Hello from the overflowing closet at Stitch Fix headquarters!
So many beautiful clothes!!!
About a month ago, I received an email from Coitlle, the marketing director behind Stitch Fix, inviting me and a handful of bloggers out to San Francisco to tour the company’s headquarters and learn more about Stitch Fix and everything that goes into creating a “fix” for their customers.
I’ve blogged about my experience with Stitch Fix before, but for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the company, Stitch Fix (affiliate link!) is a personalized styling service. You create a style profile by answering various questions about yourself and then a stylist selects five items they think you will love to send to your home. The styling fee is $20 per “fix” but you can apply that toward the items you want to buy, should you choose to keep anything from your fix. Return shipping is free, so you can easily send back whatever you don’t want by placing everything in the big return envelope that comes with every fix. It’s a really awesome concept and the company is growing like crazy!
I arrived in San Francisco at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night and immediately headed to the townhouse where Stitch Fix arranged for our group of bloggers to stay while we are in the city.
I am so impressed by the time and energy the company put into making the townhouse look incredibly festive and cozy! We walked in to find holiday decorations everywhere, twinkling lights along the fireplace mantel and Christmas music playing in the background. After a six hour flight, it felt great to unpack my bags in a place that had such a homey touch.
Of course they added a little Stitch Fix flare to the decor!
We ended up staying up until 1:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. Florida time!), but Raechel, Kacia, Gina and I we were all so excited to be in the city and had so much fun chatting away in our pajamas, drinking wine and snacking on peppermint chocolate.
Stitch Fix Headquarters
Our first full day in San Francisco kicked off at 9:30 a.m. with a short walk to the Stitch Fix headquarters.
A pit stop for coffee at the adorable Cafe Madeline occurred on our way!
Once we arrived, we were immediately greeted by lots of smiling faces and some seriously stylish women who escorted us to comfortable couches so we could participate in the “Flash,” a morning meeting that occurs daily at Stitch Fix where the buyers present recent purchases to Stitch Fix stylists.
We had a chance to try on some of the items and offer our feedback. I thought this animal print scarf was a lot of fun!
I was also excited to learn that some of the fixes will start to feature purses and I fell in love with this oversize slouchy cross-body purse.
So cute!
After The Flash, Cotille put us to work and had everyone from our blogger group pull ten pieces for a random Stitch Fix customer. I pulled “Lily” out of a hat and had to pick 10 pieces for her according to her style preferences.
I selected the following items for Lily and joked that styling her was so easy because we had the exact same preferences and body type!
I selected two flowy skirts, a navy blazer with lace detailing, fun dresses and printed items that I thought matched her romantic and classic style preferences.
And then we learned that the random people we selected to style were actually the bloggers in our group, but they were given fake names. I just happened to randomly pull my own name, disguised as Lily, out of the hat!
It was fun to see how the other bloggers styled each other according to their style preferences.
Jenna unknowingly styled Kacia and did a great job!
Once our styling activity was done, it was lunchtime. Our group walked a couple of blocks to grab sandwiches and salads at The Sentinel.
I ordered the chicken mole salad with tortilla chips and thought it was fantastic! We ate outside at a local park because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. (Thank you so much to blog reader Dallas for stopping by to say hi!)
After lunch, we walked back to the Stitch Fix headquarters to complete our final activity of the day. Styling “Quinn,” the Stitch Fix mannequin!
We were given six different occasions to style around ranging from a “romantic date night” to a “glam girls’ night out” and a “preppy picnic in the park.” We then piled into a mini van and drove all over the city, posing Quinn in front of various San Francisco hot spots.
Taking Quinn the mannequin all over San Francisco was a great way to get outside and see the city.
And because I know you guys freak out about stuff like this just like I do, check it out…
The FULL HOUSE house! (Oh heeey, Uncle Jesse!)
And the Mrs. Doubtfire house!
One of the most beautiful stops we made was in front of the Palace of Fine Arts.
It was an amazing day and I am pumped to have more fun with the Stitch Fix team today!
Hope you’re having a fabulous Thursday!
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Glad to read your post today. I signed up for my first stitch fix box last night! Those striped cardigans are really cute – maybe one will make its way into my box……..
Apparently they are one of their most popular items!
Oh my goodness, this would seriously be heaven for me…all those clothes!!!! What a great opportunity. Have fun today!
Wow this looks like such a great experience!! Glad you were able to take part of it! how funny you styled yourself 🙂 Nothing better than picking out your own stylish clothes!!
What brand is that cute purse?! Love the color of it and that style…
Emperia! I tried to find the exact one online to share a link with you but I couldn’t. It’s so cute!
I love the bag too!!
Wow such a fun trip! I am massively jealous!!! Also love the dress you’re wearing with the purple tights!!! Very pretty!
Sounds like a fun trip! I wasn’t very pleased with either of my two stitch fixes. Maybe I’ll give them another shot in a few months.
How fun!!! I love that everyone got to style each other! It looks like they are a great company that really care, and it’s obvious by how they welcome you all into the city!
