Like Christmas Morning: Stitch Fix Unboxing Video Review

You may have seen a recent post I wrote with last minute gift ideas for Christmas. Of course, I couldn't leave Stitch Fix out, it's like Christmas morning for adults! What better time to give the gift of good taste than Christmas?! Other than that, I haven't written about Stitch Fix in quite some time because I've put my subscription on hold. Despite my neglect, the affiliate blogging team sent me a Christmas gift, a blanket scarf to wrap myself in all winter long! I'd been eye-balling these scarves since working as a Stitch Fix stylist but never treated myself to one. I wore it to church last Sunday, I love it!

They also offered to waive my next styling fee, who can resist a free box? I mean, $20 is peanuts compared to time wasted shopping with 4 kids who hate shopping, but still. I scheduled my Fix right away and updated my style profile.

I kept my requests simple, and as usual, they gave me exactly what I asked for! I guess you might say they gave me the VIP treatment......no seriously, I'm a VIP. Check out this video and see for yourself!

This is my first ever unboxing video, with the help of my teenage daughter. Be kind, it was very impromptu and late at night. I thought it might be nice for those of you who haven't given it a whirl yet to see what's in the box. Of course, no 2 boxes are ever the same, but you'll get the idea.

In the end, I'll likely keep just the jeans. It's so incredibly hard to find a good fitting pair and I love these! The tops and I didn't get along, but this didn't surprise me. I'm pretty hard to please since finding tag boutique, Style Palette, Off the Hanger, Skivvy and Lularoe (message me if you want to be added to the Facebook groups I'm in).

I realize though that not everyone has as much time as I do to shop around. I love that Stitch Fix is tailored to my fit, style & lifestyle and gives me the opportunity to try new things from the comfort of my home.

If you are thinking about trying it or want to give someone the gift of style, I hope you'll use my affiliate link!

Thanks for stopping by to watch my video. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Evereve Trendsend Review: A Subscription Box for Moms

I'm always on the lookout for new subscription boxes and was really excited to find an online personal styling service dedicated to moms, Trendsend by Evereve. If you are anything like me, time is limited when it comes to shopping for clothes, and things don't fit like they used to. Even if they do, they went out of style years ago. My clothing needs have changed, too. Trendend's response? "Take care of your family, we'll take care of your fashion." Brilliant.

In browsing the Evereve website, I was very impressed by the brands, fit and style of the clothes. It took me about 10 minutes to fill out a very detailed style profile and fill out my special requests. I pinned several of my favorite Evereve pieces and linked my Pinterest style board to my profile and requested a box!

Trendsend promised a 14 day turnaround and they delivered! My box arrived 11 days later via UPS. The service is free, no styling fees or shipping charges. What more could a mom ask for?

I have to admit I peeked at what I would be getting when I received my shipping email. If you are wondering how to do that, just click on the "leave feedback" link. I was intrigued by the pieces they'd chosen! I don't normally peek, but I knew I'd be busy when the box arrived (as it came on the same day as half a dozen other things) so I wanted to wrap my head around it.

When the box came, I quickly unwrapped it to find all of the clothes neatly wrapped in tissue paper, held together by stickers with cute little sayings. The box also included an invoice, a letter from my personal shopper with styling tips, a shipping envelope and a prepaid USPS sticker.

I was so excited to see some items for fall! Now if the weather would just cooperate. It was around 100 degrees when I tried these on, but I didn't care. I felt like fall Barbie playing fashion show!

This was my favorite outfit out of the box, both off and on. Trendsend calls this top Under Skies Tab Sleeve Plaid Top or Plaid Button Down Top in red/navy.

The tag read Skies are Blue, one of my favorite brands! $58 seems reasonable, but I do occasionally have time to shop and just picked up a similar shirt at Costco for $12. This one definitely has more finesse, but I decided I can only do so much plaid. Here the Costco version, which came in several colors. It has more of a western feel, snap buttons and such.

The jeans are Kut from the Kloth and were described as straight leg jeans on the invoice, but in reality they are the Dianna Skinnies and are just that. Therefore they are the exact opposite of what I asked for. Does any retailer (besides Stitch Fix) carry anything but skinnies anymore? I may have tolerated them, as they look great with boots under long tops, however I looked (and felt) like I'd just finished baking in the oven. I'm wearing them in most of these pictures.

This next top is the Braeve Charcoal Tunic or Washed Ashore Tunic for $58. It is really thick, and the hem has a raw edge which I like.

I love everything about this top, but it just doesn't love me back. The scoop neck and oversized fit didn't work well with my shape.

The next top had similar issues, and was even more unflattering because the fabric was very thin and unforgiving.

I genuinely dislike this hi lo trend. I don't need mud flaps. The color was beautiful though on this Free People Ventura Thermal. But $68? No.

This trench had great potential. It's the Ellison Oversize Trench or Holden in pebble for $78. Turns out pebble isn't my color, and I JUST bought another trench. The one size fits all didn't work out too well for me on this one anyway.

