Wardrobe Styling Services: Classy Yet Trendy’s Capsule Wardrobes vs. Subscription Services vs. a Personal Stylist

When you are wanting to create a wardrobe or change it up a bit, you can consider looking to an expert to help you with your wardrobe. In the past (and before the internet), hiring a personal stylist was the optimal way of getting advice and finding out which items we needed in our closets. Now, with information readily available on the internet, there are more options to choose from!

There was a reader of the blog who emailed me the other day saying she discovered my website and was asking about the Classy Yet Trendy Capsule Wardrobe eBooks. She has been a stay at home mom for a few years and is going back to work, so she needed a wardrobe to wear at her new job. She said she had thought about hiring a personal stylist, but knew they were expensive, so she asked me about the capsule wardrobe eBooks and how they are different from a subscription service like Stitchfix she had seen recently on tv commercials. I gave her details about them and I thought I would create a blog post so you all could know too!

Let’s look at a few of the popular wardrobe styling services and compare their pro’s and con’s…

The Classy Yet Trendy Capsule Wardrobes

If you follow along here on the Classy Yet Trendy blog, you know that I create “Capsule Wardrobe eBooks” which are complete wardrobes in an easy to use eBook (a PDF document), that have convenient shopping links, so you can have an instant wardrobe in your closet! Thousands of women all over the world have used the Classy Yet Trendy Capsule Wardrobes since 2015!

My closet used to be stuffed full of clothes, so much so that my clothes got lost in my closet and I didn’t know what all I had.  I had too many clothes with too many patterns, plus clothes that no longer fit.  In 2015, I started using a capsule wardrobe and I noticed my closet became neat and tidy. That same year, I created a capsule wardrobe eBook and many women loved how it helped them get dressed quickly and easily everyday!

I created my first capsule wardrobe eBook in the Winter season of 2015, after several women reached out to me wanting to know if I could create a capsule wardrobe for them along with outfit ideas and where to purchase the pieces in the capsule. The word got out that I published capsule wardrobes in a convenient eBook and I sold several of them. More and more women started using the season capsules and the next year, I created a couple of other styles of capsules. Fast forward to now, and I create 6 capsule wardrobe styles every season. There is also the most popular capsule wardrobe, Simplified Style® The Dressy and Casual Collection (see the Simplified Style® capsule in my closet below), which includes all classic and timeless clothes and shoes in all neutral colors. If you like wearing athleisure styles, you will enjoy Simplified Style® The Athleisure Collection.

I snapped this photo when I created the Simplified Style® The Dressy and Casual Collection for my own closet…

The Classy Yet Trendy Capsule Wardrobes are the most budget-friendly way to have a complete wardrobe and you know exactly what wardrobe you will get. Plus, if you have to shop for any missing pieces, you can use the convenient shopping links provided or you have the freedom to choose other items you want to use.

By using Classy Yet Trendy’s Capsule Wardrobes, you create your wardrobe on your own time and you set your spending limit on just the pieces you need!

The French Minimalist Spring 2021 Capsule Wardrobe Collection
in the Capsule Wardrobe eBook Store

CYT’s Capsule Wardrobes Pro’s and Con’s

Pro’s:

• A complete wardrobe plan using several core closet essentials, which you may already have in your closet
• Cost is low and budget-friendly
• You receive a complete wardrobe plan (in an easy to use PDF eBook) via download link in an email at the time of payment
• Online shopping links, so you can shop from the convenience of your home
• You have a complete wardrobe you enjoy wearing
• You get dressed quickly and easily everyday and always know what to wear using the outfit calendar in the eBooks.
• You will have a neat and tidy closet!

Con’s:
I cannot think of any con’s! I enjoy using a capsule wardrobe myself and have used several of the season capsule wardrobes as well as the Simplifed Style® capsules in my closet.

Transform Your Closet with
Core Closet Essentials!

Online Styling Service: Trunk Club

Trunk Club is a styling service offered by Nordstrom. This service is similar to Stitch Fix and if you like the brands at Nordstrom, you may like this. There is a $25 styling fee which can use if you purchase items in your box (but if you don’t purchase anything and send everything back, you are out the $25). Although, if you have a Nordstrom card, they waive the styling fee. You take a styling quiz and they send pieces they think you will like. You can find out more on their FAQ page. I have never used this service, but I love to shop online at Nordstrom, so I know I would like their brands.

Pro’s:

• Fun way to add new pieces to your closet
• Trunk Club picks the pieces for you based on your styling quiz
• Try-on in the convenience of your home
• They send you brands sold at Nordstrom

Con’s:

• Trunk Club sends you what they think you may like
• $25 styling fee with each shipment (waived if you have a Nordstrom card)
• Takes time to participate in the program
• Not sure if what you receive will coordinate with your existing wardrobe

Online Styling Service: Stitch Fix

The online styling services I mention in this post are good for adding just a few new pieces to your closet. If you use a capsule wardrobe and are looking to add a few pieces to expand your capsule, make sure to stay true to your personal style and make sure what you buy will coordinate with your capsule.

