Stitch Fix Tastemakers Event

Not gonna like, I was shocked when I got the invitation to the Stitch Fix Tastemakers Event. Me? Stylish? Unless dark circles under your eyes, nursing tank tops, messy pony tails, and spit up covered jeans are on trend, I don’t feel like I fit the “tastemaker” bill. I love the idea of looking stylish, but I’ve got a 7 month old and a 2 and a half year old. Shopping with those two is not an easy (or fun) feat. After I made certain that Stitch Fix wasn’t confused about the Nemo pumpkin painting, toilet paper tube cutting, spit up covered mom blogger they were talking too, I said yes as fast as I could so that they couldn’t un-invite me! San Francisco here I come!

If you’ve never heard of Stitch Fix, here’s how it works: Stitch Fix is a personal styling service for men and women tailored to your taste, budget, and lifestyle. You’re sent five items picked out by your personal stylist and unique to you. You can buy what you like and return the rest (shipping is free both ways). Since I’m a Stitch Fix newbie, they sent me a box so that I could see how it works first hand. I kept 3 of my 5 items, and the jeans I received in my Fix have already been worn about 163 times. I love them!

It’s fair to note, that I don’t love shopping for clothes in general. Don’t get me wrong, I love a new outfit, but typical- go to the store- shopping takes too long and more often than not, I leave empty handed due to indecision.  Not to mention, I’ve had two babies in two years, and let’s just say shopping has gotten less fun for many reasons. Even though I’m not that far away from my pre baby weight, things have well… shifted. And my old closet just doesn’t seem to fit the same as it did pre Maxwell. The idea of 5 stylish items picked out just for me and my current situation magically appearing in a pretty package on my front porch is dreamy.

For my next Fix, I’ve already written my stylist a note that I’d love to see a neutral colored vest to wear for Andy’s birthday party in early November! You can do that, y’all! Another fun thing, before Stitch Fix, I would not have even considered wearing a vest, much less go shopping for one. Oh, Stitch Fix, I’m glad we found each other. Here I am, head to toe in my first Fix on a date night with Andy.

Before I dive into the deets of the trip, here are the basics: 13 bloggers from all of the country flew to San Francisco for 2 days of Stitch Fix awesomeness. We toured the headquarters, warehouse, attended classes on social media, photo editing and styling, and even designed 2 Stitch Fix pieces that are coming out this spring. One of the pieces we designed will be named “Ah-ma-lee” after a certain baby girl I know and love, Amelia! I am so honored to be a part of this diverse group of boss ladies. From fashionistas, foodies, a vlogger, and a kindergarten blogger, this group had it all:

• Rosanna – glamdapper.com
• Africa – Africamiranda.com
• Monique – ambitiouskitchen.com
• April – aprilathena7.com
• Maria – crazytogether.com
• Juli – paleomg.com
• Andrea – howdoesshe.com
• Kyrzayda – kyrzayda.com
• Coco – millennielle.com
• Daniela – nanysklozet.com
• Kimberly – sensiblestylista.com
• Taralynn – simplytaralynn.com

I left the fam for an early evening flight on Tuesday to San Francisco, and made it to the adorable Axiom Hotel by 7:30pm that night. I had a tasty, peaceful room service dinner and then me and my breast pump had a date. For the record, I took home 45 ounces of frozen breast milk on a plane back to Austin. To all of the exclusively pumping mamas in the world, mad respect. That ain’t easy.

The next morning, we started the adventure with a walk to Stitch Fix headquarters for a tour and then sat down to hear from the Stitch Fix social media team. Oh and my stylish outfit? That is thanks to Stitch Fix. #Shocker My skirt and sweater were a welcome gift left for me in my hotel room. Talk about spoiled! And I think I’m into stretchy pencil skirts. Another item I never would have considered for myself pre Stitch Fix.

I’m missing in the pic below, because you guessed it, I had to go hang in the nursing room and use the ol’ breast pump. Glamorous, I know.

