Stich Fix #18.... Oops

Yeah.... I haven't blogged these in a while. When you're engaged, buying a house, and a teacher on summer vacation, blogging about clothes is the last thing on your mind! But it truly helps me get better results, so I'm going to start again!


First off, I was extra excited to get this fix because I skipped my last (bi-weekly) fix. It just wasn't in the budget, and since it was summer and I had no more trips planned, I didn't "need" any new clothes.

I also have issues with being patient.... so I may or may not always peek online at what I'm getting. And then I might or might not Google the product names to see what it is I'm getting.... oopsie.

Anyways. I do this because I'm excited, but I can also gauge how much I might be spending. If I like 3-4 things in the fix, I know to conserve my clothes/beauty/etc. budget for the rest of the week so I can purchase the pieces. This time when I Googled, I knew I wouldn't be keeping more than 1 MAYBE 2 things.

Let's get started.

First off, It was a much larger box than usual. I had already peeked though... so I knew it was because I was getting a bag.

I like big boxes and I cannot lie...

Sure enough, this was what was inside!

 I started with the item on the top right - the one I KNEW I was going to keep. I didn't even have to google it to know that this Hanneli Polka Dot Swing Skirt by Pixely would be the newest member of my closet. I find it VERY hard to resist polka dots.

IT IS NAVY. WITH WHITE POLKA DOTS. It's perfect. I got a leetle nervous when I looked at the tag and saw it was a small... that meant I HAD to wear it at my waist, not my ginormous hips. And usually when I wear skirts at my waist, they get a bit too short to teach 7 year olds in. But I grabbed a new white top I had from H&M and tried it on.

Ignore the clothes behind me.. trying to sell old clothes!

Did I mention that it is perfect? It's hard to see from the picture above, but worn at my waist it is still nearly to my knees, so PERFECT for teaching in. The pleats and the silhouette of the skirt (tiny at my tiny waist, flared out and loose to keep my big hips and thighs a secret) seriously made me fall in love. I tried it with another new white shirt from H&M after the fiancé made a comment implying he didn't like the lace shirt (too bad for him (; )

YAY!!!!!

Next up was the Kamile Jersey Ruched Detail Dress from Gili. Based off of the picture, I was 75% sure I wouldn't like how the dress looked on me.

Like a good little Stitch Fix girl though, I tried on the dress. And, as usual, I was very glad I did. After squeeeeeeezing into it, I ended up really liking it. Unfortunately, it was just a tad too small. I checked the tag, and sure enough, it was an XS when I am normally a small. Not sure why! I'd LOVE to get this back in a small! The same blue color is fine, though the red would be great too. I lack both of those colors in my closet. Please send again, stitch fix stylist!

Next was a second dress, one that I was 99.9999999% sure I wouldn't like because of the weird way the stripes look at the tummy.

But again, like a goo girl, I tried on the Betsey Abstract Stripe Fit & Flare Dress by THML. And I extra failed to be impressed for a few reasons:

1. The fabric was not my favorite. I like soft, comfy, flowy fabrics, not scratchy grass-looking fabrics
2. The top tapered in more than a normal dress, so my bra straps would have been showing if I didn't tuck them in. Maybe I could wear a different special bra, but not to work. I wear normal bras to work to teach. 
3. Again, it was a tad too small, since I was sent an XS for some reason!

Once I got past those things, it wasn't that bad, actually. But too many reasons to not keep it!

The last clothing piece I tried on was this Himsbury Crew Neck Blouse by Crescent. I couldn't tell with this one from the picture how I was going to feel about it.

First off, I have mentioned several times that I have PLENTY of tops. I always seem to be sent one...though they tend to be super cute so it's ok sometimes. Secondly, I thought it was just a solid blue top...until I looked at the hem on the picture and discovered it had a pretty pattern on the back or something. Sure enough, this is what it looked like when I pulled it out:

 I dunno. I LOVE LOVE LOVED the shape of the blouse. The way it was more fitted at the top (though again, almost slightly too small) and flared out a bit at the bottom hid my large hips very well. I LOVED the blue, and I LOVED the pattern.... just not together. It was weird that you could see the pattern from the front, and weird that the blue was half on the back. I asked my fiancé for a second opinion, and he agreed. So back it goes.

