The Journey of Parenthood…

Stitch Fix or TJMaxx?

I know a TON of people who use Stitch Fix and LOVE IT. I made an account and profile like a year ago but never pulled the trigger. Once I got to a weight loss spot where my clothes weren’t fitting as well and were starting to make me look frumpy, I figured why not give it a go and get some new, on trend, items that FIT?

I didn’t know a whole lot about the company or how the service worked until I tried it out. You create an account and a profile with all your information and sizing and you tell them things you want and don’t want etc. They also recommend making a pinterest board which I also did to help out my “stylist.” Of course I selected the option for cheapest items possible and when my box came in I was excited to see what they sent!

First thing I tried was this dress. I really liked it and so did Zach! I LOVED that they sent a petite as it hit me length-wise perfectly.

I told them that I’ve been losing weight/working out and that I’m slowly getting more confident with my arms so I was willing to try tanks and this one fit really awesome!

So in your box you get 5 things. Just 5. I had written a LOT in my profile thing. About my weight loss and what items I needed/wanted. I SPECIFICALLY said I wear jeans and basics alllll the time and I really didn’t want any such items. What did they send me? Jeans. And I also said I have a TON of jewelry and don’t want any. And what did they send? A simple necklace that was so tangled I couldn’t even mess with it to try it on. And a GRAY SHIRT. As in PLAIN GRAY. Seriously? Sure both fit well…but when I saw the prices I was even more upset!

Remember I specifically said no jeans and no basics. I also checked the boxes for the CHEAPEST items. Ready for this?!?! 

In case you can’t read that the necklace I couldn’t even untangle? $34.

The tank and PLAIN GRAY SHIRT? $44 each

The dress I liked, but which was pretty dang basic? $58

And the jeans I specifically told them not to send me? $78


I was in utter shock and disbelief. You pay $20 to get the box. So that means you’re paying $4 PER ITEM just to TRY IT ON. Sure, they give you $20 off whatever you decide to keep but still, I’m not paying that much out of pocket for any of this junk. AND when you decide to keep something they add in tax so that can shock you too. 

They also give an incentive of a discount to keep the entire box by offering 25% off. No way was I paying $173 for stuff that I KNEW I could find EASILY for way cheaper.

A personal challenge was created.

Casey and I went to TJMaxx. I rarely go there because it takes a LOT of time to look through everything and I’m not as familiar with their deals schedules like I am Old Navy so when I shop I typically go with what I know best 😉

My personal goal was to see how many great finds I could get for a total price of ONE of the Stitch Fix items. I went with the dress I liked for $58. Here’s what I got!

They sent me a plain gray shirt that would cost me $44. I found a way cuter plain white one for $4.

They sent me a tank to boost my arm confidence and it’d cost me $44 to keep. I found this ADORABLE pineapple one (pineapples are my spirit fruit fyi) for $8

And this dressier one (with black and white stripes to replace the dress they sent) for $6

They sent me a very flattering petite dress that was cute but basic for $58. I got this one which I feel is more on trend and more flattering… $16.

And since we’re going for dresses and we’re wanting to show the arms I also found this one for $15

And finally with fall around the corner why not get something that would transition well? I got this top (which I will wear with jeans or leggings but had shorts on in the moment haha) for $13.

Total items sent from Stitch Fix: 5

Total items from TJMaxx: 6

Total price of items if I’d kept them all from Stitch Fix: $173.50

Total price of the items from TJMaxx: $62 (The white shirt was a last minute addition, b/c $4, so if I wanted to compare apples to apples I could say I got 5 items from TJMaxx for $58 which was the price of the ONE dress from Stitch Fix).

Mission accomplished. #boom

It took Casey and I a couple hours at TJMaxx to find all that stuff. It was super fun together time. Shopping is FUN. Trying on clothes is FUN. Getting deals is FUN. Especially when you are losing weight and gaining confidence…finding clothes in stores isn’t as difficult as it was a year ago for sure. 

I was SO bothered by the whole Stitch Fix thing that I blasted them a pretty hardcore email. My “stylist” clearly didn’t read anything I had taken the time to write and I was super annoyed by it. The gray t-shirt especially haha. It was super funny to me that they send a little “how to style” card with the clothes and had suggestions for how to style the plain gray t-shirt. 

They responded and were SUPER nice and offered to send me a second box for free. I’ve talked to others since this experience and have found it to be a common occurrence. A lot of people hate their first box and complain then love the second. 

I was already so bitter about everything that I didn’t have high hopes the second time around. 

Let’s just say I immediately opened the price sheet first. Again. WAY higher prices than I’d personally pay. BUT I know I’m in a minority. I like deals. I enjoy finding deals. And I get that sometimes it’s good to have higher quality items and that those do cost more. I have jeans that cost around $50 – $80. I’m not against nice things, I just wouldn’t call these prices the “least expensive” option. 

Shirt was cute! Different than stuff I own, which is what I was wanting and fit well. Wouldn’t pay $54 for it, but cute.

This top was ehhh to me. Out of all 10 items I received this was least flattering. I just don’t like a high-low top (aka “mullet top”) look. I also think the print is VERY “MOM” which isn’t my vibe haha. And obviously I wouldn’t ever spend $48 for it.