You may have seen Stitch Fix commercials on tv and wondered if it is worth trying. Stitch Fix has been around for a few years. In 2015, I tried a few of their subscription boxes and posted reviews of the subscription boxes here on the blog. To use their service, first you complete a quiz on their site letting them know which styles you like the best. They choose which pieces they think you will like based on your quiz answers, they ship a few clothes to you for you to try on. You can either keep which ones you like or send them back. You pay a $20 styling fee and is credited toward your purchase; if you don’t like anything they send you and you send everything back, you’re out the $20. It is not a complete wardrobe, but just a few trending pieces they think you may like. I thought it was a fun service, but I did get frustrated at how some pieces didn’t fit correctly and how other pieces were too expensive. After using their service for several months, I cancelled it because I felt I wasn’t getting anywhere with my wardrobe and I was wasting my time and money. Plus, that was before I knew about how to put outfits together, so when I received the pieces they shipped to me, I didn’t know how to style them with other pieces in my closet.

Pro’s:

• Fun way to add new pieces to your closet
• Stitch Fix picks the pieces for you based on your styling quiz
• Try-on in the convenience of your home

Con’s:

• Stitch Fix sends you what they think you may like
• $20 styling fee with each shipment (can be created toward a purchase from the shipment)
• Takes time to participate in the program
• Not sure if what you receive will coordinate with your existing wardrobe

Online Styling Service: Wantable

Wantable is another styling service and is similar to Stitch Fix and Trunk Club. I have not tried this service so I cannot give you my opinion, but what I have read they very similar to other online styling services. They do have activewear, so if you like Athleisure style, that may be a plus. You have five days to try-on what they send and then you either keep what you like or send it back.

Pro’s:

• Fun way to add new pieces to your closet
• Wantable picks the pieces for you based on your styling quiz
• Try-on in the convenience of your home

Con’s:

• Wantable sends you what they think you may like
• $20 styling fee with each shipment
• Takes time to participate in the program
• Not sure if what you receive will coordinate with your existing wardrobe

Online Styling Service: Amazon Prime Wardrobe

Amazon Prime Wardrobe is a bit different than the other online styling services above. You pick what you want, choose up to 8 items, they ship them to you and you have 7 days to try them on and decide what you want to keep or return. The styling fee is much lower at $4.99. You do have to be an Amazon Prime member to participate. They list which brands you can choose from, which are Amazon brands, plus a few other well known brands. I have not tried this service, but I think it would be better since you can choose which items you want to try.

Pro’s:

• Fun way to add new pieces to your closet
• You pick the items you want to try
• Try-on in the convenience of your home
• Low $4.99 styling fee

Con’s:

• Takes time to participate in the program
• Must be an Amazon Prime member to participate in the program
• Not sure if what you receive will coordinate with your existing wardrobe

Personal Stylist

A independent personal stylist will cost more than the Classy Yet Trendy Capsule Wardrobe eBooks and the Online Styling Services. A personal stylist’s hourly fee can start on average of $100 or more. They usually will start first with an assessment of your closet, find out your style you prefer wearing or help you determine your personal style, find out your body shape and measurements. All this can take several hours and you will work one on one with the stylist. An online personal stylist can work with you via phone or a Zoom meeting. They will create a wardrobe for you based on their assessments of your style and measurements. If the stylist lives near you, they may come to your house and help you go through your closet to assess your wardrobe up close. If you want to use your existing wardrobe, they will help you create outfits, help you determine which pieces look best on you. If you need to update your style, they will either pick out several pieces online they recommend you buy or they may go with you to stores and help you pick out pieces for your wardrobe.

This type of service can get very expensive, but some women do like the one-on-one interaction to create the perfect wardrobe for them. If you have the time and money to spend on a personal stylist, you can fine tune your personal style.

I have been asked several times if I offer personal styling services. I apologize that because I run my website solo, so I am busy everyday creating the capsule wardrobe eBooks, managing the blog and creating social media content, that I don’t have the free time to offer styling services.

Pro’s:

• Work one-on-one with a personal stylist
• Fine tune your wardrobe to your body shape
• Can pay them to shop for you

Con’s:

• Expensive $$$
• Takes time to set up meetings with your personal stylist
• Process of building your wardrobe may take time

Have you used an online styling service or a personal stylist?

Have you used a Classy Yet Trendy Ready-To-Use Capsule Wardrobe?

Transform Your Closet with
Core Closet Essentials!