stitchfix two - may 2014

on saturday morning, i found my second stitchfix box on my door step, and immediately busted it open to see what i received.   if you're unfamiliar with stitchfix, check out my post about my first one here.

my initial reaction was good. i had requested items with lots of color, and my stylist was definitely paying attention.   i also had requested dresses and a moto jacket, so i felt pretty pumped when i skimmed the product style cards that were included.

this is what came in the box, in order of appearance (below):

moon collection- steph sleeveless belted floral dress~$58

under skies- bria floral shift dress ~$48

evolution by cyrus- beyonce french terry asymmetrical jacket~$88

c. luce- mike floral print fit & flare dress ~$68

under skies-abbie pintuck button-back blouse ~$48

before trying on this dress, i thought maybe i could like it, despite the rather bohemian print.  it certainly wasn't something i would typically pick out, but i tried to be open minded.  however, once on, i felt chubby and unattractive.   although you can't see it in the picture, the back part of the dress was too loose and baggy.

i hated this under the skies dress at first sight.  while i am more than happy to wear a floral print, this one reminded me of an old lady's wallpaper, and looked something that my mother would wear.  i love my mother, but she's not the most stylish of ladies.  however, i dutifully tried on the dress, and my stylist was right about one thing-- it was a flattering cut, and fit quite perfectly.   bffbf actually quite liked it, but in the end i just couldn't get over how much i disliked the combination of the print and the cut of the dress together.

i really liked this jacket.  i am a huge fan of white and grey, especially together, and it fit well.  however, style-wise it was too sporty, and i was looking for something more feminine that i would actually wear frequently.

this mike floral dress was okay. the fit was about right, maybe only slightly too tight, and i liked the color.  but once again, the style was just off somehow... even though i realize that this floral print is somewhat similar to the print of the blouse from my first fix that i loved... yeah. i don't know what to tell you.  i just felt like this dress was either too old or too young for me-- i couldn't decide which.

the abbie blouse had potential.  i wasn't that big of a fan of the pleats + the lace cut out + the button back together (seemed too busy), but style wise it was acceptable.  i still wasn't over the moon for it though, and unfortunately it was just too loose and made me look too shapeless and chunky.   i may have kept it if it was a size smaller.

needless to say, i didn't keep anything in this stitchfix, and lost the $20 styling fee, although luckily i have a couple referral credits.  i am pretty sure i'll try the service again, maybe in july or august, and see what happens!  overall it was still fun to get the fix, even if it was disappointing that i didn't end up keeping any of it.  fingers crossed for next time!!

my very first stitchfix: february 2014

first naturebox, now stitchfix-- i'm just trying all kinds of things aren't i?
i first heard of stitchfix a couple months ago, and since i've been grumbling for years that i need a personal stylist, i decided it was a service i should try.

to provide a brief overview, stitchfix is a personal styling service. you fill out a detailed profile online, they send you a box of five items to try on, you pick what you want to keep, send back what you want in a prepaid envelope.  you're charged a $20 styling fee for each box, but that's put toward anything you buy.  if you buy everything in the box, you get a 25% discount (you see how they get you?).  

i initially wanted to receive a box in january, but the first available date i could choose for my shipment was in february -- it seems they've been overwhelmingly popular lately!

i inadvertently "cheated" and saw the list of what i was receiving by logging into my account before i actually received the package... and then once i saw what i was getting, i started a mad hunt across google trying to find images of my items.  i know. i know.  i shouldn't have done that.

i was immediately concerned about the prices (see below) and the fact that i was receiving two pairs of pants. i had requested a pair of skinnies but i was also hoping for a dress.  anyway, i could only find images of 2 out of the 5 items online , and i was still bouncing with excitement when my package arrived.

the clothes come tissue wrapped with a personal note and style cards that give you an idea of what you can wear the pieces with.

this is what came in my box:
sweet rain isaac floral print tab-sleeve blouse - $48
carlsbad lace detailed sleeveless blouse - $58
dear john kelli slim bootcut jean - $68
kut from the kloth danny (jennifer?) 5-pocket knit pants - $78
zad kayla metal teardrop earrings - $32

the sweet rain isaac floral print tab-sleeve blouse was one of the items i managed to find an image of online, and i knew already that i was going to love it.

stripes, stripes, and stripes

as i was unpacking my bags during my last vacation, i surveyed what i brought, and realized that 95% of the clothes in my suitcase had stripes.   horizontal. diagonal. vertical....  multidirectional.  thin. wide. colorful, monotone.  they are all different, yet all the same.

i felt the need to further expand my stripe collection by sewing a loose knit top.  i bought the knit during our last trip to finland.  the store had a huge selection of nice quality knits, and i visited several times admiring their collection.  i traced another top (also striped), and altered the pattern a little to create this shirt.  i keep on forgetting that my shoulders are narrow, though, and made the neckline too wide.  seems to be becoming a habit of mine.  i'll just pretend that i meant the shirt to fall off one shoulder, all 80s-esque.  

i forecast that my next clothing obsession will be tiny floral prints (which is so unlike me).  what trends do you see in your current wardrobe? 

the easiest alteration. ever.

recently, on a mother-daughter shopping outing, my mom and i were perusing the racks at ann taylor loft.  she pulled out a cute eggplant colored, pleated dress with some fabric flower detail on the shoulder, and tried to hand it to me to try on.  i absently waved it away, explaining that i had tried it on on an earlier shopping trip, and it didn't fit right.  ignoring me, she held onto the dress anyway, and when we finally made it to the dressing room, she insisted i try it on. 

sure enough, the fit was poor.  it was the correct size, yes, but the way the dress hung was just somehow unflattering. after a few moments of eyeing me, my mom concluded it was because the fabric belt was poorly located.  it wrapped around right in the middle, somehow making me look shorter, and *gasp* a little chubby.