The slubby yarn top ($88) was pretty and fit me well, but again, it exposed a little too much skin for my liking. The Relaxed Grace Pant ($78), however, was like meeting a soulmate, but you know, in olive drab cotton. It’s the perfect length to wear with flat sandals and sneakers without having to roll it up. And the hem is frayed, but in that gently fuzzed way I’m never able to replicate when I try to do it at home. The medium rise isn’t so low that it’s going to prevent me from moving around, and the fabric quality and simple cut of the pants are versatile enough to wear with a dressy blouse and heels (or more likely a pair of Havaianas and a white T-shirt).
Overall, the Short Story experience was better than I’d hoped. The personal shopper element proved to be valuable and well worth the $25 you pay for the stylist's work putting together each box, which is deducted from the price of your purchases. And now that I know it’s unlikely that I’ll purchase every piece from each box, I’ll amend my price guidelines to the $100+ range, since I’m trying to buy fewer pieces of better quality. Which brings me to the only quibble I have with the box: I wasn’t thrilled with the synthetic feel of the cotton knit top and there was a loose thread on the dress. But that quality issue is far from a deal-breaker, and most likely a reflection of the under $100 price point-per-item I initially chose.
One last note: You have five days to decide what to keep and return, which is two days more than Stitch Fix and the same as Daily Look (two competing subscription boxes). As for frequency, you can change the cadence to however often or seldom you’d like to receive a box. So, no pressure.
I’m glad I discovered Short Story, because I’ll be hitting them up for a seasonal infusion of style inspo every few months, as well as asking for help whenever there are any special occasions I want to have the perfect fit for.
