A Walkthrough of the Stitch Fix UK Experience

Inside: An honest review of Stitch Fix, how it works and whether I will be using them again.

I am forever saying I have nothing to wear. I stick to the same boring outfits and have no idea how to put things together to make myself look nice. Other people seem to be able to get dressed in the dark and come out looking stylish. I literally look like I get dressed in the dark most of the time and it makes me feel so down about myself. So, I decided to give Stitch Fix a try as their outfits always look so amazing on social media.

Stitch Fix is an online styling service that helps you find your style and create a capsule wardrobe. Your dedicated stylist will go by your preferences to put together 5 items they think you’ll love. Keep what you like, send back what you don’t – with free postage on returns. Simple.

It all sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Whether it is too good to be true is most likely a matter of opinion – so here is my experience…

The sign-up process

When you first sign up you are taken through a series of questions, asking you to fill out your style profile. This includes your typical sizes, your preferred fit (tight, loose etc…), your height, weight and proportions and whether you prefer to show particular areas of your body or cover them up.

You are then asked about what categories you would prefer to avoid (accessories, shoes, skirts etc…) if you feel you have those covered at home already. It also asks you about the styles and fit you like in a denim jean and also the style and tone of jewellery you like to wear.

The last section asks you where you usually shop, how adventurous you’d like to be, your preferred price range and how often you’d like to focus on occasion wear (such as work or special events).

It also takes you through a series of “do you like this outfit” photos to which you say yes, somewhat, or no. This gives them their initial take on your personal style. You can play this ‘style shuffle game‘ every day though with various pictures, giving a thumbs up or thumbs down and that will help them get to know you and your styles even more.

Once you have given them the information they need they tell you to hang tight while a stylist pulls together a few pieces for you to look at. Then, if all goes well they are sent to you to approve in a preview email before they are posted out to you.

The cost

It is free to sign up but to use the service you pay a £10 stylist fee. This is fair enough when you think someone is going to pick different items out for you and the postage (and return postage) is included.

If you end up sending everything back, all you’ll pay is the stylist fee. But, if you decide to keep one or more of the pieces then you get £10 off the cost of that purchase.

If you decide to keep everything in your order you get a 20% discount on the cost of that order which is great I think.

Like the sound of it already? Use my referral link here and get £15 credit towards your order. I will also get a discount off my next order – thank you! When you sign up you will be given a code to share with your friends too! More the merrier!

Preview the Fix

After a few days, you get an email to say your first fix is ready to review. I really like this and apparently, this is a relatively new feature. You get a selection of 10 items with ticks next to the 5 they are going to be sending. You can untick those if you wish and put ticks onto the others in the selection or select none and ask for a new selection.

I rejected all of mine actually as some were very similar to things I already owned and some were just way too expensive. I was able to add a little note to my stylist to let him know why I’d rejected his choices and steer him toward things that would suit me better style and price-wise.

I said that the skirt was too short and the trousers were far too expensive so please stick to midi or maxi and less than £50 unless it was a coat or made of solid gold!

As a result of rejecting the preview, I had to wait for my first box to arrive to see his next choices. This makes complete sense as you could otherwise keep rejecting rejecting rejecting and completely waste their time for each selection. At some point, you have to trust that they may know what they are doing here.

The delivery

I was so excited for my parcel to arrive I cannot tell you! I was counting down the days and was able to track the delivery with Royal Mail.

Everything arrived in a very compact box – no wasted packaging in unnecessarily large boxes which I liked. Inside were the clothes themselves, the invoice, a styling sheet for each item with a personal note from my stylist, and a card reminding me that I would get to preview my next fix before it is sent out.

I deliberately avoided looking at the cost of the items as I didn’t want that to sway me in any way. So instead I looked at each item in turn to see my initial thoughts.

Item 1 – Grey cardigan

Initial thoughts: Very soft and a nice style but I am not the biggest fan of grey and have plenty of cardigans.

Fit: It is really lovely and if I didn’t have lots of cardigans I might have been swayed by the softness.

Outcome: Won’t be keeping it.

Item 2 – Sleeveless jersey dress

Initial thoughts: It looks massive but the print is nice and it is a great length for me.

Fit: It actually fits nicely and it has pockets! Always a win. However, I am not keen on the straps – would have been nicer with t-shirt sleeves.

Outcome: I won’t be keeping it.

Item 3 – Sleeveless shirt dress

Initial thoughts: Really like it but it looks small. It also has pockets so instant hit for me.

Fit: It fits! I love it so much!

Outcome: If the price is right, this could be a keeper.

Item 4 – Stripe t-shirt

Initial thoughts. It has a tie waist – I am always wary of those because I have a long body.

