41 Shares

The 80’s heydey of the great mall experience is over. #Bummer! When I was a teenager, it was THE happening place to meet your friends, shop for eyeshadow, flirt with boys, buy a record (at least those are having a comeback!) Sure, there are shopping malls everywhere still, but not nearly as many as there were 30 years ago. Back then you had to buy EVERYTHING there, so they were packed all the time. Then, a little thing called online shopping happened, and you know the rest. Curiously, a good number of empty and abandoned retail centers across the country still haven’t met with the wrecking ball, and many have been artfully captured as architectural carcasses (super creepy!) by photographer Seph Lawless who travels the world in search of abandoned buildings.

Crazy, right?! Today, everyone’s too busy to shop at a brick and mortar store. Even people like me who love shopping! It’s easier to just buy stuff online and have it sent to your door. For years, everyone has done just that… and, of course, complained about how they have to ship stuff back because it never fits right or looks like it did in the picture! Enter the world of Online Fashion Stylists! Today’s services curate clothes based on your personal style, preferences, and measurements and then assemble a box containing a complete outfit or two or five (jewelry and accessories are included in many!) that is mailed to your door each month! And you know what that means don’t you? It means, you’re gonna look good enough to party! If I might digress for a moment, we have a Super Secret Party Guide! If you don’t already have it, GET IT! Moving on…

The upside to these services is that you get new clothes every month (or as often as you like, which is awesome!) so you always have something new to wear and never get sick of your wardrobe. The downside is that with monthly subscription services, the items have been worn by other people (don’t worry, they’re laundered!) and might not look totally brand new. You also have to send the items back at the end of the month! But don’t worry, if you fall in love with a piece of apparel, you can purchase the item and keep it. Here are some of the most popular clothing services that have a pretty sizeable fan base.

Stitch Fix

Stitch Fix is the O.G. of online fashion stylists and they service everyone: men, women, children, plus sizes, petites, and mommies-to-be. They have fashion lines for each member of the family, don’t require a monthly subscription, and are reasonably priced. The site features a lot of fashion advice and styles that are trending to help you better identify what your personal taste is if you don’t already know.

First, you select your style, measurements, and price preferences. Hand-selected pieces are then sent to your door (free!). You decide which clothing items you’d like to keep – you can keep just one or send back the entire shipment (returns are free too!) and you only pay for what you decide to keep. Your feedback helps your personal stylist better target the style you’re going for.

Trunk Club

Trunk Club is Nordstrom’s online clothing service. In addition to your style, size and price preferences, you can share your social media and Pinterest boards with your stylist as well as chat online to help them better understand your personal style or the brands of clothing you like to wear. Your stylist will then select fashionable items and send you a preview of what your “trunk” (fancy word for shipment!) will include. You can either accept or reject some or all of the items before they are sent to you. Once your trunk arrives you have 5 days to try everything on and decide what to keep and what to send back, paying only for what you hang on to. You can opt to have clothes sent monthly, at custom intervals, or just when you feel like you need a little fashion refresher. If you use your Nordstrom credit card, the $25 styling fee is waived.

MM LaFleur

MM LaFleur specializes in business apparel for women and no subscription is needed. They call their shipments ‘Bento Boxes’ but there’s no food involved, just pretty, polished, professional wardrobe items! Each box contains 4-6 wardrobe staples that might include dresses, separates, knits, or accessories. They even have suits. Prices range from $110 for work tops to $325 for upscale dresses. You can keep what you like and send back the rest – shipping is free both ways.

Tog + Porter

Tog + Porter specializes in one-on-one service. After you create your online profile, you chat via Skype with your personal stylist about what looks you enjoy based on your lifestyle, places you go, career speciality, etc. That way they understand your personality and things you like to do, which is important when putting together a wardrobe for someone! Shirts and sweaters start at $59 and pants and skirts at $79. Hand selected looks arrive at your door. You can keep the pieces you love and return those you don’t. (Pay attention to their return policy. Late returns are only eligible for T + P credit and a restocking fee applies.) There is a $50 styling fee but it’s waived if you keep $250 or more worth of clothing from your first two shipments.

Fabletics

Fabletics works much the way other online styling services do but they specialize in athletic apparel. Stop wearing the same ratty t-shirt and yoga pants to work out! Fabletics offers shorts, leggings, tanks, sports bra tops, capris and jackets suited to yoga, running, spin, weight training, and swimming. They also have SUPER CUTE patterns and fabrics! Simply take a short quiz about your lifestyle habits and sports preferences and shop from personal recommendations. You can shop as a guest when you feel like it, or become a VIP member to receive a monthly shipment and 50% discount on all items.

Trendy Butler

We didn’t want to leave the boys out! Trendy Butler serves up men’s fashions as a monthly subscription service for $65. After creating a style profile and selecting your favorite brands, a stylist will hand select items based on your monthly preferences. Maybe you need something for a special occasion, a weekend at the beach, or you’ve recently become single again and want something that fits under the dress to impress category! Your stylist will pull together an ensemble that meets your monthly need and ship it right to your door!

No Look Is Complete Without Hair Styling & Make-Up!

Birchbox

I think you ladies will agree, cosmetics are really expensive! Worse yet, not all of them live up to the hype. “If I had a dollar… “ (yes, it’s one of those sad tales!) for every $150 face serum I bought that was supposed to knock 5 years off, I could… I don’t know… fill up something big! Birchbox, bless them, understands that it’s nice to sample these expensive items before purchasing to see if you like the way they feel on your skin and do what they promise. Their monthly subscription include 5 samples from top cosmetic brands tailored to your skin, hair, and style! That means you’ll get lipstick colors that actually look good on you and shampoos that won’t leave your locks limp! The cost is perfect at $10/month!

Play! By Sephora

Like Birchbox, Sephora offers their own monthly subscription for $10. It includes 5 samples in a cute drawstring bag and may include fragrance, skincare, and hair styling products from top selling brands. Your monthly membership also gives you access to makeup tutorials and how-to hair styling tips.

Scentbird

You a fanatic for fragrance? Love to try new scents? For $15 a month you can have a travel size atomizer of your favorite perfume or pick something new each time! There are 450 brands to choose from, including many classic European parfumeries like Annick Goutal, Bvlgari, and Cartier as well as popular newcomers like Nest and Rag & Bone. I love switching up fragrances by season as well as having something different for night and day – this lets me mix things up!

Hairbox

Still looking for the perfect shampoo and styling products? Hairbox offers monthly, every-two month, and every-three month subscriptions that include one full-size bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and a styling product, all for $40. They realize that one size doesn’t fit all. That’s why they’ve got dozens of salon brands in their arsenal. Everyone’s tresses are different so the profile you set up and feedback you provide on boxes received help the hair stylists there figure out which products will work best for your type of hair.

Next week we’ll be mixing up some drinks as we talk about new luxury bar concepts! Cheers to that! Until then, get yourself into party mode by checking out our Super Secret Party Tips Guide – it’s FREE!