Stitch Fix – My First Fix

| Top and Pants: Stitch Fix | Necklace: J.Crew | Shoes: Target | Bag: Fossil | Bracelet: Target |

| Jacket: Forever 21 |

For those of you who:

A. Don’t have time to shop

B. Hate to shop

C. Don’t know what to buy when you shop

D. Like surprises

E. Are lazy

F. All of the above

Look no further!

One of my good friends and the lovely lady who takes all the quality pictures on this blog (as opposed to all the other iPhone pics on here, shameful, I know), Ashley, introduced me to a website called Stitch Fix. Ashley is a Stylist for Stitch Fix which is a part time job that you do from your computer at home. It sounded like my ideal way to make some extra money while doing something I love!  She referred me to become a Stylist and I applied for the job online. I’m still waiting to hear back, so fingers crossed!

So now that you’ve all put out positive vibes for me to get this job, let’s get down to it. What is Stitch Fix you ask? It’s a quite simple yet brilliant concept. Granted, I’ve only done this once, so I’m no expert in the matter. With that in mind, I am just going to go over the basic way it works as well as my first experience.

You fill out a profile on the website about your personal style. You answer questions about the kind of clothes you like to wear, what your lifestyle is like, what you spend most of your time doing, your body type, your typical clothing sizes, colors you like, would you describe your style as girly, edgy, classic, nautical?… etc. You also get a chance to specify things that you do not like. It allows you to give your Pinterest profile as well to help the stylist see the kinds of things you would want in your wardrobe. Best of all, you can specify your personal budget and what the most you would want to spend on each type of clothing item is. Once you fill out your profile you can order your “fix”. You have the option of ordering a one time fix or you can get fixes sent to you monthly.

A fix is a package that gets mailed to you with 5 items chosen for you by a stylist that has been appointed to you based on your profile. You put in your credit card info and pay $20 to have this package put together and sent. Once it arrives, which is usually in a week or so, you get to try everything on and decide what you want to keep and what you want to send back in the included prepaid envelope. You have 3 days to decide. Once you decide what you’re keeping, you go to your Stitch Fix account and check out. You purchase the items you want to keep (minus the $20 you already paid to get it sent) and tell them what is being sent back and why. If you decide to buy all 5 of the items, you get a 25% discount for doing so. Then you can give feedback to your stylist so she can keep up the good work or improve on your next fix!

If you find a stylist that you thought did a good job and you want to use again, you have the option while ordering a fix to request a specific stylist (Ashley Fischer is really good!!). The fixes come with a personalized note from the stylist herself giving you tips on how you can wear the items she sent.

So that’s it! I decided to request my friend Ashley to be my stylist and got my first fix to see for myself. I did have the advantage of having my friend as my stylist. Other than that, I could see from what I got, the website clearly has an inventory of quality and trendy stuff. They have pants, tops, jackets, sweaters, jewelry, and bags.

When my fix arrived, it felt like Christmas morning. That’s the beauty of it. You don’t know what you’re getting, so you get super excited when it arrives, eagerly open the package and see what’s in store. You get to try the items on in the comfort of your own home and take 3 days to make a decision. There’s much more of an anticipation, excitement and leisure to it than actual shopping. I loved everything I got in my fix. My stylist/friend seemed to have had my fashion sense pinned.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep all 5 items just because I couldn’t afford to buy all of them (though the 25% discount does help a little!). The only tough part about this process is having to part with items that you already have in your possession that you want to keep so badly.

I decided to keep two items in my fix that I felt were staple and versatile. I kept a pair of black jeggings which have a quilted leather strip down the side of the pant. They are super comfortable and sleek. I also kept a loose black tank with a sheer black and white polka dotted back. I’m loving the all black look. You can make it edgy or classic, but I like to make it a mix of both.

I suggest you all try out Stitch Fix at least once if for nothing else but to have that feeling of Christmas morning when your fix arrives. If you don’t like anything in your fix then you can tell your stylist how to do better next time or you never have to do it again, but there’s not much risk in trying! I plan to do it again soon myself!

If you want to try it out, click here to use my referral link!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day full of love. Whether you’re sharing love with your significant other, cat, dog, children, parents, BFF…but most of all, I hope you remembered yesterday as well as every day, to love yourself!

Pinterest Recreation- Effortless Class

I was scrolling through Pinterest and this one (far left) caught my eye. I love an A-line skirt over a casual cotton top. Navy and white stripes paired with pink seems to be really in lately.

My first impression was that this whole outfit looks pretty expensive and unattainable. But then I realized that the whole purpose of this blog is to show that high fashion looks can be recreated on a budget. I can’t be thinking… “oh looks too expensive” and keep scrolling. So instead, in the words of Barney Stinson, I said to myself… “challenge accepted!”

I believe a good comfy cotton striped shirt, one good statement necklace and a beige trench coat are staple items for ones wardrobe. They are versatile and can be worn a million different ways a million different days (I just made that up, can I coin that phrase?). So there’s 3 things from the outfit right there that I realized I actually already have. If you don’t have them, you absolutely should and can for CHEAP!

The top I used is a little fancier than what’s needed here, but you can get a top like this (minus the sequins) anywhere… Target, Forever 21, JC Penny…etc. I got this trench coat at Marshall’s for maybe 30 bucks and you would never know it. The necklace I got at Forever 21 for maybe 15 bucks. So there ya go!

