Stitch Fix #3: A Maternity Fix

I did a couple of Stitch Fix shipments over the summer, my latest one in August (which I posted about). In early September, I found out I’m pregnant with baby #3 so I put Stitch Fix on hold for a while. I was, however, so excited when I discovered that they also do maternity clothing! Maternity clothes shopping is the complete pits—I’m more than happy to let someone else handle it for me every once in a while!

For those of you who may not be familiar with Stitch Fix… You sign up, fill out an extensive style profile (including sizes, price ranges, colors, etc.), and create a Pinterest board with some of your favorite looks (optional). The profile and the Pinterest board are meant to help the Stitch Fix stylists select items that are perfect for you. Each time you opt to get a Fix shipped to you, you are charged a $20 styling fee. You then receive five clothing items in the mail—these can include accessories as well, like jewelry, belts, and purses. You have three days to try on the items and decide what you’re going to keep and what you’re going to send back. If you keep anything—even just one item—your $20 styling fee is applied to the price of that item. If you keep nothing, you are out the $20 styling fee (that’s the only “risk”). There is a prepaid, pre-labeled shipping envelope included in each Fix for you to use for anything you want to return. And bonus, if your stylist really knocks it out of the park and you keep all five items? You get a 25% off discount on everything.

So my first maternity Fix arrived last week, just before the holiday—a welcome surprise, as it wasn’t supposed to arrive until afterward. I was really pleased with everything right out of the box. All nice looking stuff, things that I liked the look of right away, without even trying them on. Here’s what is what was in my Fix:

Pardon the awkward phone selfies in the mirror… I don’t really have a better way to take these pics without doing a whole fancy camera/tripod setup and I don’t have the energy, nor the time. :)

Loveappella Maternity: Davidi Button Detail Maternity Top.

This shirt is really nice and comfortable. I tend to like stripes, so that’s up my alley, and I do like the gray and white.

The button details on the shoulders are cute. This shirt ended up being a lot longer than I expected, though. As you can see from the side, it comes down completely over my butt, and when pulled down completely, it’s even longer.

(This is a pair of maternity jeans I already own, by the way—not Stitch Fix.) The length of this shirt actually makes it more appropriate for leggings, I think, instead of jeans. In any case, although I like this shirt just fine, I ultimately decided that it wasn’t worth the price—I’ve found plenty of nicer cotton maternity t-shirts from different places for less. Plus, I don’t have much need for short sleeves in January-April up here in New York.

Verdict: RETURNING IT.

Liverpool Reagan Maternity Skinny Pant. 

While I was waiting for my Fix to arrive, a friend of mine told me that if they were to send me Liverpool jeans, to KEEP THEM WITHOUT QUESTION. So I was super excited when I found these in my Fix, particularly because they are a fun color.

These.are.adorable. They are also incredibly soft and overall comfortable.

This top is also Stitch Fix—more on it in a minute. Just look at the pants! So burgundy and pretty! I seriously want them. But here’s the problem:

What is with this panel?! It’s not full panel, it’s not a demi panel. It stops awkwardly right in the middle of my stomach… and I’m only 19 weeks pregnant. Can you imagine when I’m bigger? I couldn’t even assess in the mirror and take photos without having to hike these up/fix the panel a hundred times—I can’t imagine actually wearing them. Womp, womp. The panel ruins these for me. I’m so disappointed!

Verdict: RETURNING THEM.

Madigan Dotto Cross Front Maternity Knit Top.

Here’s a better look at the top I was wearing with the skinny pants above. It’s a simple gray cross-front top, but the material is nice and thick, seems dressy—good for work or dinner or any other outing where you want to look nicer.

I know these types of tops are supposed to be flattering, but I always feel like they make my chest look enormous. I mean, let’s be real—my chest IS enormous right now, but I don’t like to really call attention to it by framing each breast in its own little cross-front cocoon. LOL. It really depends on the particular shirt, but I wasn’t loving this one.

This would transition really well into an awesome nursing top, though! So if the cross-front style looks better on you than it does on me, this would take you through the pregnancy AND into the “4th trimester,” so it would be well worth keeping. I also think I may have preferred it in a more exciting/prettier color? I still don’t know that I would’ve kept it because of the style issues as a whole, but who knows.

VERDICT: RETURNING IT.

Gilli Kary Maternity Dress
AND
Rune Porter Maternity Legging

When I pulled black leggings out of my Stitch Fix box, a little part of me was disappointed because 1) black leggings are pretty mainstream/easy to find, and 2) I figured they would be more expensive than any other leggings I’ve ever owned and that I’d be very unlikely to keep them.

The dress, however, I was excited about. Simple top—although it IS a crossover style again, it is black so it minimizes the chest as much as possible. Plus, adding a long necklace helps. And then the bottom pattern is fun. I don’t wear a lot of dresses in the winter months, but I figured I’d pair it with the leggings and see what happened.

You can see I even styled these pieces with a pair of booties. Going all out, haha.

The leggings are AWESOME. They are thick, almost like a compression legging for the gym, yet comfortable and I like the full panel on them. I had a few pairs of maternity leggings from Old Navy for my pregnancy with Vivienne that I HATED WITH A PASSION. They weren’t very high quality (nothing from Old Navy really is), and the panel was funky on them—kind of like the panel on the skinny pants above, it fell in an awkward place and resulted in me tugging on them all day long. And up until now, I’ve been getting by with a non-maternity pair of black Lularoe leggings which have not been ideal for my growing belly, either.

So although I never expected to keep them, I think these leggings will be worth the splurge. I could see myself wearing them at least once a week, if not more.

And I really like the dress with them, so… outfit made. I might have to travel for work in February, so this would be a go-to outfit for that, I think. I’ll just need to pair it with some more reasonable/comfortable shoes for walking/standing a lot—a black ballet flat, or maybe even a black boot.

VERDICT: KEEPING BOTH THE DRESS AND THE LEGGINGS.

In the end, I’m ending up with 2/5 items. So my stylist didn’t completely nail it, but it wasn’t bad, either. I’m happy even if I only end up loving ONE item, so 2/5 ain’t bad. And I’ll be honest, I toyed with keeping all 5 items at first because all had good qualities—but in the end, I’d rather keep only my favorites, spend less money, and get another Fix in a few weeks to see what that might have in store. :) I was really afraid the panel on the burgundy skinny pants would drive me insane, so once I decided to send those back, I decided not to keep the shirts, either.

I’m off to formally “checkout” on the Stitch Fix website and provide feedback on each of the items… which will help make my next Fix even better!

If you’re interested in trying Stitch Fix for yourself, please use my referral link: https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5558605  And let me know how you do with it!

I’ll report back with the items from my next Fix.