often to shop, and you get a clothing disaster.
Enter: Stitch Fix.
It's a personal style service. You pay someone to pick out clothes for you. It costs 20 dollars per month to have someone style you, but that 20 dollars goes toward your purchase. So, as long as you buy one item, you don't pay to have clothes shipped to you and shipped back!
First, you go online and fill out a customer profile with your height, weight, and basic sizes. Then you look at groups of clothing and identify your style. I tend to like classic lines and styles. But they have a million categories like bohemian, romantic, casual, etc.... If you're looking for a specific item, say a maxi dress or a pencil skirt, or even a good dress to wear to a summer wedding, you can tell them and they will send you that too!
Then they send you a box with 5 items inside that are personally picked by your stylist. You get to open it, try everything on, model it in the mirror (or in my case for my husband) and pear it with your clothes so you know if it looks perfect with those shoes you have or a pear of jeans you own. Whatever you don't want you put into a pre-stamped, self-sealing bag and drop it by the post office.
Easy peasy! And so fun!
Let me walk you through how fun it was:
"Oh look! It's a box addressed to me! Full of treasure in the form of clothing perfectly picked out just for me! What fun!"
I will admit that the box was smaller than I imagined it for holding 5 clothing items, but still exciting!
"Oh, how cute is the inside of this box! I can't wait to rip through that tissue paper and see what they picked!!"
Only, I can't actually rip through tissue paper because I'm one of those people that likes things done neatly and orderly. So I carefully opened it. Because that's how I roll.
I start to pull things out:
"Oh look! A fun blue top that looks stylish and professional, but how am I going to wear that and what do I do with the little strings hanging off of it?"
Not to worry! Stitch Fix style cards to the rescue! I tie the strings as shown below, then lay it out and move on to the next discovery!
"A yellow cardigan! I love yellow! I may need a cardigan for work, it's always cold in there! But how else can I wear it?"
Here's stitch fix again, showing me options for the yellow cardigan:
Man, I should think about rotating that photo!
Actually, what I should have said was: I should learn how to rotate photos!
"Oh, a black pencil skirt! This is THE signature staple of a classy wardrobe! No wardrobe would be complete without one! In fact, I even have one in my wardrobe! Let's compare these two pencil skirts, because maybe this one will look better on me!"
I put it to The Husband Test: "hey baby, can you look at me with these two skirts? Which one looks better?"
They look the same? Oh.
But hey look, here is a fun way to wear the skirt I already own:
I promise (maybe) that this is the last sideways photo...
"Oooooohhh, look at this dress! I can already tell this will be my new favorite dress! The fabric is breathable but won't blow up in the wind! The style is oh-so-classy! I can't wait to try this on!!"
"Oh, and a super cute grown-up necklace to wear with it everything! How fun! AND it's not a huge piece of bulky statement-jewlry that I would never wear, just like I asked for! These people must know me!
"Now let's lay it all out and see how it looks on my bed!"
"Oh, I guess I should have straightened out my bed sheets before laying down all my items!!"
But let's be real here, it's enough for me to get my bed made in the morning, let alone make it look pretty.
"Now it's time to try it on! Let's start with that blue top that I'm not too sure about!"
This is me giving it "my critical eye." I'm skeptical. It gives me no shape.
"What if I put on that pretty cardigan with it?"
"Oh! I like the cardigan, but I'm still not sure about that shirt."
"Let's try that skirt with a different skirt."
"Nah, still no shape. This is going back."
"But oh, look at that skirt!!"
"That skirt looks good on me!!"
(Which I'm allowed to say because I'm at home, in front of my mirror, and no one else is around to hear me!!)
"Let's try that cardigan on again with this!"
"Oh! That looks fun!! Although, I'm primarily looking for work clothes, and this cardigan won't work under my white coat. Hmmmm. I'll have to think about it."
"And now for THE DRESS! I hope I like it ON as much as I like it when I first opened my box!"
"Yep! You can't tell by the look on my face, but I like it!!"
"And now, where's that necklace??"
"I like it!!"
Then comes the hard part, deciding what I want. I have a limited budget each month to cover all my "wants" (clothes, shoes, makeup, wine, meals we eat out...). If I actually need something (a plain white shirt, a new pair of flats for work) I can negotiate that into the general budget, but none of this fits into that caregory (unless I didn't already have a black pencil skirt.)
So, let's decide. You get a 25% discount if you buy everything. But I know I don't need the blue top or black skirt...and while I love the yellow cardigan, I don't need it for work.
"And I don't wear jewlry enough to justify the necklace."
It's true, even though I love it. I would barely wear it.
"But hooray!! I love this dress! And I get a whole outfit! AND I didn't have to drag my husband to the mall. OR search for a parking spot! OR get hounded by sails ladies who try to "up-sell" the store so I end upbwalking out with 10 times more than I need! OR get the "stink eye" from sails ladies who think I don't buy enough!
I win!!
And YOU can win too!!
Just click on the link below and you can have your own fun!!
https://stitchfix.com/referral/3826959
You know you want to!
PLUS if you sign up usin MY link, I get credit to buy new things. So really, if you sign up, you're not just doing it for selfish reasons, you're doing it to help me.
Pay it forward, make the world a better place. Help me get some new clothes :)
https://stitchfix.com/referral/3826959
My stylist would love to find things that look great on YOU!
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