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Stitch FixI’ve covered a few men’s clothing subscription services in the past, but recently I got the chance to try out Stitch Fix.
It might be the best of the bunch, especially for guys who are a bit more selective when it comes to their look. Like other services, Stitch Fix delivers customers a box of clothing options based on a style profile they fill out while signing up for the first time.
Each box contains five items that customers can then try on and see what fits and what doesn’t, or what matches their style and what’s not for them. From there, you can choose to keep what you want and return the rest of the clothing in a prepaid and pre-addressed return package.
What sets Stitch Fix apart from other services I’ve tried in this vein is its specificity and service.
The style profile you fill out is quite detailed — asking questions about style, fit, and why you wear what you wear. After each box, customers are asked to rate each of their items based on how it matched their style, how it fit, and what its value was in terms of cost versus quality. Answers to these questions allow for your style profile to become more detailed over time. The idea is for your next delivery to match your tastes even better than the last one.
In my delivery that the company sent me for reviewing purposes, I received two shirts, a sweater, a pair of jeans, and a pair of dress socks. To my surprise, the fit on everything was either great or relatively good, which is much better than I often do shopping for myself.
Specifically, the first thing I tried on was the red flannel you see above from Hawker Rye (a brand exclusive to Stitch Fix), and I immediately fell in love with it. The jeans had a bit of a tighter fit than I would normally choose on my own, but in a way that was more “stepping a bit outside my fashion comfort zone” than “these are too tight and impossible to move in.” This is one of the values I see in services like Stitch Fix — it might encourage you to try on something you wouldn’t have tried out otherwise, allowing you to slowly expand your style.
Tyler Lauletta
While I was impressed with the clothes that were delivered to me, the standout feature of Stitch Fix has to be the interaction between customer and stylist, and the flexibility the site allows.
Customers can choose how often they receive deliveries, so whether you are looking to rebuild your wardrobe month by month or only want a few new items for each season, Stitch Fix has you covered. You can also add detailed notes to each of your items, giving your stylist a better idea of how to find a match next time around if the first pair of jeans they sent weren’t the perfect pair for you. If you know what you need, you can let them know, whether it’s a new pair of chinos, or maybe an entire box filled with slightly higher-end options than you normally go for, because you’re about to start a new job.
Altogether, my five items came in at almost $ 400. But since customers who keep all five items get a 25% discount on their order, the total at checkout was $ 300, which is a solid value for a full wardrobe refresher for the season.
It’s a more expensive option than counterparts such as Five Four Club, but Stitch Fix provides more personalized clothing options and a stylist who will react to your needs in real time.
You can get started with Stitch Fix here.
This article was originally published on 11/16/2016.
