A CHWG First! A Guest Blogger and Stitch Fix for Men

Big things happening on the blog today, people! My friend Mike, whose daughter Ivy will marry my nephew Simon on day if their lives proceed as planned (as the lives of eight year olds always do) got his first Stitch Fix. What's that? You didn't know that men could have Stitch Fixes too? Well, now they can! Read on, and then get in on the fun yourself. And now, I hand it over to Mike, who is at least as funny as me, if not funnier:

Guys, I’m chiming in here for a guest blog for two main reasons: 1) Stitch Fix now carries men’s clothes and 2) I’m totes procrastinating from doing my dissertation! UGH am I right? (Technically this is true; I am also procrastinating from enrolling in graduate school). My name is Mike and I am connected to Rachel and fam through Rachel’s sister Rebecca, although I potentially may be machatunen [editor's note: that is the parents-in-law's relationship with each other] with the clan in the future as Rachel’s nephew Simon and my daughter Ivy have been besherit [editor's note: made for each other] since they met at age 2. It’s true love, like The Notebook on fleek. (Is that a proper use of “on fleek”? In other news, I’m 37).

Anyhoo, as a more or less male version of Rachel (curly hair, glasses, totally addicted to cookies!), I decided that I was the perfect person to answer her call for a blog post about the new men’s Stitch Fix. Serendipitously, I had already received my first “Man Fix” (trademark pending) when she posted about it, as my wife, the lovely Kimbo, is a big Stitch Fix fan since way back in the day (2015?) and convinced me to join up as she would get a discount for conning persuading me to enlist.

About my style: I work at a law firm (not a lawyer, just play one on TV) so my M-F clothing is relatively conservative business casual. Otherwise I’m pretty laid-back on the style front – jeans, cool sneaks, and a T shirt or untucked sassy button-down is my preferred weekend gear. Occasionally I go tuxedo on the top, Speedo on the bottom [editor's note: Mike, that is NOT modest! Or fashionable], but that’s for a different blog…

Filling out the Stitch Fix style profile online was pretty easy, though it was lengthy and there seemed to be a time limit on it, like I was buying Tom Petty tickets and if I didn’t enter my credit card information fast enough, my loge level seats would be released back into the wild. I liked a lot of the looks and was eager to get my first box.

And the box did not disappoint! I received 3 tops, a pair of jeans, and fun socks. 

The jeans were excellent – stylish black jeans that were a little tight from the knee down, like half-skinny, half-normie. I easily would have paid $100+ for them in a store, though they were listed as less than $100 (don’t have the exact price because I threw out the sheet and can’t figure out how to see past Fixes online; I know, I have failed you).

The first shirt, a purple button-down, was exactly my style – way to go, Fixers! Good for work, date night, parent/teacher conference, public hangings, etc. 

The second shirt is one I would have walked right past had I seen it in a store, because the plaid pattern is a little much; also it is a heavier material, and I live in LA, where it’s cold for maybe 10 days a year. However, it really works – great fit, and the pattern is growing on me. A keeper!

The hoodie is also something I would have walked past in a store, because it’s not a traditional hoodie – lighter weight and more fashion-forward than the hoodies I usually wear (which are more in the “I have no interest in showering or getting dressed today so I am gonna totes procrastinate from writing my dissertation in this bigass hoodie” category). However, since I was definitely keeping the jeans and purple shirt, and was leaning toward keeping the other button-down, it made sound financial sense to keep the hoodie, and learn to love it. Which I will!

Lastly, the socks. As you may be able to tell from these photos, I am a giant person, and my feet are just outside the range of normal human feet (size 14). Though I enjoy fun socks in theory, I have a hard time finding them in my size because most “one size fits all” men’s socks are made for shoe sizes 6-13, which you Mathletes out there might recognize as smaller than 14. In fact, on the Stitch Fix site when asked to enter my shoe size, 14 wasn’t even an option – they stopped at 13! I entered in a note saying that my shoe size was actually 14, but apparently no one read that as I got standard-size socks, which though fun were a bit small. As it behooved me to keep the socks for the “buy the whole box” discount, I gifted them to my brother-in-law, who promptly forgot them at my house. So there ya go.

All in all I saved a ton of money on 4 great pieces without ever having to enter a dressing room, which I hate. Super win! Thanks to Rachel for handing over her blog to me this week, and see you on the Interwebs!

Ok guys, I'm back now. Many thanks to Mike for getting on the fun! I hope you all enjoyed this foray into men's modest fashion. My fix is supposed to come in a week and a half, so more Fix fun here soon! And in the meantime-- don't delay-- order your Fix now!