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My Completely Honest Stitch Fix Review (Updated After 6+ Years!)

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Looking for honest Stitch Fix reviews? I’ve used Stitch Fix on and off for over six years now and have a lot of experience with the pros and cons of the service! Read on for my completely honest thoughts about my Stitch Fix experience + all my best tips & tricks for making it work for you!

Psst! Looking for more honest reviews like this? Be sure to check out my Gwynnie Bee review, Happily Datebox review, thredUP review, and Rocksbox review.

For those of you who have been following me for a really long time, you’ll probably remember parts of my Stitch Fix journey throughout the years and how I slowly went from hating it to loving it. I figured an updated post was long overdue since I’ve been using it on and off for over SIX years! And I’ve learned a lot in that timeframe as to what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to this service.

For those of you who haven’t been following me for very long or are reading about my Stitch Fix experience for the very first time, you should know that I am always brutally honest with my product reviews. I will never endorse a product that I don’t truly love. I will also never lie about loving a product that I don’t. So if you’re looking for really honest Stitch Fix reviews, this is the one to read!

In this post I’ll cover how Stitch Fix works, how much it costs, the pros & cons of the service, my honest experience with Stitch Fix, and how to best make Stitch Fix work for you.

What is Stitch Fix?

Stitch Fix has been around long enough now that you’ve most likely at least heard about it in passing. But just in case you’re not familiar with it, I want to first briefly cover what Stitch Fix is and how it works.

Stitch Fix is an online clothing shop designed to provide personal styling services for women at an affordable cost. It was specifically created for women who need to wear nicer clothes for events/work but who don’t want to spend hours and hours combing through clothing stores to put together outfits.

Originally, it was only for women, but they recently opened up a line for men and a line for kids. They carry women’s sizes 0-24W and Xs-3X, maternity and petite options, men’s sizes XS-XXL, and kids’ sizes 2T-14.

When you sign up, you’ll receive a box of clothing (called a “Fix”) on your doorstep at the frequency you choose (no subscription required). Each box is custom picked just for you by a Stitch Fix stylist based on your size and style preferences!

How Does Stitch Fix Work?

If you’re interested in getting started with Stitch Fix, here’s how it works…

1. Sign up for a Stitch Fix account.

2. Fill out your style profile. You’ll give very specific details on sizes you wear, styles you like, colors you like, types of clothes you like, and what types of clothing you are specifically looking for (more casual, all business, a mix of both, etc.) You can be very detailed in your descriptions and even share a Pinterest board with them to give Stitch Fix some ideas of your tastes in clothing.

3. Go to checkout and pay a $20 styling fee. This is reimbursed if you choose to keep any of the clothes.

4. A Stitch Fix stylist will look at your style profile and put together a box of clothing just for you. It will be based upon what they think you’ll like, according to all your size, color, and style preferences.

5. They’ll send you this box in the mail. You’ll have a few days to go through the box, try on the clothes, and then choose to keep any that you liked and ship back any that didn’t work (they provide a postage-paid envelope for you to use).

They also recently added a feature where you can shop for one-off items based on your past kept items from boxes! It’s really convenient!

How Much Does Stitch Fix Cost?

You only pay a $20 styling fee out of pocket to have the box shipped to you.

If you choose to keep any of the clothing in your box, that $20 will be put towards your order as a discount. If you choose not to keep any clothing at all, you’ll lose the $20 you paid for the styling.

When you sign up, you get the opportunity to specify your budget range. There is a really nice variety of different brands at different costs for all budgets.

If you decide to keep all the items in your box, you’ll receive an additional 25% off your entire order!

My Very First Stitch Fix Experience

Back when Stitch Fix first launched, a few of my friends signed up for it and loved it. Based upon their recommendation and my husband’s encouragement, I decided to finally try it out.

I wasn’t thrilled with what I got in my first box. In fact, I sent half of it back, and I wish I wouldn’t have kept two of the items I did. As much as I thought I could convince myself to love them, I just couldn’t.

I did get a pair of earrings in the box that I love and have worn countless times since then. So that was the one redeeming part of my very first Stitch Fix experience.

But I kind of just decided that Stitch Fix probably wasn’t for me and was happy to leave it at that.

My Second (Disappointing) Stitch Fix Box

However, a year later, a friend here invited me to go with her to a Stitch Fix Influencer’s Dinner here in Nashville. I decided to go — mostly because I was honored to be asked and I was hopeful that I’d meet some other local bloggers at the event.

