Stitch Fix Numero Dos: I'm Addicted. And Fluffy.

Like last month, I'm still feeling a little fluffy, but I'm working on it. The Holiday Pounds Pool at my gym starts this week. It usually starts the week after Thanksgiving, which gives everyone "permission" to GORGE. Holiday weight gain is the WORST:

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I applaud the person organizing the Pounds Pool this season. They are making sure we all stay honest and I can get down with that. This is how the Pounds Pool works:
1. You pay $10 cash and weigh-in the week before Thanksgiving.
2. Other people pay $10 and weigh-in. All of the money goes into a pool.
3. You weigh-in the week after New Year's. If you stayed the same weight or lost it you get your $10 back PLUS you split the cash of anyone who gained weight.

I love it. Two years ago, I lost my $10. Last year, I got it back plus $8. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make me excited for this year's pound pool. I'd be more than willing to do a $5 Pounds Pool on the side with any of you, if you're interested! It's the little things.

Onto my Stitch Fix! My second Stitch Fix has got me totally hooked on this service even though I've sent back almost everything. I just love getting packages and knowing there is somewhere out there in the world listening to me even though we're not talking-- I can tell that someone read my feedback from my first fix. I can also tell my stylist paid attention to my Pinterest. I've been pinning slouchy cardigans and almost everything is grey or black. 

Plus, sometimes I get too distracted when I'm shopping and end up spending/buying more than I should. Stich Fix is keeping me honest. Do I really love what's in the box? Because if I only sort of like it, I shouldn't be buying it. There are only five things to look at compared to RACKS. It's nice. 

My first pieces were these grey cords (butt shot!) from Kut From The Kloth and this black sweatshirt with lace on the back from Threads 4 Thought:

Cost: Pants- $68.00, top- $44.00

Likes: Pants- Material (so soft), length, cords; top- sweatshirt material, the lace

Dislikes: The pants were too loose on the thighs, but these are skinny pants I can wear. I'm looking into this brand on the good old' Internets. They will be perfect for this cold winter. Ugh, it's snowing right now. 

The black top had a weird and loose neck. I loved the lace on the back because it kicked a simple black shirt up a notch, but the neck turned me off. It looked like some of my shirts do after I hang out with my niece and nephew for the day and they pull me to them by the neck of my shirt. 

Status: Sent it back.

Side Note: When I saw the brand name "Threads for Thought" I thought, "Oh, that's cool. I wonder what's thoughtful about their clothing." Then I saw the tag: Made in China. I Googled the company because my brow was furrowed and I didn't understand how that could be thoughtful. This is what I saw:

I'm intrigued, but I want to know more, like what is an ethical wage in China? I will follow this company and look for other clothing companies that use the phrase "Ethical Manufacturing" to see what that's all about. 

Anywayyyy...

The third piece was this pretty lil' number from Skies are Blue:

Cost: $54.00

Likes: The lace, the pattern, the sleeves. This top is so pretty. I saw it in the box and thought, "Ooooo, so pretty! Just my style! I hope it fits my boobs!" Tops with no stretch that aren't specifically tailored for me don't usually fit the ladies. 

Dislikes: GUESS WHAT? It fit everywhere but...

...the boobs. The no-stretch fabric flattened my precious boobs down. One sigh or deep breath after running up the stairs and this top would probably split open on the back zipper. Yes, this top even had a back zipper, which is a detail that I always love. DAMN. I'm going to look for something similar for the holiday season-- this top screamed Christmas Eve to me. 

Status: Sent it back.

The fourth piece was this TERRIBLE grey shirt:

Cost: $48.00

Likes: NOTHING.

Dislikes: HELLLLLLO BOOBIES. Do your co-workers want boobs in yer face? If so, wear this top. Do you want to look completely unprofessional at work? If so, wear this top. Would you like to look like a sausage? Yes? Wear this top. Do you want a mom-lookin' neckline? Wear this top. I enlarged this picture so you could see 1) my commentary and 2) the way this top made my ladies look like one was GROSSLY bigger than the other. Not cool. 

