Summary & How it Works

From a college apartment in Cambridge in 2011, Stitch Fix was born out of a dream to blend the human element of personal styling with high-quality clothing and proprietary algorithms. From that dream, millions of men and women nation-wide have had personal stylists assist them in updating their wardrobes one box at a time. With a mission to change the way people find clothes they love by combining technology with the personal touch of seasoned style experts. The Stitch Fix experience is not merely curated—it’s truly personalized to you. To help you save time, look great and evolve your personal style over time.

To order from Stitch Fix you take around 10-15 minutes to share all of your sizing, fit and style preferences with their stylists online. Next, you request a delivery. A this point, you pay a $20 styling fee which is deducted from your order if you keep pieces. Next is probably the most important part, you try everything on! You have 3 days to try on all of the pieces in your delivery to assure they fit and feel great. If you don’t love something or it doesn’t fit just right, you place it in the already post-marked return package that is provided, and you send it back, simple as that. Shipping and returns are free. 

Highlights

As far as e-purchasing websites and companies go, this site is incredibly professional. The look and feel, give you confidence in the company and its product. It isn’t shocking that you’d be able to expect this level of professionalism from a website whose company is tech based and employs as many engineers as stylists. With an abundance of fashion tips, outfit ideas, blog posts and even a web series, their robust site has something for the fashion forward and the fashion failure. 

We really love how incredibly diverse the offerings at Stitch Fix are. They include petite and plus sizes for women, maternity clothes, Big & Tall for men and children’s clothing as well. They have really done a great job as they’ve expanded, to assure a truly one stop shop for any modern family. 

Cost & Frequency

There is no subscription required for Stitch Fix. Every time you place an order you pay a $20 styling fee and if you keep anything from your delivery that cost is deducted from your total. If you keep the entire box you receive a 25% discount.

Pieces for men and women start at $25 and go up to $500, for kids, offerings start at $10. When you begin the process, you are able to tell your stylist how much you are comfortable spending per piece and the box you receive will reflect that. 

Stitch Fix in the press

“Stitch Fix, and its founder were featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine as #5 of the 50 most innovative companies in 2019 and has been all over the UK media this year as she has begun to offer services across the pond.  Stitch Fix’s Success is Underappreciated.”

Posted by Sarah Halzack, January 3, 2019

“They should quit the hand-wringing. In the last year, Stitch Fix has offered evidence that it’s built to last, and that its ambitious guidelines for 20 percent to 25 percent annual revenue growth in the near future are achievable. And much of that comes down to the smarts and good governance of its founder and CEO, Katrina Lake.”

BLOOMBERG News

“I think that five years from now, we’re going to say things like, ‘Remember when we used to have to wander around stores to find our clothes? When we had to know how we fit in every brand? What was up with that?’,” says Eric Colson, chief algorithms officer at Stitch Fix. The San Francisco-based startup is one of a growing number of companies trying to combine artificial intelligence with a human touch to take on big retailers, both online and off. Stitch Fix counts 2.7 million active customers in the US and plans to launch in the UK in 2019.

WIRED Magazine

What People Are Saying About Stitch Fix

Although Stitch Fix seems to be one of the more professional subscription or e-purchasing sites, it seems to have very mixed reviews. On the Consumer Reports reviews website it only garnered 2 ¼ stars based on 48 reviews hosted on their site. Complaints seem to stem mostly from poor customer service and lack of attention to detail when it came to providing desired wardrobe pieces. 

The reviews are mixed:

5 star

“Okay I decided to try it out. Why not? The first box would be shipped free, and I could send back FREE as long as it was within the 3 day time frame. OMG! I loved EVERYTHING! All the tops, the jeans, the shoes. They nailed everything I said I wanted. I’ve been wanting to renew my style for a while and it’s been hard to find what I’ve been wanting. My stylist seems to have read everything I had asked for, BESIDES the pricing I wanted to spend. I wanted each item to be between 15-20 dollars and I specified that. All the shirts were 40-50$. The jeans were 60 and the shoes were $89. The only time I spend that much on shoes is gyms shoes that are going to last me a few years that I wear daily, not dress shoes I will only wear on occasion. Regardless My hubby loved the things that were sent to me as well.”

-Jennifer of Cincinnati, OH

5 star

“I’ve been using Stitch Fix for a year now. I love it! Jeans that fit are hard to find. Yet Hannah has hit it out of the park every time. I like that I don’t have to keep everything. I get 5 items and choose which to keep. This is great if you’re on a budget and can only afford one or two items. I’ve seen complaints about cost. You have the option to choose the price range you want and you can change it at any time. Several times I’ve kept everything. A couple times I’ve sent back two or three items. I like having the option to comment on and rate each item received. And it’s so easy to return items at no cost.”

-Sue of Austin, TX

1 star

“Nearly impossible to reach Customer Service and when you do finally make contact, they offer no resolutions. Recent ‘Fix’ contained a duplicate shirt to one previously sent. Reached out to Customer Service and 5 days later had no resolution and no explanation as to how to prevent further duplicates. Deactivated solely based on poor customer service. Seems to be more automated and lacks any ability to resolve problems or concerns.”

-J. of Kingsport, TN