I've been using the Stitch Fix service for about a year now and while it's not perfect, it serves a purpose for me that I value. Parenting 6 kids, homeschooling 3 of them and having to find babysitting for necessary things like grocery shopping and doctors visits is tough enough, so not having to worry about it when shopping for clothes for myself is nice. The prices are high, but I don't have to cart around my 7 month old and rush myself when trying something on.
So when I saw an ad for Rockets of Awesome, a similar subscription fashion service for kids, I was excited. What really caught my attention was the fact that I wouldn't have to pay a dime if we decided on returning every item sent to us. That's right. No styling fee. If you recall, for Stitch Fix, even if you return all 5 items, you still have to fork over $20 to cover the "styling" fee.
I ordered 2 boxes, one for my oldest daughter who is coming up on 7, and one for my oldest son who is 9.
Natalie's Box
I received my daughters box first. Now, before I go any further, I should mention that my daughter is small. Born 3 weeks early, she is only in the 10th and 15th percentile for height and weight, so I was not totally shocked when most of her items where too big.
At first glance, the items in the box looked cute. The colors were bright and the styles seemed appropriate for my daughter. What really shocked me were the prices. Maybe I'm a cheapskate, but pretty much everything in the box seemed way to expensive for what they were.
First up is this comfy and cute outfit:
Natalie's opinion: She described the fabric as feeling like swimsuit material and told me that she liked it. She really liked the colors of the outfit and was happy about the cloud pattern on the leggings. She also liked how shiny the letters were.
My Take: The clothes looked big on her. When I looked at her waist and hips there was a ton of room. Of course the price was also a big turn off for me.
Now, while not the same fabric, Target has some cute patterned (and solid) leggings for $6-and that isn't even a sale price.
This adorable Pink dress showed Promise right out of the box.
Natalie's opinion: She loved the color and the tulle bottom. She loved the sparkles and the "belt" that was on it. She spun in it and jumped around like a ballerina and begged me to let her keep it.
My Take:
Again, size was an issue. The top part of the dress seemed almost square on her and there was a ton of room at the arms as you can see in the photo of her with her back turned. The fabric was nice and the weight and length of the dress was great. I wanted so badly to be able to say yes to this dress, but given the odd shape of the top and the price I had to say "Sorry." instead. While Target.com does have a couple of dresses that are close to this price, it also had a couple that were significantly cheaper especially if you go ahead and buy a nice full tulle skirt with a sparkle waist band and just buy a nice top to go with it. Much better idea in my opinion that shelling out $36 for one thing.
This striped top felt so comfy, but I am personally not a fan of the pattern. The skirt however is super cute and I loved the color.
Natalie's Opinion: She liked the pocket and the fabric but was not really interested in the pattern one way or the other. She liked the pink skirt and noted that there were little silver glitter ties on teh front that she said were pretty.
My Take: Like I said above, the stripes are not my fave and having the stripes going the opposite direction on the pocket really bug me. The shape of the shirt was also a little off-it honestly made me feel like something was wrong with it. It's called a "Boxy Tee" but it seemed exaggerated. Perhaps the cut looked worse because of the horizontal stripes, but it looked like a giant square top that was meant for someone much wider.
The Skirt was adorable and I liked the fit on her. It wasn't too long or short. Ultimately however, the price once again was too much.
Next outfit- In these photos she kept the same pink tulle skirt on from the last set and changed into the We are awesome white tee and then paired it with the reversible windbreaker.
Natalie's opinion: The shirt was really long and had the same message on it as another shirt she received. She liked both sides of the jacket- the silver side and cloud pattern. She said she thought it felt nice and puffy and "good". My 3 year old pointed out that when the cloud side is on the outside, there is a rainbow patch on the front just over her heart.
My Take: The shirt was definitely too long and the description is for a tee not a tunic, so obviously it was a sizing issue. Also, I could not bring myself to pay almost $20 for a simple white tee. Yes, I know it has glitter lettering, but that is still too much money. The Jacket was super cute and I love it when coats are reversible because I feel like I am getting 2 coats for the price of one, but my daughter has a few jackets already and I couldn't justify spending so much on it, especially with this style being available at other stores for less (minus the cloud pattern of course). I found a similar jacket for a lot less, and granted its not exactly the same and is not reversible, the difference in price is enough to make me choose it over the one from ROA.
The purple crew top pictured here was the first thing I saw when I opened the box. It looked super comfortable and well made.
Natalie's opinion: She loved the color and how it felt. She said it was super soft. She also noted that she had several tops this color already. She told me that the skirt was a little itchy.
My Take: The sleeves were a little too long on her and the fit was baggy, but I figured she could grow into it-but not for the price. I would rather buy her a top she can wear now than pay almost $30 for something that is too big, no matter how soft it is. The skirt was super cute and fit her well. If she finds it itchy that could be remedied by wearing tights or leggings, but a skirt should be able to be worn without those things. Also, skirts at target that were similar were a lot cheaper. If I have to buy tights, undershorts, or leggings for it to be wearable, I am not going to pay $24 for it.
The last outfit was this dress. Right out of the box I wasn't the biggest fan because of where the "skirt" portion begins. My daughter being short looks somewhat awkward in cuts like this one.
My take: I agreed with her about the size issue. I liked the pattern on this way better than the striped top as there is more spacing so it looks less busy. I also liked how the pocket was the same color as the skirt on the bottom. All in all though, between the size and the price, we sent it back too.
Also in the box were these shorts-she wore them under the tulle skirt I think to try them on. While they fit, she doesn't really need them and they serve no real purpose in her wardrobe. There was also a necklace which I forgot to take a picture of, but it was too pricey and she doesn't wear necklaces much anyways.
Natalie had fun trying all of the different items on and it was so much easier doing this at home versus having to go to a store. The prices were just too high for us though. I know that I can find decent quality clothes that fit my daughter at prices that we can afforded at Target. Sure, it may be more inconvenient at times-but I can always order online and try it on at home, sending or taking back what doesn't fit our needs. Granted, that requires paying upfront, but I think that is a better choice given the high prices of Rockets of Awesome. I know I kind of sound like a broken record and I know for some people the prices don't seem too high. I just wanted to share my thoughts and opinions on the service so that others might have an idea of what type of clothes and what price point ROA is at.
Kids play hard and grow fast. I just think its a bit much to charge for things that can get stained, ripped, worn out, and grown out of quickly.
Next up, the boys items.
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