Here is the part where I almost, almost ate all my harsh words about Stitch Fix. Because I LOVED all three dresses. They were great quality. They looked and felt expensive. They fit flawlessly. They had perfect length. I loved them all and was sad to have to send any of them back. 

IF there had been a deal to just keep three things at a discount I probably would have, I loved them that much! 

This one was $68. 

Y’all. I wanted to keep it but $68.…

This was $68 as well. And again, LOVED it.

In the end out of two Stitch Fix boxes I kept ONE item. I had spent the $20 on the first box so I considered it a loss anyway and the second box was free but they still would apply the $20 towards an item if I kept anything. This was the cheapest of the three dresses. And had a sleeve that would transition better for fall (add some booties and I’m golden!). I have a LOT of boutique shift style dresses from when I was heavier and they are just massive and zero percent flattering now so I legit needed something like this! 

It was priced at $58 but with the $20 applied I paid $38 (plus tax). More than I’d ever typically pay for something but I really wanted to keep all three dresses so I sacrificed and just kept one hahaha

Even though I did like the 2nd box WAY better than the first, I did not schedule another “fix” nor do I plan to. After my two experiences with Stitch Fix here are my thoughts:

  • You’re paying $20 to try on clothes. This may be a great thing for people who work a lot or hate shopping (who in the world hates shopping?! haha). I would say it’d work for people who live in smaller towns but I live in a smaller town and still find things so maybe people who lives in SUPER small towns?!?! It’s hard to wrap my head around justifying paying $4 per item to simply try it on.
  • You only have 3 days to return. 3 days. It’s not a very long time. What if you get your box and you’re on your period? You know clothes fit SO differently on day 1 of Aunt Flow than they do on day 4! It’s not long enough to really decide if you want anything or not.
  • It’s pricey. I did think the three dresses in my 2nd box were top quality items and I understood their pricing. But everything else just seemed WAY overpriced for what it was. Even the jeans were just jeggings. Nothing fancy about them. I didn’t think the pricing matched with the style and quality for majority of the items I was sent. I felt like everything I found at TJMaxx was just as good as quality with way way way lower price tags. 
  • It’s not enough items per box. 5 items just isn’t enough to justify the $20 to get the box. Either they should have at least one smaller item that is free for getting the box (like that simple necklace I was sent!) or they should have more items per box to make the price point better.
  • It’s all or none. For me if there had been a discount for keeping just three items I would have done it. But I didn’t want to keep all the items and did the math and even with the discount it didn’t make sense for me to keep them all. They should do something where the $20 is applied to item 1 and each additional item you keep you get a percentage off. Even 10% would make a bargain hunter like me feel better about the purchase! 
  • They had fabulous customer service. I was sent a very personalize email immediately and it was OBVIOUS that they took much more time and care in choosing the items in my 2nd box. They really listened!
  • If you need style help, it’s helpful! I’m not saying I have awesome style or anything but I just haven’t ever felt a struggle with putting together outfits. If you do struggle with that, this may be a good option for you. They do pick on-trend items and include little cards on how to style the pieces. I personally didn’t even like the way they styled everything, but I know it’s VERY subjective! (You can also just search on Pinterest for style inspirations…and it’s free!)
  • You can schedule them as often, or as far away as you’d like. I can’t fathom spending $20 a month on a box! But I can see people wanting to do it at seasonal changes or maybe when they’ve just lost baby weight or have a new job etc. It’s nice that it’s not something you HAVE to get monthly!
  • It’s a great way to find new styles. With my body having lots of changes (goodbye boobs, smaller arms, smaller tummy, etc) it’s tricky to know what styles fit me best. From getting my boxes I learned that petites are really the way to go for me. I loved the way the petite dresses hit! I also learned not to be so scared to buy a small. I feel like I don’t look small enough to be a size small but the things I got from them inspired me to just try smalls at TJMaxx and they all worked great as well. I also learned that the cut of the two sleeveless dresses in my second box is super flattering for me and I know to keep an eye out for that style in the future! It’s not as high as an empire waist but is close to it 😉

I am interested to see the responses I get to this post. I am in no way hating on anyone who uses Stitch Fix and loves it! If you love it, great! And if you haven’t tried it and want to give it a go feel free to use my referral link here: stitchfix.com/referral/3156017 I guess if people shop through your referral link you earn money off you’re next box. I mean I don’t personally plan to do another one but I def wouldn’t refuse it if it was free to keep stuff 😉 I think the referral situation is one of the main reasons everything I ever see about Stitch Fix is so positive. Y’all know I don’t just say nice things b/c I want to get a referral from someone! I try to keep it as real as possible and I personally just can’t tell people they should try out Stitch Fix. If I could go back I’d never have tried it at all and just saved that initial $20 to get more at TJMaxx 😉 

Sidenote but this post isn’t sponsored by TJMaxx either, it’s just the first store I thought of going to when I opened my first Stitch Fix box 😉

So have you tried Stitch Fix? Are you a fan? 

Emily Parker
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