Omg I didn’t realize the Mrs. Doubtfire house was there! I went to San Francisco last January and found the Full House house, which actually isn’t on the row of houses shown in the intro. It was so fun! I’ve thought about trying stitch fix but I’m nervous about 1) the price of the items (I’m unemployed… haha) and 2) I have a really hard body type to fit so I’m nervous about nothing working!
I can vouch that none of those houses are actually the Full House house! When I was in San Francisco we walked by those houses, which are actually the Painted Ladies. The Full House one looks a little different:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/11/full-house-bob-saget_n_3421045.html
I was just in San Francisco and stopped at Cafe Madeline as well! Looks like a fun trip 🙂
This looks like SUCH a blast! Your outfit is SO cute, btw. I love your brown boots paired with the mauve-ish color!
I’m so jealous of everything about this trip! I love Stitch Fix – I signed up after reading about it on your and Tina’s blogs and those stylists really are wizards. Plus I’d love to visit San Francisco again. I haven’t been since I was way too young to appreciate it and your photos make it look as fabulous as it is in my head. And the Full House house? Come on!
Oh my gosh this looks like soooo much fun! I love how much effort they put into making your stay such a nice and welcoming one.
That sounds like such a fun time. I would love to be around that type of environment.
I also am jealous you got to see the Full House house. That’s like my life long dream to visit there;)
Ahh, I absolutely love this post so, so much! I’ve always wanted to visit San Francisco and this post gives such a great snapshot of the city! Plus, Stitch Fix sounds like such an awesome concept and I loved how you showed the headquarters and exactly how it works. Such an inviting idea.
That sounds like so much fun, and it’s hilarious that you picked yourself! 🙂
Could not love this post more! Especially the Full House house and the Mrs. Doubtfire house. I totally geek out about things like that! Your trip looks like a blast and it’s hilarious that you chose your own name haha. Enjoy the rest of your time in San Fran! 🙂
this sounds like such a fantastic day!! what a great company and a great way to get to know a company!
What a FUN trip!!! Love all of your photos! 🙂
How fun!! I love Stitch Fix!
What a fun trip!!
Looks like a fun trip! I am obsessed with the top/dress/tunic/whatever it is that you’re wearing in these photos. Where did you find it??
I love me some John Stamos! lol
What a fun trip! Love your outfit. 🙂
What a cool experience! You can’t go to San Francisco and not go see the Full House house and Lombard street! I have pics of both when we went there a few years ago. The Palace of Fine Arts looks beautiful.
Your life is so hard.
I wonder what you guys will all do the day that everything (clothing, vacations, food, etc etc) is not provided for you. Scary to think about!
I spy someone jealous.
Wow Danielle….jealous much? Just because Julie has a job that she loves that allows her the opportunity to travel and experience great opportunities does not mean that she is undeserving of that. In my opinion, she worked hard on her blog to make it as successful as it is. And somehow, I think Julie would be fine either way. She seems like a great girl.
Lol Heather, I knew my comment would bring out the ‘omg so jealous’ comments. And FYI, ‘working’ on taking pictures of your food and writing about your workout each morning is not really all that hard. I can think of about 10 people off the top of my head that balance kids, 2 jobs, long work commutes, family life, etc etc. Now THOSE people are badasses in my book and deserve to get free things. Just sayin.
Danielle, don’t read the blog if you don’t enjoy it. You’re absolutely right that a lot of people work very hard and deserve free things, but that’s just not how this works. Remember the phrase, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” and allow PBfingers to remain a positive place for readers to add some enjoyment to their days of balancing kids, 2 jobs, long commutes, and family life.
Why bother reading the blog if you don’t enjoy it?
Working to make a blog successful is HARD work, so don’t you start minimizing Julie’s efforts. I would encourage you to try it out and see how it goes for you.
Thanks Ashley, I’m good though.
Not to bring down these comments any further… but I do find it interesting that more and more part-time bloggers are now full-time bloggers making that most of their income. To think that writing about food, fitness, outings, fashion, travel, paid trips, sponsorships can earn you a living seems strange…but it seems to be all the rage. It’s wonderful to see people doing what they love, whether or not it makes sense to everyone. 🙂
Danielle, you act disdainful about Julie’s business model and yet…..you’re here. Reading. Commenting. Contributing to what makes this blog profitable.
Jessica, hello! I like Julie’s blog..alot but we as humans are entitled to make comments good or bad when something is on the internet. I cant speak for Danielle but she might like some things about the blog so that is why she reads it. But I guess some ppl want to be honest and say what is on their mind..and I am one of them. Nothing harmful in that. when you put a blog out there, you better be ready for ANY type of comments..and i’m Julie is well aware of that. We are probably saying stuff that a lot of readers think but too shy to say anything. Nothing bad about that..just being honest 🙂
How fun! I heart San Francisco!
this sounds like a really fun trip! san francisco is such a fantastic city – i’m glad you’re getting a chance to explore while you’re there, instead of just working… and i LOVE your tunic/dress and brown boots! such a cute fall outfit. =)
I’m so jealous!!! This looks like SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s so cool! Funny that you pulled your own name out of the hat- at least you knew you liked what you pulled! 😉
I wasn’t sure of the Stitch Fix process at first- but it seems like a lot better idea now… I guess I like heading out to the mall and shopping 😉
stitch fix is so awesome!! I want to be in that closet!!