The sleeve looked much better tabbed, but were tight (and I have narrow arms).

I didn't think the drape was very flattering either. But this must be working out for everyone else, because Evereve called it a Best Seller.

I thought these Lysse Center Seam Ponte Leggings for $78 and the Peyton Jensen Cambridge Boyfriend Cardy for $48 were the last 2 items in the box. Did I mention I was really hot and received half a dozen other things that needed photographed? I was getting a bit delirious and threw these on haphazardly with this less than desirable surprise top from Golden Tote. I'm sorry.

I genuinely loved the space dye and coziness of the fabric on the sweater, but it felt shapeless. Still, I actually kind of regret sending it back. It's very on trend and would probably go with everything.

I desperately wanted to keep the leggings but just couldn't justify another pair - so similar to what I already have - for that price. Besides, Stitch Fix just started carrying these <3

Turns out I missed a shirt in the bottom of the box. Another plaid shirt, from Lovestitch, the vintage wash plaid shirt for $39.99 on sale. It was really warm. And a tad tight. Love the material and pattern though! Wish they'd had the size up to swap.

So I didn't keep anything, which is weird because everything pretty much fit. I think it was just bad timing with the hot weather, half dozen other things, and new job stress. I am REALLY impressed with what they picked out for me on the very first go round. I would definitely do this again in the future! At the very least, I'll shop the sale section of the Evereve store.

For your knowledge, no discounts were offered toward multiple purchases. And as far as I can tell, there is no referral system in place at this time. I hope they offer both in the near future!

If you'd like to try Trendsend, or just shop Evereve, I'd love it if you used my affiliate link:

Free Shipping on orders $50+

While I will receive a small commission for referrals, clearly my opinions are all my own. If you do try, be sure to let me know what you think!

Happy Trendsending!

Golden Tote Review #2 March 2015

So if you read my first Golden Tote review or my post about where to buy Golden Tote surprise items, you're probably wondering why on earth I ordered another Golden Tote.

#1 I'm an addict

#2 My Facebook group enabled me

In retrospect, I made a bad choice the first time around. I bought a mystery tote. I should have known with my personality that 4 total surprises weren't going to work for me.

Second, I wouldn't have ordered small. But there was no way to know that at the time! And who knows, maybe all mediums would have been too big.

So, I joined the facebook group Golden Tote recommended for trading unwanted items, Golden Tote Trading Group. You can find it here.

From there I found several other spin offs where I was able to commiserate with others. But it also turned out that while these other groups were full of complainers, they are also addicts. So there were dozens of reveals, "I caved in," or "They got me again."

Seeing the clothes on real people really sold me. There were several items that everyone looked good in and raved about. So I fell in love with this Touch of Spring Top from Potters Pot.

I never would have picked this out for myself in a million years if I'd just seen it on a "mannequin" online. But people talked about how soft and comfortable it is, and how they love the colors.

So when I heard Golden Tote was offering free shipping this week due to the delay of the March line, I jumped online to buy the things I'd be considering. I was reluctant, but I figured since you can return it and shipping was free, there was really no risk.

I'm so glad I did. I could have just bought the top and been done with it but it was $35 for the top, or I could buy the $49 tote and get the top of my choice and a surprise item. For $14 I decided to take a gamble.

So it turns out you don't have to return the whole tote anymore. You can keep the chosen item for the boutique price and return the surprise item, or you can keep the surprise item for $35 and return the chosen item. I did neither, since I loved both! But I like options.

Here's the March 2014 surprise item I received. I had made a note at checkout that my favorite colors were blue, black and gray, I wanted a top or tunic, in a small or medium, size up if unsure.

I think they hit the nail on the head. This lovely blue blouse is Jella Couture.

      

The other item I had been eye-balling was the black Puella pocket dress. Originally it was too expensive for my taste, but they dropped the prices of all of the chosen items in the boutique so it's $35 now. There were mixed reviews, but I found out it runs big and some customers received dresses with holes. I sized down and crossed my fingers.

When it arrived I thoroughly inspected it and threw it on. I was instantly in love!

The funniest thing about the 2 items I choose was that they were both made out of a similar material to my Loveappella Evie drawstring funnel neck sweatshirt from Stitch Fix, which I finally decided to give a try and don't want to take off. I'm no fashionista, I had no idea what this material is, but the Stitch Fix blog calls it space dyed slub knit.

So for $90 I received 3 great pieces! And none of them are navy, which is probably a good thing!

Unfortunately the free shipping ends tonight, and the whole website is down tomorrow and Sunday, but Monday morning Golden Tote is promising a pretty new website and a whole new wardrobe. I say give it a try. And if you don't like it, you can sell it to me on the trading group!

If you decide to try it, I'd be delighted if you used my referral:
http://www.goldentote.com/index.php?route=common/referral&referral=176e8084e079478b