You always remember your first fix

They say you always remember your first fix. I don't know who "they" are and I've never done a drug, but this first fix of mine is definitely something I'll remember, if for no other reason than it provoked me to post a picture of my ass on the internet, which my husband will never allow me to forget. But I digress...

A few weeks ago, I got a strange little card in the mail offering a personal stylist on the internet. Mailers usually go straight into the garbage at my house along with all the coupons I forgot to take to the grocery store, but fate (or my husband) sorted this one into my stack of bills, so it reappeared right at the moment when I was reconciling the nauseating amount of money I’d just spent on school clothes for our kids, only to change their complaints from, “I don’t have anything to wear,” to, “I can’t pick what to wear.”

I read over the mailer, which offered a one-time free “fix” of 5 clothing items tailored specifically to my measurements and style and then looked down at the Pottery Barn towel I was wearing, courtesy of a bunch of shorts that refused to zip. Then I googled Stitch Fix. Some clients seemed happy and some were blah about it, but the one thing that stuck with me was how many people liked their jeans. Earlier that week, I’d spent no less than 3 hours trying on jeans only to come home empty-handed.

So I decided I’d fill out the profile. I didn’t intend to order. I wanted to see what type of questions they’d ask or if it was just credit card bait. But once I went through the website, I was impressed enough to fork over my credit card number and order, complete with the guarantee that my first fix would be free if I didn't keep anything thanks to my mailer. I set my fix to arrive on the first day of school – a present to myself for surviving the summer working from home.

Okay. So on to the reason you're actually reading this - just to look at my ass. Or to check out the clothing. Whatever. I'm a 41 yr old mom, not a 21 yr old supermodel. I work out a lot, but I also have been known to sit in the Walmart parking lot and eat a whole fried chicken so it balances out.

These are Dayna Skinny Jeans from Kut from the Kloth and they're everything they were hyped to be. I love them. For $88, they're a steal when I calculate the money I can make working during the hours I would otherwise spend jean shopping.

These jeans fit my thighs and my waist. They stay up when I sit down. Yes, I'm annoyingly bow-legged, but my thighs are still my limiting factor for jeans. From the side, they're quite thick, hence the reason I didn't photograph them from that angle. Obviously.



The green Suri Knit Top from Laila Jayde ($58) costs more than I'd generally spend on a glorified t-shirt. As an engineer, I work in dirty environments, which means my clothing gets ruined at times and I'm usually wearing something from TJ Maxx that can be replaced for $10, but I love both the color and the fit of this shirt. I won't be stocking an entire wardrobe of them, but I'm happy to have it to wear either alone or under the Martina Slub Knit Open Cardigan by Pixley ($48). I wear tons of cardigans, but have nothing like this. It's made of cotton like a t-shirt. It's perfect to throw on to go from a plant floor to lunch with the manager and lighter than a sweater. Plus it matches my steel-toe shoes.

The next thing in my box was a Khloe Sleeveless Open Cardigan by Absolutely ($48). I put it over a tank top, although it's cute over the green shirt as well. This is not a piece I would've picked out in a store, but I love it. I can totally see myself wearing this through the airport when I'm traveling, or when I'm going out with a friend, or when I'm trying to impress someone and look like I've got my shit together and don't wear towels at home. 

So that brings us to the last piece in my box, the Barros Lace Overlay Blouse by Collective Concepts ($64). This is the one piece I don't love, although my scowl in the picture is from being interrupted by my kids no less than forty times during the writing of this post. The shirt is okay. It opens in the back and the idea of it is adorable, but the fit isn't my favorite. The layer underneath is a little tight across the chest even with my most flattening bra. The hem hits right at the widest point of my hips and emphasizes that line. It definitely looks better with shorts than with pants. In the picture on the right, I separated the back so you can see how the under layer is more form-fitting and, in my opinion, more flattering than the top layer. It would look better on someone with an apple shape.


All together, my Stitch Fix came to $306. I would've returned the Barros Lace Overlay Blouse, but if you buy the whole box, you get a significant discount ($25% + $20), which brought my total down to $209.50. It's cheaper for me to keep it all than to return the one item.

As an adult, there aren't many pleasant surprises in life and this definitely was one. I'm sure I'll use Stitch Fix again since I need something to look forward to in my life. Like my 8 yr old always says, "People pretend that what's on the inside counts, but all they really care about is how you look." She's wise for her years. Hopefully she won't grow up to be one of those women who posts pictures of her ass online just to get attention.

Just in case you wondered, this post is not sponsored by Stitch Fix nor do they have any idea who I am other than just another random mailer customer.