Darling, not everyone can afford a personal stylist . . .
Or can they?
Fashion start-ups today are rockin’ the exclusivity boat by bringing what once was reserved for the wealthy and elite to the doorstops of the everyday person. Personal stylists now wait on the other side of the interwebs to do your shopping, pick your wardrobe and sent it straight to your doorstep before you can say, “What are this season’s fashion trends?” Judging by the growing popularity of these customized, personalized and convenient fashion services, people all over the country will be stepping out in style.
I first heard of regular fashion deliveries from a friend who got accessories – necklaces and nail polish, mostly – delivered every month. More of a swag bag than a personalized box of goodies, she still loved the surprise and newness that came with a box of seasonal colors, new lipsticks and a little something to make her feel trendy without having to go out and search for it.
The idea developed and, today, any person, man or woman, can find a service that will bring them a custom wardrobe. Services like StitchFix use basic drop-down menus and backend data gathering to compile information about an individual that will then feed the choices of shirts, jackets, pants, necklaces, earrings, and accessories that are all meant to inspire and instill style. The user fills out as much information as they can – height, inseam, size, colors, choices of pre-designed outfits, even submitting a style-focused Pinterest board link so that a shopper on the other end can pick out the options that will likely thrill them. And it only costs 20 bucks to get started.
Back in the day, it used to be that people didn’t know how to shop from the internet – how did you know an item was the right size? Or fit? What about quality? Was it easy to return? It seems (or seams?) that we have come a long way. Online fashion businesses make it easy to return their items – StitchFix does it for free if you don’t like and purchase what they send to you. Just as easy as it arrives, it can be returned, or, best-case scenario, hung in the closet and your credit card is charged only for what you keep.
With all these businesses delivering what we need right to our homes, it is a wonder that we even leave the house anymore! Do you use a fashion delivery service? Share your experience – dreams and horror stories – with @StarterNoise using #FashionForward
Image: “Garment District NYWTS crop” by New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 02:02, 24 January 2011 (UTC) – Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c18470. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons – LINK
