The Solution to My Overly Frugal Fashion Problems

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I won $100 at work, but they couldn't hand me cash for tax purposes, so I got a $50 gift card to H&M and a $50 to Target. That way, I would force myself into buying clothes, but I could also be practical at Target. I legitimately laid in bed one day on the Target website and brainstormed what I'd like to buy. I decided on tampons, a hamper and mouthwash. Let's just breeze over the fact that it took me hours of thinking to decide on those three items and move on to an even bigger problem.

I had $50 to H&M. That gift card was almost guaranteed to spend itself. Until it didn't. I picked out a bright pink top (trying to expand my colors in my wardrobe), a flowy summer top (it was on sale for $2) and a blue sweater that sat like a tent on my body, but had tigers on it (because it had tigers on it, duh). It cost me $25 total. 

I had $50 to spend freely, and I couldn't even do it.

Something in my life had to change. Then I knew / hoped I knew what my answer would be. A friend at work had been buying clothes online with her own personal stylist on a website called Stitch Fix. I decided that there has never been such a sign that I needed help, so I decided to try it out.

You go onto the website, fill out a quiz about yourself, give them your measurements, tell them what events to try to dress you for, link your social media accounts and set your frequency of shipments. Then they match you with a stylist who picks out 5 pieces for you and sends them to you. If you like them, you keep them (and get 25% off if you keep them all), and if you don't, you can easily send them back in the bag provided. I didn't want to overcommit, so I set my fix to arrive every other month, with the intent to turn it to once every three months if it was ridiculously expensive. Then I waited.

I didn't wait patiently.

It ended up coming a day earlier than expected, and I had to sit the rest of the day of work knowing that my new clothes were waiting for me outside my house. When I finally made it home, I was almost nervous to find out what was in my box. 

As I ripped open the box, my butterflies got more active. On the top of the box was a beautiful lace dress in a deep purple color, an incredibly soft blazer with ruffles in the back, a golden shimmery tank top, a heathered emerald green three quarter-length shirt and some super stretchy grey pants. I loved it all immediately. 

I bounced out of my room to go grab some drinks, but could hardly wait to get back to my box to try everything on. The price was significantly more money than I often spend on clothes, but it was easy to justify keeping them all with the 25% discount if you keep them all. Plus, $220 for five quality items of clothes isn't actually that bad. The five items I purchased were:

  • Collective Concepts Bourassa Shimmer Knit Top
  • Brixon Ivy Medina Lace Dress
  • Market and Spruce Aleah Heathered V-Neck Dolman Top
  • Liverpool Anita Skinny Pant
  • Market and Spruce Kristah Ruffle Knit Blazer

What impressed me the most about my Stitch Fix was how personal it was. My stylist, Lydia, did a better job than I honestly expected. I asked that she try to dress me for at least one of the upcoming holidays: a formal outfit for Thanksgiving, a casual yet nice Christmas outfit and a New Years Eve outfit. She managed to get me pieces for every holiday.

I've posed them quite a challenge next time: shoes. I usually can't buy my own shoes unless they're boots. I feel bad throwing them to the fire for the next assignment, but I have honest faith that Stitch Fix can actually figure out my fashion problems. 

Note: I didn't get paid to write about Stitch Fix. I just really endorse Stitch Fix, especially if you are an indecisive shopper like I am. If you'd like to jump on the stylish bandwagon, fill out your profile to get started.