I realize this has absolutely nothing to do with photography, art, or motherhood, the main topics of my blog, but I know of at least a handful of you who will enjoy knowing about this so I figured what the hell…
Maybe you know that I don’t really put much thought into clothing and really detest clothes shopping (I mean… I could spend that time reading or creating!). There’s nothing like my comfy jeans and a tshirt to help me relax, and that’s pretty much my uniform these days.
But, when my hubby mentioned this no obligation service that would get to know your style, shop for you, and then mail the items to your house, I knew I had to try it. Sometimes I find I have nothing to wear to a baby shower or a night out, you know? The company is called Cakestyle. I filled out an extensive questionnaire online with all my measurements, clothing choices and brand favorites, and what I am looking for. My stylist, Lory, contacted me too.
The box arrived via UPS and it was beautifully made in itself. Each outfit was put together (including accessories) and wrapped in tissue paper. I am supposed to try everything on, take pictures so I can show Lory how it looks on me and help her choose in the future, and send back anything I don’t want to keep using the free UPS service.
The moment I opened the box I knew I had to share it with you all. The clothes were gorgeous but way too expensive and would only be appropriate were I someone who goes out more and lived a completely different lifestyle. 🙂
I know to some people these prices are normal ($233 shorts???), but for me, not so much.
I only tried on one item in the box… these jeans. I have heard that $150 (or more) jeans can really work wonders and I am totally open to that if they do work miracles. These didn’t fit …
The one thing I really loved is the skirt above. It’s so cute right? But it’s $295! Oh, and I really don’t like wearing gold jewelry.
I know that this company is getting paid by the stores only if they sell these items, and so to make a profit, the clothing and jewelry has to be somewhat pricey. But I was still disappointed.
I am going to give Lory some kind feedback and try one more time. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
Would you be interested in a service like this? Why or why not?
* * * * *
Update: Since so many people have stopped by to read this post, I want you to know that I am now happily using Stitch Fix. They are affordable and just enough of a personal stretch to be different for me. If you keep all 5 items they send, you get a big discount, and I was surprised by my very first shipment that I wanted to keep it all. 🙂 If you try them, let me know what you think.
You guys should check out http://www.bungalowclothing.com They actually let you pick things to try on, then based on what you picked, a stylist adds more/completes outfits and it’s all sent to you free of charge to try on. Keep what you like and send the rest back. Return process is super easy as well. I love it because i actually like to shop just don’t like buying stuff before trying it on. Here’s their video…. pretty much sums it up.
https://vimeo.com/73886190
I really am having a great experience with Stylit.
You should sign up for their service:
mystylit.com
What a great concept. But totally frustrating experience – nothing like seeing something you like but totally not in the price range of what you want to spend. I hope you have better luck with other site. Keep us posted as I hate shopping myself and may try it.
Oh good… I’m not the only one who dislikes shopping. 🙂
Oh my, way too pricy for me too. Bummer, cool idea.
That skirt is beautiful! I wouldn’t ever pay that much either, though.
I could be your personal shopped, Naomi! I love shopping waaaaaaaaaaaay too much. Would be great if I wasn’t always spending my money, lol!!!!
And I am not joking. You let me know if you ever want me to pick some things up for you!
Jeans in the $100 range really can change your life. They just can fit and flatter so much better! I looooove Lucky Brand (and shop the outlets and sales only) but hear great things about Paige and Silver Sukis as well. I am happy to dig up a bunch of jeans info for you that I have if you want!
and unfortunately my cousin from Chicago had the same experience. I guess they’re not very good in human interactions. Shame on them.
I like the concept of the service, but like you I would never buy a skirt for $300 even though it is very cute. We have a great boutique in our downtown that has really cute stuff and the owner is a great personal shopper. The prices for a skirt are more in the $50-70 range. That I can do.
TRY http://www.stitchfix.com or http://www.togandporter.com/. The both are as well personal shopping services and they are longer on the market. Stitch Fix even ask you about the price points you want your items to be in! I love both services! In the past I was thinking about cakestyle but a) they had an online sale, where you could find Vera WANG flats for 98& , weeks later they send a box to my friend with the same flats for 200$ saying the 200$ is their sale price (though at the same time they had it for 98$ at their online sale). She was so mad that they tried to fool her she never used it again
b) clothes she found in her box were more expensive that in a normal Milly or Trina Turk shop
c)this is one of their yelp recommendations:
My boyfriend purchased a gift certificate for me and said that no one would speak to him when he went to the studio to pay for it. He said that it wasn’t until he stated how much he wanted to spend that he was actually given the time of day. While extremely offended, he still purchased the gift.
He purchased the gift certificate with the intent that I could go into the studio and have a “Trunk Club” type of experience. When I went to schedule my appointment to come in, I was told they were no longer taking appointments and to contact my stylist. What stylist?! I’ve never used their services before. She went on to say “maybe you can get an appointment sometime in May.” Extremely unhelpful. I finally said, “I have a gift certificate for $X,XXX.XX and I’d like to come in tomorrow.” The chatbox woman said “Great! I’ll have your stylist contact you.” Seems like the Pretty Woman effect to me. Unless you have and intend to spend a lot of money – no one will talk to you or help you.
It should take a matter of minutes to schedule an appointment. Not here. I spent 3 hours going back and forth with “my stylist” to schedule an appointment. Ridiculous.
I finally get an appointment to come in and decided to let the negativity go. I walk into the studio with an open mind and ready for an amazing experience. The studio is cute and extremely private. My stylist had fun music playing and about 20 pieces of clothing hung on a rack. The clothes were cute. Sizes were off. Some of the pieces I tried on were EXTREMELY long, yet CakeStyle doesn’t offer tailoring. OK. Makes sense. Not. She had a few shirts, a few skirts, a few dresses, and a few jackets. Nothing was “styled.” I expected to have outfits put together for me. I expected to be told to wear this shirt with that skirt and those shoes and this necklace. Nope. They were just individual pieces. Now the quality of clothing was comparable to Nordstrom or Bloomingdales, but with way less selection, limited sizes, and only 2 pairs of shoes! Come on…. At least Nordstrom offers me water when I go.
After I made my selections, my stylist put all the garments in a BED BATH & BEYOND bag! For real!! So tacky. I gave her my gift certificate and asked specifically “How much more do I owe? Did I go over my gift certificate?” She said back, “you’re good.” She never gave me a receipt, so I had no clue if I had a few bucks left over to spend or what! Low and behold, she contacts me the next day telling me I owe more money “for taxes.” I had to specifically request a receipt and ultimately ended up paying the balance.
What a frustrating experience you had! A friend just referred me to Stitch Fix as well…I will definitely try them. Thanks!