While at the Stitch Fix event, I had a long talk with the Stitch Fix folks. I was quite cynical about things, and they patiently answered all my questions and encouraged me to give Stitch Fix another try. They gave me some pointers on how to get a box that better matches your style. They told me to be really, really specific in what I asked for and also encouraged me to set up a Pinterest board with wardrobe ideas.

And then, they gave me a $20 Stitch Fix credit coupon so I could try the service without having to pay the $20 stylist fee. I debated whether or not I was brave enough to try again. I finally decided that it was worth a shot since it was so risk-free. Even if I sent everything back, I wouldn’t be out any money out of pocket.

So I really put some time and effort into making sure my profile had very specific directives on it and I set up a Pinterest board with some outfit ideas. I was SO excited to get my box in the mail.

…But I sent every single item back due to the pieces either being not my style or not the right fit. I really wanted to love Stitch Fix (maybe because I really dislike actual in-person shopping and this seemed like such an amazing option to just have clothing arrive at my doorstep that was picked out for me?!).

I had heard that it takes a few times of really honest feedback before your stylist really learns your style well and starting sending the right kind of clothing for you, but I was starting to feel frustrated…

The Box That Completely Changed My Mind

Truthfully, if I hadn’t had a little bit of referral credit built up in my account, I probably would have walked away at this point. But I decided to give it one more try, since I basically had free money in my account and I hated for it to go to waste!

So I tried another box. This time, when I sent the previous box back, I was super forthright in my feedback of the items they sent to me in hopes that my critique would help them do a better job of nailing my style in this third box.

All of the items were much more my style than the first two boxes. Yay! In fact, I really liked every piece. I did send 4 out of the 5 pieces back simply because of fit and price.

But when I pulled out these Jimmy Ankle Length Skinny Jeans, everything changed for me.

I LOVED these jeans!!! It’s so hard to find jeans that fit my short frame well. These were PERFECT and I was SO excited that they fit me so well! Honestly, I wanted to buy multiple pairs of these exact same jeans because they were exactly everything I’d ever wanted in a pair of jeans.

The jeans were $88, and I know that’s A LOT to pay for a pair of jeans. In fact, it’s quite a bit more than I’d ever paid for jeans prior to this. However, I realized that I would probably wear these jeans hundreds of times over the next few years (and I definitely did!). In that case, I decided it was worth it for me — especially to get a style and fit I love.

And over the years, Stitch Fix jeans have continued to be my absolute favorite jeans. They always fit me perfectly and are such high quality. In fact, four out of the eight pairs of jeans in my closet right now are from Stitch Fix!

{Another favorite pair of jeans from Stitch Fix!}

The Secret to Making Stitch Fix Work for You

After lots of trial and error with receiving many boxes and being patient, I’ve learned that it’s all about getting a stylist that learns your tastes and preferences well. It might take a few boxes for this to happen, but for me it has been well worth it.

Here are my best tips to make Stitch Fix work for you…

Make Sure You Fill Out Your Style Profile Carefully — Be really, really honest in your style profile. Make sure all your sizing and preferences are absolutely accurate and that you are very specific about colors, patterns, and styles you don’t want.

Request a Stylist — If you know someone who has gotten fixes that you especially love, you can ask them who their stylist is and you can request that they assign the same stylist to you. No guarantees, but I’ve heard of this working for people. You can also request to have the same stylist you had last time (if you liked them) or a different stylist (if you didn’t like what they chose).

Leave a Note For Your Stylist — Please do this. Tell your stylist exactly what you are looking for and what you aren’t looking for. They do read these notes and try to honor them. You can even ask for very specific items for an upcoming special event — like a dress to wear to a wedding or special event!

Give Incredibly Honest Feedback — Seriously, don’t shy away here. I’m brutally honest and I’ve seen that it makes a huge difference when I leave 100% honest feedback. Don’t hold back! It might seem mean-spirited, but it’s not. They really want you to be honest so that they can get it right for you next time. (By the way, a number of times, if I left feedback about how I really didn’t like what they sent, they either refunded me the stylist fee or gave me a free $20 stylist credit to use the next time.)

Stick With it For a Few Fixes — It took several fixes for my stylist to really learn what I liked. I’m very picky on the clothes I keep. Since I have more of a simple wardrobe, I have to really love a piece of clothing to keep it. As the stylists learn your fashion tastes and what you don’t like, they will do a better job choosing for you. After I had done several fixes with them, they started sending me fixes much more in line with my style.