Finally, I requested this Jacey Striped Reversible Bag from the Stich Fix blog. I LOVE how it mixes my favorite shade of brown leather with cute horizontal stripes! It's more versatile because it's reversible. When I Googled the bag, it mentioned that it even came with a mini bag for inside storage! I was hooked!

Same bag, two ways!!

Unfortunately, they were out. Seriously, every time I have requested a specific item from their blog, they never seem to have it :( I was sent this Erik Striped Tote Bag by Street Level.

Omg. I hated this bag, y'all. When I took my peeky peek at my online checkout, and got over the initial disappointment over not getting the Jacey bag, I googled this one. And I noticed that the stripes are vertical instead of horizontal, and the whole thing is canvas or something. No leather, no brown. I figured I'd try it, but probably not keep it since it wasn't as versatile. When I opened the box, I was HORRIFIED.

It is made out of a hideous grass-like fabric. As I mentioned about the striped dress, that is NOT my thing. I like sleek and leather bags....not hempen monstrosities. Sorry to whoever sees this and likes the bag, and sorry to the stylist, but this is NOT a proper sub for the bag. Next time just send another dress or skirt instead!

I just don't like the vertical stripes. AND the inside was a cheap liner, like one you might get in a Target bag. Just SO not my style for bags. I loved that it was big enough for a planner, though.

All in all, I ended up only keeping the perfect polka dot skirt. Which is good, because that's about all my back-to-school budget could handle!


For my next fix: It'll be my birthday week!! Please send more skirts/dresses for school that are cute. I can wear one out on my birthday on September 5th!

Until next time...

Mischief Managed

Stich Fix #2

My second Stitch Fix came in the mail the other day! I thought I'd share what I got in my fix, and even show some some pictures of me trying the things on...don't judge. They're mainly so my stylist can see what the items looked like on me!

My Fix!

The above is a picture of my fix all wrapped up. As you can see, there were POLKA DOTS in my fix! I knew before I even finished taking everything out that I was going to keep whatever that was.

So cute!!

It turned out to be this super cute Filbert Polka Dot Print 3/4 Sleeve Blouse by 41Hawthorn. It's made out of a very nice material, and perfect for work. The front opens a little farther down than I'd like for school, but I can wear a tank under it or something. Brace yourselves... here is me trying on the shirt for the first time. I HATE taking selfies, especially modeling clothing... so no making fun of me!

The whole outfit

As you can see, it's super, super cute. I paired it with khaki shorts from J Crew, and for work I will either wear it with khaki pants or a skirt. The only khaki skirt I own has shrank up enough that I don't know that I can actually wear it to work anymore, but we'll see. 

The next up was this striped dress. I don't remember the exact name because I already threw away the card for it... oops! I got excited because I thought it was the same dress as last month that didn't fit me, but I absolutely loved. However, it was a different striped dress. The material was SO soft, and the length was perfect. However, I didn't like the print at the top, and it was too low-cut to teach in. So I decided not to keep this one.

Piece #2

Next up was the Sharron Shirred Maxi Skirt by Loveappella. I had mentioned in my request this month that I normally don't like maxi's, but was willing to keep trying them. So I was a little nervous, but excited to see one in my fix. 

Normally, maxi anything is too long for my body because I'm pretty short. However, this skirt was a fold/roll down style, so I could play with the length a bit. However, I still ran into my other problem with maxi skirts/dresses: My hips. I am like, triple pear shaped. My waist is tiny, but then my hips are HUGE and jut out, and my thighs are large as well. It's hard to tell in the pictures below, but it looked a little weird. (Stitch Fix stylist: See picture #2, as well as the picture of my pants further down!)

