fargo fashion

Fargo Fashion | Your Own Personal Stylist

Typically only celebrities and rich fashionistas have personal stylists who dress them on the regular, but now everyone can get a taste of their lifestyle. Online personal shopping services have become a big retail trend. They let average Joes (and Janes) get personalized looks from a stylist without the work of shopping themselves. I tested out three of the most budget-friendly and easy-to-use sites.

Stitch Fix

To start receiving “fixes,” you fill out an extensive survey so your stylist can get know your style and needs. They ask about your sizes, preferred fits, lifestyle, personal style, which body parts you like to flaunt and cover and which colors and prints you like. You can even share your Pinterest, Twitter or LinkedIn profile with them. Within a week, you’ll get five pieces picked just for you along with outfit suggestions. All the service will cost you is a $20 styling fee that can be applied to the items you decide to keep. You get only 3 days to try everything on, checkout online and send back what you don’t want.

Stitch Fix got my style down for the most part, but there was both love and hate in that little box. I got a black printed cami with gold chain straps that I adored, a black dressy tank that was cute but had details I wasn’t so hot about, and an orange chevron cardigan that I absolutely loathed. My stylist included an asymmetrical maxi skirt that I would have loved in black, but the light color wasn’t flattering for my body type. The fun floral printed jeans were a bit pricey but worth splurging on if I could get them in a smaller size, so I asked about it, but no one from Stitch Fix ever got back to me. I purchased the cami and sent the rest back.

Trendsend

Trendsend is a new service from Evereve that sends you two to three handpicked outfits. Their survey is very similar to Stitch Fix’s with added questions about your go-to pieces, favorite brands, office dress code and events you need outfits for. They also encourage you to attach photos of yourself and links to your Facebook or Pinterest. You pay a $20 styling fee that can be put toward your total at checkout, but you get four days to decide what you love and can choose to either mail it back or return or exchange at the store in West Acres Mall.

Trendsend didn’t totally nail my style, but they did send me a few great pieces. I loved the bright pink printed shift dress and floral peasant blouse they sent me, but hated the unflattering cargo pants. I doubt the stylist looked at my height when she styled me, because the strapless blue tie-dye jumpsuit was over a foot too long for my 5’2” frame. She also included a nice white denim jacket and cute necklaces, but I didn’t think they were special enough for the price. Most everything was a bit out of my budget, so I only splurged on the $58 printed blouse.

Trunk Club

Trunk Club started out doing solely menswear but branched into women’s this year. The Nordstrom-owned company has no styling fees and sends you 10-20 items in a huge cardboard “trunk.” You fill out a short survey on their website, and a few hours later your stylist actually calls you on the phone to talk about your life, personal style, preferred fit, existing wardrobe and occasions you need outfits for. Then within 24 hours, she will send you a preview of your trunk via email, and you can specify which items you don’t want or might want in different colors. Once you approve the trunk, they send it your way along with outfit suggestions, and you get a whole 10 days to try everything on.

I got 16 items in my trunk, most of which really fit my style. There was an emerald green dress that made me feel amazing, a black scalloped-hem mini skirt that fit perfectly, sassy studded stiletto pumps, great leather wedges, a comfy black polka-dotted dress, and a brown boho dress fit for Coachella. I hated the pairs of jeggings she sent me, only because I hate jeggings in general, and had mixed feelings about the printed tops, tight black midi skirt, drop waist floral dress, high-low top, dark denim jacket, long linen cardigan and light flare jeans. Some items were very affordable (around $40), while others were too expensive for basic pieces (around $100), so I kept only the black mini skirt and brown dress because of my limited college student budget.

The Verdict

Each service I tried lets you choose your price point, offers free shipping and returns and will get better each time as your stylist learns more about what you like. Personally, I preferred Trunk Club because I got much more choice and didn’t feel as obligated to buy anything because there was no styling fee like with Stitch Fix and Trendsend. My Trunk Club stylist also complied with my wants better and really understood my personal style. The Trunk Club and Trendsend items had great quality that justified higher prices, but the low quality Stitch Fix pieces should have been less expensive.

Using online personal styling services was a lot of fun. People who hate shopping will love it, and fashionistas like me will be challenged to try styles, colors and brands we might not normally pick out on our own. I don’t think I saved much time compared with traditional shopping because of the time it took to fill out the initial surveys, but it probably would save time the next time I used the service.

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