We learned the ins and outs of how Stitch Fix runs their social media and how their design team picks trends and styles for the next season. We were allowed to ask questions about anything and everything. I’m working on a detailed post to include all of the interesting tid bits I learned about Stitch Fix and fashion in general. We had a beautiful lunch at Perbacco, and hung out with Stitch Fix executives. Really! I sat next to Julie Bornstein the chief operating officer.

After lunch, we headed to the San Francisco warehouse, lovingly called “The Hizzy”. I haven’t spent a lot of time in warehouses, but this is not what I was expecting a warehouse to feel like. There was music and a giant robot made out of card board boxes. It was a fun, happy place! We got into teams of 3, and went through the process of actually picking and packaging up a Fix! Let me tell you, a lot of love goes into each box. Maria and I were QC-ing (quality control) the Fix below, making sure the pants were lint free and folded just right.

Day 2, started out at the Stitch Fix photo studio where we went through the process of actually designing 2 pieces of clothing for the spring line. I put my two cents in the naming portion of the process. You don’t want me designing your clothes, ha! (Maybe your throw pillows, but not your clothes!) I’m psyched to see what “Amelie” top looks like in real life. The other piece was named “Rose” after the color of the top. Get excited if you see either of those in your spring Fix! It was certainly an eye opening experience to someone like me with zero background in fashion/ buying/ clothing design.

After the apparel design 101, we had the opportunity to learn from the photo editing and styling team. Y’all. I’m so excited to attempt a few flat lay styling pictures for you! I know you likely don’t even know what I’m talking about, but it’s coming soon to a blog near you! We had a beautiful lunch in the photo studio. Gotta love it when a group of social media junkies get together. We stand on chairs and re arrange succulents and silverware to get the perfect pic.

One of the parts I was most nervous about turned into my favorite thing, the photo shoot! Stitch Fix stylists put together a personalized wardrobe for each girl, and we even got to take the items home! How fun is that? Another reason I’m sold on Stitch Fix besides the fact that it allows me to not have to shop for clothes in stores, is that the stylist pick out things for me that I would never pick out for myself. Like that pencil skirt I wore on day 1 or the chunky sweater I’m gawking at in the picture below. Or vests! I’m into vests now. I know that if I were in a store or shopping online, I would walk right past these items. I love that they even took into consideration, my nursing situation, which is why I had 2 plaid button downs and a wrap around dress. All 3 pieces work perfectly for my current style and situation.

After ohhing and awwing at our rack of pretties, we popped open the bubbly and got fancied up for our shoot. Not gonna lie, it was pretty dang amazing.

The team from La Mienne whipped this mama into photo shoot shape! I’m pretty sure this sweet girl spent an entire hour on my make up. I typically spend about 60 seconds, so that was a very special treat!

I wish someone would come over and do my eyebrows for me everyday! I feel like eyebrows make such a big difference.

Sipping champagne and getting pampered… Not too shabby for a Thursday afternoon!

Stitch Fix had stylists on hand to help those of us with uh… styling issues. There were plenty of fashionistas in the group who clearly needed no help on that end. But, I was uber happy to have someone there to cuff my jeans, cinch in my vest, and help me pick out my shoes!

Maria is a kindergarten teacher from Detroit and we had a lot to talk about on the teacher and blogger front! Her adorable teacher blog is called Kinder Craze, check it out! And how fun is my chunky sweater and boyfriend jeans paired with fancy stilettos? Thank you, Stitch Fix, for making me look stylish and feel fantastic!

I’ve got lots more fun photo shoot pictures to share, but I’m saving those for another post later this week. This look is 100% Stitch Fix.

So, tell me, have you tried Stitch Fix? Have you ever heard of it? After getting to know the people behind the company and seeing their mission to “make getting dressed simple and rewarding, so you can focus on being your best self” in action, I’m sold! I signed myself up for a Fix every other month. I can’t wait to get my next neatly wrapped box of minty green goodness on my doorstep! Thank you, Stitch Fix, for an unforgettable 2 days!