Fit: Too small and really just too short for my body anyway.

Outcome: Not for me this time.

Item 5 – Pair of Jeans

Initial thoughts: They are soft and stretchy – my favourite kind of jean.

Fit: They fit well and are lovely and soft. However, with a stretch jean you have to be careful as if they fit well when you put them on then the likelihood is by the end of the day they will be baggy.

Outcome: I really like them but can’t be hoiking them up every 5 minutes.

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Want to try it out? Use my referral link here and get £15 credit towards your order. I will also get a discount off my next order – thank you! When you sign up you will be given a code to share with your friends too! More the merrier!

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How much did it come to?

After looking at everything without knowing the cost, I turned to the invoice to have a look. £160 total.

Stitch Fix is not cheap. Not if you are used to paying Primark prices anyway. But, every single item was made really well and the idea is to create a capsule wardrobe with staple pieces rather than a fast-fashion wardrobe of doom. That is definitely what I am looking to do – I want a wardrobe full of quality, versatile pieces I can turn to again and again.

Here is a breakdown of the items:

Cardigan: £39
Jersey dress £39
Shirt dress £49
T-shirt £28
Jeans £45

My instant reaction was “Why did the shirt dress have to be so expensive?”

The jeans are a reasonable price I would say as you can tell they will last and last. However, everything else is just a little more expensive than I am used to. Not to say they are too expensive for what you get, but it did come as a shock when I am used to paying a few quid here and there.

That is something I need to get around in my head though as my wardrobe is currently stuffed full of cheap clothes that I never wear. So if paying more means I am more thoughtful about the clothes I buy, then that may be more value for money in the end.

What are the brands?

A few people on Instagram asked me what the brands were for each item, whether they were known brands or Stitch Fix own. The labels were as follows: Mauvette ( for the t-shirt and the cardigan), Market & Spruce (jersey dress), &ET (jeans), and Editor’s Cut (shirt dress).

Mauvette, Market & Spruce and Editor’s Cut are exclusive labels, available only at Stitch Fix. I couldn’t find anything about &ET but I am guessing they are the same.

Stitch Fix does use known brands though (see above), I am thinking these would be in relation to shoes, accessories, and sportswear by the looks of the labels.

Giving feedback on the order

When you log into your account you find a section to give your feedback on each item and whether you want to keep it or not.

An option I hadn’t even considered was that you can exchange for a different size which it great. Otherwise the option is to keep or return.

You then give feedback on size, style, fit, quality and price. This feedback will help your stylist with future picks. I made sure to put down that the jeans were a little too big seeing as they were stretchy. I also mentioned the straps on the jersey dress and that I found some of the pieces a little too expensive.

You can also give feedback on the entire order and whether you would like to keep your expert stylist or try someone else. I can’t see the value in switching stylists this early on but if you kept getting boxes you didn’t like then I would imagine it would be worth switching.

Am I keeping anything?

I really love the dress. The price makes me sweat a little and I did have to stand in front of the mirror to see how lovely it looked to justify wanting to keep it. But I really do love it. It makes me feel cute.

I loved the jeans and very nearly exchanged them for the next size down but I didn’t want to risk getting the next size and them being wrong too, so I gave them a miss this time.

So 1 out of 5 pieces this time around but I did like all of them. I feel like my stylist paid attention to what I liked and chose things that would suit me. Plus the whole experience was really fun.

Returns

Sending back the items you don’t want is really easy. They include a pre-paid sticker for Royal mail within the box so you can just take it to the Post Office next time you go out. Or you can choose to return via Hermes, DPD, or Collect Plus if that would be easier – just print out a new label through your account.

Once you’ve chosen your option you will be shown your order total (minus the £10 you paid for the stylist fee) and be taken through to pay for it.

And you’re done!

Will I be ordering again?

You know what? I will be. My next box will be here next month. I have spent far too many years neglecting myself and buying cheap goods that don’t last. I want nice things. I deserve nice things.

My final verdict

Stitch Fix is pitched at being a personal stylist in your phone, a service that picks out items just for you. And honestly I am really impressed because I really felt as though my stylist chose my items just for me – I could feel the human element to the service.

I know from looking at other reviews that there are people who don’t like their boxes but I thought all of mine was lovely, just not all of it was right for me this time.

I cannot wait for next Stitch Fix delivery and am really hopeful that I’ll get another lovely box of goodies!

Sign up for your first Stitch Fix here and get £15 in credit towards your order (full disclosure, I also get £15 if you sign up). I’d love to know how you get on with your box so pop over and follow me on Instagram (@whatkatysaiduk) so you can show me. I will be sharing my boxes for as long as I keep getting them too so keep an eye out each month.

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