That looks like a fun trip! I saw the Full House house, but I missed the Mrs. Doubtfire one! LOL
Looks like an amazing day!!! I really need to check out stitch fix!!
Picking the pieces for a fix (even though it was yourself) sounds like a ton of fun! I would be interested to see what each blogger selected compared to their preference sheet. I can’t see myself using a service like Stitch Fix, but it is a neat idea! I could see it being beneficial for someone who doesn’t enjoy shopping, like my mom! 🙂
So jealous that you saw the Full House & Mrs. Doubtfire houses. Seems like such a cool city!
My first fix is coming Monday! I’m worried I’m going to become addicted 😉
That looks so fun, I love everything you picked out for Lily/ yourself, especially the skirts!
This sounds like the perfect day and the weather even cooperated for you all. It’s always refreshing to see this city through another person’s eyes. I take it for granted because I live so close…
Cool! My first fix is arriving in the next few days (hopefully before my birthday on Saturday) and I’m so excited!
Girlfriend, I NEED your boots and tights! Please tell us where/what they are. Appreciate it!
FUN!!!! I’m super duper jealous!!
What a fun way to spend the day!! I love Stitch Fix and loved this inside look 🙂
Okay, fine. My arm is officially twisted… I’m subscribing to StitchFix. This trip looks like SO much fun! I love that you pulled “Lily” and I heard that girl’s got great style. Please say hello to Gina for me and have an amazing rest of your trip! 🙂
the Full House house looks like the location for the wedding scene at the end of Five Year Engagement too! wonder if it is..
How FUN! Not to mention how beautiful you look! Your outfit is adorable and I absolutely love your hair! Enjoy Girl!
how fun is that, totally jealous!
I’m glad I’m not the only person who thought Uncle Jesse was the best part of Full House!
This looks like a great event! So funny you picked yourself.
Glad you enjoyed my home city! SF is so fun, every day!
TO comment above, I don’t think Danielle is jealous..i mean how many of these readers would love ‘free’ trips to Disney, San Fran, come on. be honest. I enjoy a lot of the blogs I read but it does make me wonder why in this tough economy, companies are giving free flights/hotels, meals etc…I think that is why some ppl get frustrated. We ALL work hard and most of us work 40+ hrs a week , part time jobs, families, homes AND blog. And its still a struggle to maintain a good living and try to save $ for a little vacation. So I think it may bother some ppl that they cant /or don’t get these kind of trips. I like Julie’s blogs and I get that she works at the Y (I am a spin instructor if you have questions, you mentioned getting certified?) but I think its a lot of luck, maybe to start a job and take off whenever you can, to travel. its luck that they accept that and can just get ‘sub’s…I work in an office to support myself over 40+hrs week/teach part time, I could never just take off and leave in middle of week to do races or go to San Fran..so yea…it may frustrate some ppl…also getting free products in the mail.. So what do the companies get of out it? their name is mentioned on the blog but then what??
signed:
not jealous at all..just curious 🙂
Publicity! I can’t even count the number of times I have visited a website or purchased a product after seeing it on a blog. The cost of flying a few bloggers across the country is nothing compared to what a national commercial would cost. Julie could consider herself a marketing/advertising professional by now. 🙂 The other benefit these companies get is using their brand ambassadors/bloggers in focus groups where they provide honest feedback about the products. Focus groups have always been a huge part of product development, now they just have the added bonus of them being blogged to an international audience.
Thanks Britt, ok I understand it a bit better..i started a blog a while ago, just for fun to document my workouts..it was actually too much work since I work full time and part time. since I support myself, I cant imagine blogging full time. I need a certain amt of income every mth, not just ‘chancing’ it…so yea I think it works out for some people.
Thanks Stacy 🙂 You get it.
Danielle, yes I do and I bet I speak for most. i’m not full of fluff, I speak my mind but I do it in all fairness! Julie seems very nice, someone to hang out with ..for sure
but I think for some, it does get frustrating, i’ll repeat from my last post that taking pic of food , talking about workouts, traveling all over, getting free stuff and talking about hair and makeup,,,makes us feel like what? we are working out BUTTS off
hahaah now don’t take this wrong way. Julie you seem to be a hard worker but from my side here, blogging/traveling/writing /editing, seems more FUN than my office job 🙂
It is definitely a fun job and I feel lucky to have the opportunity to do a lot of really cool things through my blog. I appreciate your feedback and am grateful to you for sharing it in a respectful way. 🙂
I love the Palace of Fine Arts. We took some gorgeous wedding photos there.
My first ever Stitch Fix will be at my door tomorrow, and I can’t wait. Timely post:)
Julie:
I LOVE the floral dress that you are wearing, is that a Stitch Fix dress?
p.s. I Love your blag and think you are fabulous!
Karen