1

2

I tried this skirt on with a shirt I got from J Crew, that is similar to the style I might wear the skirt with. My hips look better with the shirt untucked...but in general, the look is better with the shirt tucked in, in my opinion. You might be interested to know that this skirt could also be worn up higher as a dress. The length obviously got shorter, but it's nice that it's versatile! In the end, I decided to be brave and keep this skirt. The color will go with just about everything, and it's SO comfy and perfect for teaching. 

3

Next up were these pair of colored jeans. Again, I threw the card away. I know the brand was Just Black (even though they're not!). I have no idea if I liked these or not because they were the wrong size. As I mentioned before, I've got a massive thigh/butt/hips area, and so I couldn't even get these size 2 pants up my legs, let alone buttoned up. It's a shame, because I loved the color and my stylist suggested pairing these with the polka dot shirt! Here's the only picture I could share with you, since the others would have had me struggling to get them on...

Too small :(

And finally, we have this pair of Anita Ponte Pants by Liverpool. I wasn't sure I'd like these at first, but I decided to at least try them on, because they were the right material to get away with wearing them to work.

I'm so glad I tried these on! They are so incredibly comfy! They're super stretchy (the tag actually labeled them as leggings), and have pockets in the back (essential for teaching pants, since I need my phone and a place for the mystery walker stick!). There they are below with the same shirt, untucked. The shirt is a little sheer, so it looked a little weird. I also had to roll up the bottoms because they were way long. 

Comfeeeee

She's got a donk.

Here they are with a tucked in shirt. Here you can really see what I mean about the way my hips are shaped! My thighs/butt jut wayyyy out, which gives me a third (and very annoying) curve. That aside, I decided to keep these because they were super comfy. The real decision maker for me was that they are NOT hand wash - they can go in the washer, woo hoo!

In summary: I kept three of the pieces in my fix. Money is REALLY tight right now, but I know the three things that I kept will get a lot of wear-time. I've already worn the polka dot blouse!

What is Stitch Fix?

Stitch Fix is a subscription service, but sooo much better! I had Birchbox for three years, and Ipsy/MyGlam for almost 2. They were great, but not very personalized. That's what I LOVE about Stitch Fix. When you first sign up, you spend about 10-15 minutes filling out a style profile. You fill in information such as your height, what sizes you wear in various kinds of clothing (skirts, pants, shirts, etc.), and what your style is. You can even tell them not to send you things in a certain color (no orange for this Aggie), not to send kinds of clothing, etc. You also tell them how much you're willing to spend on certain items. 

Like I said, super personalized! In addition to the style profile, you can also provide them with a link to your clothing Pinterest board! That way, they can scour your board to really get a feel for what your style is! They encourage you to write notes to your stylist on your Pinterest board explaining exactly why you like each thing you pin! Finally, each month/fix you can write a little note to your stylist, telling them what kinds of events you may have going on, or what kinds of things you would like to see more of! For example, September 5th is my birthday, which is about a week after I will get my next fix. I plan on asking my stylist for something nice to wear on my birthday... as well as something maroon to wear to the Aggie football games that are starting in LESS THAN A MONTH! WHOOP!!

How much does it cost? You pay $20 every fix. That is considered a "styling fee." Your stylist will hand pick five items just for you, based on your style profile. Once you get your box (free shipping!), you have three days to try on your pieces. But it's better than regular shopping, because you can try them on in privacy, with all of your clothing you already own. Hang what you want to keep, fold up and send back what you don't in the pre-paid return envelope, and complete an online checkout, explaining why you kept/returned things. This helps your stylist pick things next time! It's super simple. Oh yeah, and that $20 stylist fee? It turns into a credit you can use on your fix, as long as you get at least one item. So if something cost $55, it would cost $35! Finally, if you buy everything in your fix, you get $20 PLUS %25 off!

Want to try Stitch Fix for yourself? Click here to get started!

Until next time...Mischief Managed.