How good are clothing subscription boxes? Stitch Fix and Lookiero reviewed.

October 13, 2021

With an increasing popularity in clothing subscription boxes, I was intrigued to see how successful their selections were and whether the £10 per styling fee was worth the investment.

Stitch Fix

Quite liked this look and decided to keep the jacket (£42 minus my styling fee taking it down to £32).

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Stitch Fix

This blouse felt nice quality but I felt it needed tucking in and then made my upper body look more boxy/chunky.

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Stitch Fix

This jacket is French Connection but I felt it looked much cheaper than the price tag (over £100).

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Stitch Fix

Styled with my own blazer I was selling the top to myself but I already have similar.

If you are new to subscription boxes, this is how they work. For your styling fee of £10 you receive five items of clothing in the post (which can include shoes). You then have seven days to try them at home. Returns are free (as is shipping) - the only money you stand to lose is your £10 styling fee if you choose to return all items. I signed up to STITCH FIX and Lookiero as the two leading names in this relatively new market and these are my findings:

My initial impression was that STITCH FIX asks for more detailed information about my likes/dislikes regarding patterns and styles. They requested information on body proportion, shape and then the usual hair/eye colour. I felt by asking more they were getting a more detailed impression of my style so was looking forward to their clothing suggestions.

Before shipping, STITCH FIX will send a preview of your five recommended items for you to comment on. You can either accept these or ask for alternatives (which I did – not a great first selection but I am a picky customer) so I ended up selecting 2 of their chosen options to experiment with then completed a ‘STITCH FIX shuffle’ to give them further ideas as to the kind of things I am drawn towards (they show you a selection of garments and you tick the ones you like).

The boxes arrived and I must admit I was excited to see what was inside. It did feel like a bit of a treat to have someone else do the work! Both companies offer an incentive to keep all five items (STITCH FIX a 20% discount off the total amount and Lookiero a rather large 25% discount). Oh, and your £10 styling fee is refunded against any item kept (but free delivery and free returns).

Which was most successful?

Well interestingly I kept one item from the STITCH FIX delivery (a black biker jacket) and two items from Lookiero (a navy top and skinny jeans). But possibly the real revelation is that since keeping these items I’ve actually only worn the jeans - the other two are hanging in my wardrobe with the tags on! More, they can no longer be returned as after a seven-day trying on period you have to checkout online and commit to which items you are keeping and which you are returning.

Overall, I did enjoy being shown items which I wouldn’t normally consider… AND it was fun to have a try on at home with someone else doing the research for me. If you are someone who either simply doesn’t enjoy shopping or has no time to shop, then it’s worth a consideration. They do allow a lot of opportunity for you to fine tune their selections and it would allow you to introduce a new item or two of clothing to your wardrobe every now and again (you can choose the frequency of your deliveries). I however, love to shop! And I love to shop when I know there is something missing from my wardrobe, only buying with purpose. I feel that these services could easily encourage unnecessary spending (I’ve demonstrated that myself!) and from a styling point of view, probably half of the items weren’t particularly well suited to me.

Clothing subscription boxes will provide you with some new and on trend looks - BUT after each delivery you will be no more informed of what works for you and why, than you were at the start of the process. Selecting the right look for you requires consideration of your personality and your lifestyle requirements. And let's not forget, feeling confident in your clothes does NOT have to be about buying more.

My aim as a Personal Stylist is to help you understand your body shape and equip you with the tools to make informed decisions about the clothes you wear. Really understand why certain necklines or cuts of clothing work and others don't so well... ultimately, training you to become your own personal stylist.

Wendy x Find out more

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