A pink A-line skirt however isn’t exactly a necessity for your closet, but I actually had this one (which I’ve yet to wear), from YEARS ago. It is from Target. I never really could decide what it would look good with, which is why scrolling through Pinterest is great inspiration. So voila! I’ve made a very creative outfit with it. I think this outfit would look equally as cute though with a black A-line skirt or really almost any solid bright color.

So there ya go, a very classy expensive looking outfit recreated from honestly some of the oldest, cheapest items in my closet.

Top: J.Crew

Necklace: Forever 21

Trench Coat: Marshall’s (Miss London brand)

Skirt: Target

Shoes: Target

Bag: Michael Kors

Pinterest- the gateway drug

I shall warn you all….Pinterest is a gateway drug  to shopaholism. Yes I already had signs of being a shopaholic very early on in life, but once I was introduced to Pinterest it was all down hill from there. I not only live in a very fashion forward city where I see new trends all the time, but I am addicted to Pinterest, where trends are brought to my attention and then thrown in my face over and over and over again telling me “YOU NEED THIS IN ORDER TO LIVE A HAPPY LIFE”.

Now, I’m all about being a trend SETTER, not always a follower, but in my opinion personal STYLE is more of an expression of yourself than whether or not you follow or set trends. It’s how you wear current trends, how you put outfits together that is the art of it all.

I’m sure many of you can relate with me on being PINspired to go shopping (see what I did there?). The main problem is most of us just don’t have endless amounts of money to go out and buy everything we see on Pinterest.

Here are the things that I consider so as not to go out and buy every single new trend:

1. Is it practical? Something you could wear with many different outfits, a neutral color, not too dressy (for those of us who aren’t getting dressed for cocktail parties on a daily basis), comfortable, something you’d want to wear every day, something that would be flattering on you…

2. Is it something you could foresee as still being fashionable in years to come? A classic staple. Not overly trendy.

3. Can you stop thinking about it? If you see a trend and find yourself noticing every other person who has it and being extremely envious of them and lay awake at night lusting after it, just do yourself a favor… get it! You can have it too ya know! As long as you’re selective with the things you want to splurge on, it’s ok!

4. Can you find something similar to it for cheaper than what’s shown on Pinterest? Don’t just click on the Pinterest link and buy it for hundreds of dollars. Take your time to look around and see if you can find similar trends at cheaper stores. The trend isn’t going anywhere for a while, just relax and wait until you see the best deal. (This has always been the most difficult feat for me. When I want something I want it NOW).

So– following all these rules, there were two trends I went for in the past few weeks.

A. Combat boots

B. Aztec print sweater

I’ve always been a fan of both boots and chunky sweaters in fall/winter time, but I LOVE the aztec print I’m seeing around. Also can’t get enough of combat boots. I just think they can look cute with so many different things, even with dresses or skirts and tights.

In the first picture shown, I am wearing an open front aztec print sweater from Urban Outfitters (can be purchased here). I will admit they have these everywhere and very similar styles at places like Forever 21 where you can get them even cheaper than I did (similar look).

I DID do a good job though on bargain shopping for these combat boots shown in the second two pictures. A place called Lexy Couture in the Burbank Town Center mall is just full of crazy cheap trendy shoes. Not only do these look like they could be expensive leather boots, but they’re super comfortable as well. It was buy one get one half off, so I also got a pair of black combat boots as well. Two pairs of combat boots for 50 bucks! Gotta give myself a pat on the back for that one. (Shown with oversized navy knit sweater from Gap, Jeans from Urban Outfitters, Necklace from J.Crew)

What are the trends you can’t get enough of this fall season?

American Eagle…who knew!?

Top: American Eagle, Shorts: Urban Outfitters, Purse: J. Crew, Necklace: J. Crew

So when I think of American Eagle for some reason I imagine graphic t’s and hoodies that say “American Eagle” in big cursive letters across the front. But–during one of my shopaholic binges I decided to go in there due to an absurd amount of signage announcing 40-50% off everything in the store. It was one of those days where I was feeling kind of blah and I knew if I bought a cute new outfit I’d feel much better.

Before deciding to go into American Eagle, I wasn’t really finding anything I was in love with nor do I have endless money to spend, but I was just so desperate to leave the mall feeling excited! To me that means not leaving empty handed. Empty wallet…eh I’ll survive…but no new piece of clothing…I’ll just still feel blah and like I wasted a bunch of time at the mall. In the words of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City… “I like my money right where I can see it, hanging in my closet.”

SO– I actually found some really cute things in there and I think my mind has opened back up to American Eagle since middle school. I purchased 3 items (a top, shorts and a bracelet) all for only $40! It was almost a too-good-to-be-true sale. It wasn’t just on all the things that are picked over and out of season, but actually on front-of-the-store, newer and in season items.

I got this awesome neon yellow/green casual peplum t-shirt–it’s got the sporty mesh vibe as well. I wore it to my boyfriend’s family barbecue with jean shorts, a royal blue J. Crew bubble necklace and matching cross-body purse (also J. Crew). A pattern you will notice is that I will definitely buy a lot of trendy clothes from cheaper stores but when it comes to accessories (especially purses) and staple items (like jackets) I will splurge. The reason for this is, these things won’t go out of style as quickly, you wear them more often and they should be quality to last you longer.

Anywho… I thought this was the perfect summery/casual yet eye catching and stylish outfit for a barbecue. I also love the neon and royal blue color blocking. I’ll post a pic soon of the shorts I got at AE too, they are also amazing and colorful. 🙂

Stay in vogue!

Hayley