New Threads

As I've mentioned before, shopping is not something I enjoy at all.  I enjoy having new things and feeling well put together but I do not enjoy the process of shopping.  Luckily in May I was able to expand my wardrobe a bit by utilizing two different services:  Keaton Row and Cabi.  I'll explain how they both work below and show you what I ended up purchasing!

KEATON ROW

A friend of mine at work read an article about Keaton Row and told me about it as she knows how much I dislike shopping.  I was intrigued by the concept so decided to give it a try.  The way it works is that you fill out a profile online about your likes/dislikes/etc and then you are paired with a stylist. The stylist then puts an online "look book" together for you, free of charge.  If you like the items, you click on the hyperlink and buy the item. There is no cost to me for this service because the retailers pay the stylist commission if you purchase an item through the look book.  When I requested my look book, I asked for dresses that would be appropriate for weddings and/or work, as well some other summery work outfits.  I ended up buying two dresses, both of which I am really happy with!

The first dress is the dress I wore to a wedding I went to with Phil.  I really loved how the dress fit.  I do wish it had pockets, though!

When I shared this photo last week, Suki asked to see what the rest of the dress looked like, so here is a picture from Bloomingdale's website.  The dress was on sale when I bought it so the price was very reasonable!

The second dress is a dress that I will be able to wear to work (excuse the horrible photo quality.  I suck at selfies!). 

It's very comfortable and is something I can probably dress up with jewelry for a wedding or special event.  It has a 'wrap' neckline but there is a button in that area that keeps it from 'unwrapping' if that makes any sense?   This dress also came from Bloomingdale's and was on sale when I purchased it.

Overall thoughts:  I consider this a more flexible, no-upfront-cost alternative to Stitch Fix.  I am an extremely picky person so I liked being able to look through the look book and purchase what I liked.  I also like that you are assigned one stylist and can have back and forth dialogue with her about what you liked/disliked.  I will probably request another look book when we move into the fall season. 

CABI

Next up, I attended a Cabi paty that a coworker hosted in her home.   Cabi is an online clothing company with consultants that host in-home parties so you can see the clothes in person.  Each season, Cabi releases a collection and the pieces tend to coordinate well with each other and they also tend to coordinate with past collections.  I ended up buying 4 pieces at this party that are a bit more on the casual side but still mostly work appropriate.

First off, I purchased some navy, fitted pants and an asymmetrical striped top (still obsessed with stripes).  The top is something I can wear on Friday at work and is something I know I will also wear on the weekend, and the pants are something I will likely wear every week because they go with a lot of tops in my closet! 

The other two items I purchased were a fitted lace t-shirt and pink jeans.  The fitted lace t-shirt is something I can wear under a cardigan or blazer at work, or I can wear it on it's own outside of work.  The pink jeans were just too fun to pass up (still obsessed with colored pants!).  I could probably get away with wearing the pink jeans on a Friday at work but I'll probably end up wearing them more on the weekend.

Overall thoughts: I liked the ease of the shopping experience as the host had wracks with all of the different looks for the season and at the beginning of the show, the consultant explained how the different pieces coordinated with one another.  The 4 pieces I purchased could probably all go together which is something I really liked about the Cabi line.  The clothing is certainly not inexpensive but I feel like these are pieces I'll wear many times so the cost per piece was justifiable. I also like that I can wear all of these pieces outside of the office in more casual settings.

Between moving and adding 6 pieces of clothing to my wardrobe, my wallet needs a little break but I am planning to request another look book in August so I can add some fall pieces to my wardrobe!

What are your thoughts on shopping?  Have you tried any personal styling services?  I used to do Stitch Fix but was disappointed as my last couple of boxes were disappointing and I felt the stylists disregarded my feedback.