Status: Sent it back. Obviously. 

The last piece was a simple cardigan that I absolutely loved from Pixley. Don't mind the HORRIBLE grey shirt underneath:

Cost: $54.00

Likes: Color, fit, sleeve length, feel of the material and my favorite part-- HIDDEN POCKETS!

Dislikes: Nothin'. I love this cardigan. I'm wearing it right now. 

Status: Kept!

Next month, I asked for a fancy top for New Year's along with some more classic pieces to build my wardrobe. If you want to try Stitch Fix, you definitely should! Just use my referral code, mkay?

Also, I want to talk about the Big Boob-ed Struggle with those of you who get what it's like.
The struggle is real. First World Problems: I can't wear bikini tops that are just cloth triangles and it's sad.

My First Stitch Fix

As promised, here are my thoughts on my first Stitch Fix.

It came early-- the day I got back from a camping trip feeling dirty and bloated.

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I don't even want to talk about how crappy I'm feeling in my skin right now and how I did NOT feel like trying on any clothes. Over the last few years of triathlons, I've always taken a little workout break in September. The problem with this summer is that I only did three triathlons and I still took the same break from working out. I also took a break from caring about what I eat. Hence, I feel like poo.

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My gut is hanging over my pants, people. It is not pretty. It's not even the gut. I just feel gross. Plus, I tried to swim my usual one hour swim today and it was hard. I'm not even looking at the scale. I just want to feel good and not sluggish. 

So yeah, I'm up about seven-ish pounds, but my stylist (oooooo, I feel so upper class) Austyn has good taste and I want to show you what I got in my Fix. Plus, all of the colors and styles are straight from my Pinterest. Nice one, Austyn. I feel like you care. 

My goal was to get five high quality pieces between $50-$100, buy one that would up the ante on my wardrobe, and send the rest back. Let's examine what happened when I faced the actuality of receiving pieces that were in that price range. 

My first piece was the Beautiful Jeans. 

My second piece was this grey Olive & Oak sweater:

Cost: $68.00

Likes: Color, chevron stripes, sleeve length

Dislikes: Bottom, looseness of the upper arms/armpit, material too thin to wear without a tank top underneath so why pay $68 for a sweater that doesn't keep me warm? Also, I bought an Olive and Oak top for work at T.J.Maxx this summer for $16.99 so it was really hard to be all about the cost of this sweater. 

Status: Sent it back.

My third piece was this Market and Spruce sweater:

Cost: $48.00

Likes: Color, fit, bottom, sleeves, the material (felt really nice on my skin), the ability to wear it for work and casual situations

Dislikes: The horizontal stripes. Dammit. I loved this sweater and I would have bought it if it didn't have the horizontal stripes. I have never liked horizontal stripes. They make my boobs look like they're too single and ready to mingle.

Status: Sent it back.

My fourth piece was this Daniel Rainn silk top:

Cost: $88.00. 

Likes: The color is lovely and looked awesome with my skin and hair. 

Dislikes: Cut (looked maternity on me), the tab sleeves, the boob pleats, and the price. The last time I was in NYC for work, I got a lovely silk top with a similar, but less maternity-esque cut from Uniqlo for only twelve bucks. I just couldn't do it. I wouldn't wear it enough to make it worth $88.00

Status: Sent it back.

The last piece was this Papermoon pleated skirt which I was really pumped about:

Cost: $58.00

Likes: The length, the pleats, the color, the swishiness of the skirt when I turned around

Dislikes: The material was paper thin and you could see my undies. Because the cloth was so thin, the pleats got SUPER wide around my current Buddha gut and it just looked bad. Bad, I say. 

Status: Sent it back.

The Verdict: 

I changed my Stitch Fix Style Profile prices to "the cheaper the better." I say I want to up the ante of my wardrobe, but I also can't spend that much on pieces that I won't wear very much. Now I know. I'm am sad about the horizontal stripe sweater. That is one I would have worn a lot if it had been without the stripes. 

