My summary of Stitch Fix before using it? I expect Stitch Fix to offer second hand clothing, but that’s purely based on the name 🙂 Alternatively, you can use Stitch Fix to get your existing clothing items repaired.

How does Stitch Fix explain itself in the first minute? When I download the Stitch Fix iOS app, it says “Personal styling for women & men” on the landing screen, mentioning that “our stylists hand select and send you clothing and accessories to suit your lifestyle.” This bit alone shows me how far off I was in my initial expectations of Stitch Fix (see above). Stitch Fix now feels more similar to Thread which I first reviewed a good 7 years ago.

How does Stitch Fix work? – When I click on “Get started”, I first have to choose whether I’m in women or men’s clothing, after which I land on a sign-up screen.

As soon as my account has been created, I can start creating my style profile. To complete my style profile, I can tell from the progress bar, comprises “Stats”, “Fit” and “Style”.

In the ‘”Stats” part I indicate that I’m filling out this profile for myself, enter my length, weight, birthday, occupation, commute to work and my size.

In the “Fit” section, I indicated the preferred fir of my t-shirts and trousers, after which I can submit my style preferences.

The number and type of fashion brands that I can choose from in the “Style” section feels quite limited and not tailored to the preferences to the preferences I submitted in the previous “Stats” and “Fit” sections respectively. These are the brands I can choose from:

• Superdry
• GAP
• Zara
• Maine
• Wrangler
• Lacoste
• Ted Baker
• River Island
• Hugo Boss
• Burton
• Gant
• Lyle & Scott
• Jack Wills
• French Connection
• Timberland
• Barbour
• Fred Perry
• Jack Wills
• Next
• Mark & Spencer
• Levi’s
• Reiss
• All Saints
• Armani
• The North Face

In contrast, I really like the part where I can indicate my budget, and break my budget by how much I’m willing to spend on specific fashion items.

What then throws me is that the app seems to be hanging and fails to offer me a date to “receive my first delivery!”. The grey “processing” state doesn’t seem to change.

Perhaps I’m missing some crucial bit of user interface or my Stitch Fix onboarding journey, but I’m not sure about what to do next. I try again on the app, and enter my preferences, but with the same – unsatisfactory – outcome. Instead I end up finalising my profile on Stitch Fix’ web site, prompted by an email encouraging me to complete my style:

Once I’ve submitted my profile by clicking “Next: Book a Fix!”, I see a “What happens next screen?” which explains very clearly the Stitch Fix process and next steps. Similarly, after clicking “Next” the subsequent screen explains how Stitch Fix isn’t a subscription service and enabling users to set a preferred delivery frequency.

Main learning point: Personally, I’m not entirely sure about arranging my first “Fix” but I can see people liking the prospect of an experienced stylist handpicking a wardrobe, as well as the Stitch Fix algorithms making the right recommendations. The way in which Stitch Fix enables users to create a personal style profile feels very comprehensive and the blend of personalisation driven by the user and ‘serendipity’ driven by the stylist is definitely an appealing one!