My First Stitch Fix!

I admit that trying out Wantable woke up this urge for me to finally update my closet. I had all these new accessories and nothing to pair it with. So after considering it for a bit, I decided to hold off on Wantable and start focusing on revamping my wardrobe. And by "revamp," I mean "Finally get clothes that fits and isn't over 5 years old." The problem though is that I simply do not have time to shop. Heck, I barely have time to write nowadays. So I did what has been the fashionable thing to do lately... Try to find a box that would alleviate the pressure of having to actually go to stores. 

Through /r/beautyboxes, I found out about Stitch Fix (referral link). It kind of seemed like a huge commitment, so I weighed on it for days. You create a style profile which seems quite in depth and then you spend $20 to pay a stylist to pick out clothes. Upon receiving the box, you have three days to decide what you want to keep -- if there's anything you want to return, you simply toss it back into a bag that they provide that has a label already printed, and drop it into a mailbox. Seems simple enough right? Well, the commitment is in the cost. If you keep anything, that $20 is applied toward your purchase. If you buy all 5 items in your box, then you get 25% off. (Oh and California residents have to pay additional sales tax). If you dislike everything, then you are out $20. Luckily, they try darn hard to make sure that you at least like something in the box (or so it seems). 

Getting a date can be tricky and you do have to check back if you haven't gotten a slot. I didn't realize this at the time so I went back and forth for weeks before finally deciding that I would at least try them out. That was October 22nd and the earliest ship date I could get was "The Week of November 20th." So here's my first ever Stitch Fix!

The packaging is actually quite nice and somewhat reminiscent of True & Co. Everything was stacked neatly on top of one another and wrapped in tissue paper. Along the side was an envelope with the information about the items in the box with pairing suggestions, the notation of cost for each items, a Holiday Fix packet (which included recipes), and the return bag.

There were a total of 5 items and that breaks down to 3 shirts, a blazer, and a pair of jeans. The shirts and the blazer are labelled "41Hawthorn" which leads me to believe that this is their brand. This is fine with me so long as they send pieces that work out for me. Without further ado, let's look at those pieces. 

41Hawthorn: Franklin Solid Side Gathered Knit - $48

41Hawthorn: Moni Stud Detailed 3/4 Sleeve Blouse - $58

41Hawthorn: Queensland Dolman Jersey Top - $48

41Hawthorn: Benson 3/4 Sleeve Blazer - $78

Kensie Jeans: Johnny Skinny Jeans

When I first took everything out of the box, I immediately thought "Oh no, not jeans." I have had a long standing problem with jeans and it's very difficult to find jeans that fit correctly. The only jeans that seems to have fit me are Levi's Curve ID's and that's about it. So I tried the jeans on first and to my surprise, they actually fit! Not just that, but they might be flattering!

The next item I was on the fence about was the blue Moni Stud but seeing it on me changed my mind. It actually reminded me of my first lengha that I ever owned. What's interesting is that after trying everything out, the one that I ended up disliking was the purple Side Gathered Knit because the material felt weird and it just did not flatter my body type at all. I opted to keep it though because I figured that maybe I just didn't pair it correctly and had the perfect dress pants to go with it. 

So the damage? The damage pricey. (There's that commitment thing again). The total coming out to just about $242. Yes. I weeped a bit in the corner when I thought about the damage here. But here's out I logically worked it out for myself.

1. I hate clothes shopping.
2. I don't go clothes shopping.
3. I hate going to stores and having to try on everything.
4. I hate being disappointed when I go clothes shopping and find nothing.
5. I shop online for clothes twice a year so that means that I don't have a steady flow of decent clothes in my wardrobe.

While this is expensive (still crying and still telling myself that it's okay to make this choice), this may work out since I can try on clothes at home and since they know my tastes, it's going to be catered to me. I'm opting to try one more month to see how it works out. With this box from Stitch Fix (referral link), I'm very impressed and very happy to have the new pieces in my closet. 

My First Graze Box!

Items were received by Graze complimentary.

Admittedly, I've been slacking on my updates. I signed up for Graze's Nibble Box on Halloween when they offered a free code through their Facebook page. On November 4th, the box was prepped and around November 11th I was notified it was shipped. I got the box on November 13th which was right after BlizzCon so I didn't really have much time to think. 

Unlike other boxes that I've come across, this one does not offer a tracking code and actually ship through normal mailing means. This meant that I didn't really know where my box was or why it was taking so long (now I know). Also when it arrived, it had a puncture that went right through the top to the bottom of the box. All that meant to me was that I needed to consume that sample immediately (no harm, no foul).

Let's take a look at the inside of the box. The box has a great presentation and everything is wonderfully prepped. 

• Garden of England (top left): Strawberries black currants, and apple slices. 
• Jalapeno Fiesta (bottom right): Jalapeno peanuts, roasted sunflower seeds, salsa almonds and roasted pumpkin seeds.
• Key Lime Pie (top right): Lime infused raisins, sponge pieces, mini meringues and green raisins. 
• Cracking Black Peppercorn (bottom right): Black pepper rice crackers.

I ended up eating the Garden of England one right away since that was the little tray that was punctured. I loved that one since it's been a while since I've feasted on black currants (currant rolls are my favourite pastry and I haven't had them in a long time). A few nights later when I split the remainder between my boyfriend and my friend, I ended up having the majority of the Key Lime Pie which was amazingly delicious. It was a surprising blend though I will admit that the mini meringues were a tad bit too sweet.

The other two were devoured by my boyfriend and my friend. My friend happened to love the Cracking Black Peppercorn and is currently trying to devise ways of just getting that in bulk. 

At this point my only true concern was that while this seemed great for a free box, I wasn't entirely sure of the cost and couldn't determine if it was worth it (at the time). After all, the samples are all small, there's no way it seems to properly configure (or rig) a box for your favourites, nor is there an option to buy your favourites. I do suspect this might be something that they have already considered. So when I decided to actually double check the website, I realized... well, shucks, the box is actually only $6. 

So it turns out that yeah, it's actually pretty much worth it. 

Graze is currently still invitation only and they are limiting the amount of "FriendCodes" that each person can give out. I have four two more if you'd like to give it a shot -- the first box is free. Leave me a note if you'd like my code!