Yes, I sent everything back, but I'm still doing this again next month. It is well worth the $20 price tag, especially because I'm trying to find my style and figure out what I really like and want in my wardrobe now that I've gone through The Purge. One of the best parts of this first Fix is that I got these neat little cards with outfits on them:

I'll be looking for styles and outfits that are similar to what were on these cards. I know I can create outfits like this on my own with Polyvore, but I like the feeling of someone else with skill doing it for me. These outfit ideas and cards made the $20 bucks well worth it for me. If I was in a phase of my life where I felt pretty good about my style, I wouldn't use Stitch Fix. 

We'll see what happens next month. Until then, I will be on the lookout for ankle boots, a shirt in the blue of the expensive silk shirt, and a swishy skirt with pleats in a thicker material. Thanks for the style help, Stitch Fix and Austyn with a "y".

I am not being paid by Stitch Fix to write about the company. I just like it. Please do a cheap girl a favor and use any of my Stitch Fix referral links from this blog post if you are thinking about trying it out so that I can get some referral credit on my account! *gingerly swings toe in the sand with hands behind her back after asking you to use her referral code. 

Stitch Fix Sent Me REALLY EXPENSIVE Jeans

I got my first Stitch Fix! I loved the experience of getting my Stitch Fix package and I will talk about the items in my fix on my next blog post, but I wanted to spend a little time on the super expensive jeans that were in my fix. 

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Let me start with this: Stitch Fix sent me jeans that cost $178. As in, one hundred and seventy-eight dollars. 

My price range for Stitch Fix was cheap-$100. I have never tried on jeans that cost over a hundred dollars before. You might be thinking, "Jen, girl, nobody thinks that $178 is a lot to pay for jeans. That's the price of quality!" Well, you've gotta know that I am not from a $178 for a pair of pants kind of life. 

I gingerly stepped my foot into a pant leg. As I put the jeans on, I thought about what might happen to me as I pulled them up my legs. Would the stubble on my unshaven legs that touched the jeans turn into strands of gold and silver?

This is what happened: I loved the jeans and I wanted them NOW.

I ran errands after trying on the Beautiful Jeans. While driving to the store, I came up with a list of justifications for why I should spend $178 on the beautiful jeans:

- If I wear them twenty times, that will be just $8.90 a wear. 

- I usually wear out a favorite pair after a few months. Maybe this pair will last a few YEARS!

- They are made in the United States from cotton grown in the United States-- Buy local?

- If I don't go out to eat for the next three months I can buy them!

- I deserve nice things!

- I said I wanted to upgrade my wardrobe-- isn't a pair of jeans that cost so much upgrading? 

-I actually have money in my savings! Why spend it on a potential home or medical emergency? Why not just get some Beautiful Jeans?

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When I walked into the house after running errands I was dead set on getting the Beautiful Jeans, so I wore them downstairs to show the Hubs how good my butt looked in them. He said they were nice and asked how much they cost. I said, "Well, you know, like, a little over a hundred bucks." His eyebrows raised so high they disappeared somewhere into his forehead. I realized after articulating the cost  that if I have to bend the truth about the jeans they definitely cost too much. 

I touched the soft material of the Beautiful Jeans. I tried them on again. I sighed in delight at how they were the perfect length for me. I walked around in them. I sat down in the living room, staring at the Beautiful Jeans and marveling at how shapely my legs looked. 

Then I put them in the package and reluctantly sent them back.

Because spending almost $200 on jeans is insane. 

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After I packed up the Beautiful Jeans, I ended up telling the Hubs how much they really cost because I felt bad for sorta-kinda lying. The next morning, I walked into the kitchen wearing jeans and t-shirt.

The Hubs looked at me asked, "Are those the $200 jeans?!" His eyebrows looked ready to raise.

I sighed forlornly and replied, "Nope, these are just my good 'ole seventeen dolla' T.J.Maxx jeans. Guess I'm never gonna be fashionista. I'll just be a Maxxinista."

"Oh," he said, "they look the same. And they look nice." 

He won the game of marriage that day. I love him. 

And I still love Stitch Fix. More on that tomorrow!