Request Multiples of An Item You Liked — If you liked a specific dress, shirt, or pair of shorts, you can ask if they have it in any other colors. I’m the kind of person who loves to get multiples of the same style (it simplifies things!), so this has worked well for me! (For instance, I got multiples of this dress and these pair of shorts — just in different colors.) And now you can even buy one-off items based on your past kept items. Just log in and look under the “buy it again” tab under “shop.”

{The shorts that were one of my all-time favorite Stitch Fix pieces. I also requested them in khaki because I loved them so much!}

Pros & Cons

Are you the kind of person who needs a simple pros & cons list?

These are my overall positive and negative thoughts about Stitch Fix, after having used it for over six years now…

Pros

Filling out your style profile is fun! It kind of helps you figure out your true style and discover what you actually love and don’t love when it comes to fashion. Since I’m not a fashionista, this isn’t something I’ve spent much time considering. So I thought that was a very valuable exercise.
I love the anticipation of getting a box in the mail. It adds to the excitement that you don’t know what will be in it. It’s fairly rare that I get to open and go through a mystery box. Looking forward to the box makes the experience more fun!
It’s SO much easier than shopping! Since I don’t enjoy shopping in-store, I find it so much easier and more fun to receive a Stitch Fix box on my doorstep! Plus, it’s nice to be able to try clothing on in the privacy of your own home and compare/match them to items already in your closet. It makes it really easy to decide whether or not to keep an item.
It challenges you to try new things. It’s fun to try new and different styles that you normally wouldn’t pick off the rack in a store. It helps you further define your style and experiment some!
You get to set your budget for what they send. Although the prices at Stitch Fix are going to be much more than what you’d find at thrift stores or on the clearance rack at Target, I love that they give you the option to set your price preferences for certain clothing items and they also offer you the option to set a budget for the entire cost of your box.

I love the styling cards that come with each box. It gives you great ideas on how to style and accessorize an item of. clothing. These are great especially for someone like me who had no idea how to put outfits together when I first started with Stitch Fix.
The stylists are very helpful and try really hard to listen to your honest feedback and notes
You don’t end up buying things you don’t love. I find that I am more apt to only buy what I really love when I get to try things on at home and have a few days to decide versus having to decide when I’m in the dressing room at a store. Plus, it’s easier to tell if a clothing item fits into your wardrobe well and matches other pieces.
You can change your profile at any time. Update your profile if your spending preferences, sizing, or likes change. You can do this whenever and however many times you want.
Returns are incredibly easy and free. You just send whatever you don’t want to keep back in a pre-paid envelope. So simple!
No subscription is required. You can get a box any time you want. Either on-demand or regularly — every few weeks, once a month, or every season.
There are discounts! If you keep your whole box, you get 25% off your entire order. Plus, your $20 styling fee always goes back towards your order if you decide to keep even one item.

{Jean Jacket from Stitch Fix!}

Cons

You might need to be patient. Like I mentioned previously, it will probably take a few times for your stylist to get it right.
Prices are higher. If you’re used to shopping at thrift stores or from sales racks, the prices you’ll find at Stitch Fix are definitely higher. Stitch Fix curates their collection from high quality name brands, and that comes with a bit of a price hike compared to what you might be used to normally.
You never know what you’re going to get. While it’s fun to not know what you’ll get, it can sometimes be a bit disappointing. A few times, I’ve loved almost every piece in my fix. Other times, I’ve loathed most of what I received. It’s a risk you’re taking — and you’re out $20 if none of the items work for you.
Sometimes, it seems like they don’t look at your style profile carefully. This usually doesn’t happen, but I have had a few times where I wondered if the stylist even so much as glanced at my profile because what she sent was so far off from my style profile and preferences. Like I said, this isn’t super common, but I did think it was worth mentioning. If you’re on a tight budget, it might not be worth the risk of the $20 styling fee.

{Shirt from Stitch Fix. I love some of their dressier shirts!}

Honestly, Stitch Fix has kind of been a dream come true for someone like me who really dislikes shopping and finds it exhausting and time-consuming to go to a store, search endlessly through racks and racks of clothing, and then try things on, only to discover that most of the items don’t fix or won’t work!

Overall, I think I’ve come to realize that I really do love Stitch Fix after all these years!! In fact, some of my very favorite items in my closet are from Stitch Fix!

Though it can be a bit pricey, their clothing is really high quality and lasts a long time. This is especially true of their jeans and shorts. And it’s really nice that you can set your budget when you sign up.

If you like wearing quality pieces, you don’t enjoy shopping, and you’re not on an extremely tight budget, this styling service can be a lifesaver for busy women — and it can be a fun way to branch out and try new styles!