I Still Want Cute Clothes. I Just Don’t Want to Go Shopping Anymore

I Hate Going Out Shopping but Still Want Cute Clothes

I don't know exactly when shopping stopped being fun for me.

There was a time when walking around stores, looking through racks and trying on clothes felt like something to do.

Now I think about the gas, the traffic, the parking, the crowds, the dressing room, the line at the register and the very real possibility that I will do all of that and still come home with absolutely nothing.

No thank you.

The funny part is, I still like clothes.

I still want to look cute when I go somewhere.

I still want to open my closet and find an outfit that makes me feel put together.

I haven't reached the stage where I'm prepared to wear the same black leggings everywhere and call it a capsule wardrobe.

Although some weeks, we're dangerously close.

As I've gotten older, I've realized I don't dislike looking for clothes as much as I dislike everything that comes with looking for clothes.

So I started wondering what other options women actually have.

Could somebody else pick the clothes?

Could I rent them?

Could I buy secondhand without digging through racks?

Could I basically outsource the part of shopping that I no longer enjoy?

Once I started looking, I realized there are more choices than I thought.

But here's what surprised me most.

They aren't all solving the same problem.

The best option depends on which part of shopping is making us tired in the first place.

1. If I Want Someone Else to Pick My Clothes, Stitch Fix Makes Sense

Stitch Fix was the first service I thought of because it's probably one of the better known personal styling services.

The idea is pretty straightforward.

We fill out a style profile with our sizes, preferences and budget.

A stylist chooses five pieces and sends them to us.

We try everything on at home, keep what we like and send back what we don't.

There isn't a required subscription, so we can order when we want instead of having another monthly charge quietly sneaking out of the bank account.

After the first Fix, the styling fee is $20, and that $20 is credited toward anything we keep.

Stitch Fix currently gives a 20 percent discount when five or more items are kept, and shipping and returns are free.

What I like: I don't have to scroll through 400 shirts trying to decide which one looks like me. Somebody narrows it down.

What would make me hesitate: Someone else's idea of my style and my idea of my style might be two very different things. And if I keep nothing, I've still spent the styling fee.

For me, Stitch Fix seems best for the woman who wants help making the decision.

Sometimes that's the exhausting part.

Stitch Fix

2. If I Want More Choices in the Box, Wantable Gives You Nine

Wantable works in a similar way, but there was one difference that caught my attention.

They currently send nine pieces.

Nine feels like enough choices that I have a fighting chance of finding something I actually like without giving me so many choices that I've recreated the department store inside my bedroom.

Wantable charges a $20 styling fee, which is credited toward anything we buy from that shipment.

A stylist chooses the items based on our preferences, and we have five days to try them at home. Shipping and returns are free.

They also separate their styling into categories such as everyday style, activewear, and sleep and body.

That actually makes sense to me.

If I'm looking for workout clothes, I don't necessarily want three blouses and a pair of jeans showing up.

What I like: More pieces to try and the ability to focus on the kind of clothes I actually need.

What would make me hesitate: It's still a styling service, which means I'm paying for convenience and trusting someone else to understand what I meant when I said, “casual but cute.”

We all know those four words can go sideways quickly.

Wantable

3. If Plus Size Shopping Has Felt Like an Afterthought, Dia and Co Is Worth Knowing About

One thing I noticed while researching all of this is that a service can technically carry larger sizes without really feeling like it was built with plus size women in mind.

Dia and Co takes a different approach.

Its personal styling service is centered around plus size fashion.

The company currently offers style plans with three, five or seven pieces, and also offers themed five-piece boxes that can be ordered without a subscription.

The themed box has a $20 styling fee that gets credited toward anything we buy.

Keeping an entire themed box earns a 25 percent discount.

Their regular plans offer larger discounts depending on how many items are kept.

What I like: The service isn't treating plus size clothing like a little corner added onto everything else.

What would make me hesitate: Just like every styling box, fit and taste are personal. A stylist can know our measurements and still send something that makes us stare into the mirror and say, “Absolutely not.”

Still, I like that this solves a specific problem instead of trying to be everything for everybody.

Dia and Co

4. If I Like Clothes but Don't Need to Own Them, Nuuly Is Interesting

This was where my thinking changed.

I automatically think shopping means buying.

It doesn't have to.

Nuuly is a clothing rental subscription.

Right now it costs $98 a month and includes six items that we choose ourselves.

The clothes come from a large collection that includes brands within the Anthropologie, Free People and Urban Outfitters family along with other brands.

Shipping, returns, laundry and dry cleaning are included, and the membership can be paused or canceled.

If we fall in love with something, we can buy it instead of sending it back.

This one makes me think about how many clothes we buy for one specific event.

A wedding.

A vacation.

A work event.

A date.

Then that poor dress spends the next four years hanging in the closet waiting for its second chance at life.

What I like: Variety without constantly adding clothes to my closet.

What would make me hesitate: Ninety-eight dollars every month is still money. If I'm barely going anywhere that month, I'm paying for clothes to sit in my house instead of sitting in a store.

That's where I think we have to be honest with ourselves.

Convenient doesn't automatically mean cheaper.

Nuuly

5. If I Need Designer Clothes Occasionally, Rent the Runway Is a Different Kind of Option

Rent the Runway is another rental service, but it's more expensive and gives access to more than 750 brands.

The current membership starts at $129 a month for five items and one shipment.

Other plans offer two or four shipments a month at higher prices.

This wouldn't be my everyday budget option.

But I can see the appeal for a woman who has regular work events, weddings, dinners, travel or occasions where she wants something nicer without buying a designer dress every time.

What I like: I can wear something expensive without having to explain to myself why I just bought a $400 dress I'll wear twice.

What would make me hesitate: The monthly price.

I would need to actually use this service enough to justify it.

Otherwise I'm paying designer money for clothes I technically don't own.

Rent the Runway

6. If I Want Work Clothes Without Building a Whole New Closet, Armoire Caught My Attention

Armoire sits somewhere between clothing rental and personal styling.

Its current monthly plans start at $89 for four items, $129 for seven items and $249 for the unlimited plan.

The memberships include cleaning, shipping, returns and personal styling help.

This one stood out to me for women who need professional clothes.

Maybe we're returning to an office.

Maybe we changed careers.

Maybe our body changed and half of the work clothes in the closet haven't received that information yet.

Buying an entirely new professional wardrobe can get expensive fast.

What I like: It could let me rotate nicer work clothes without buying everything.

What would make me hesitate: Again, I would have to look at how often I'm using it.

Eighty nine dollars isn't expensive if it's replacing several purchases.

It's very expensive if four dresses sit untouched for a month.

Armoire

7. If My Real Problem Is Money, I Might Skip the Subscription Entirely

Then I found myself asking the obvious question.

What if I don't need a stylist?

What if I don't need rental?

What if I just don't want to pay full price?

That's where ThredUp starts making more sense.

ThredUp is an online secondhand store rather than a personal styling box.

It sells used and like new clothing, shoes and accessories, with prices advertised at up to 90 percent below estimated retail.

There isn't somebody choosing outfits for me.

I still have to search.

But I can do it from my couch without driving anywhere, which already solves one of my problems.

What I like: No monthly membership just to shop, a huge selection, and the possibility of finding much better prices.

What would make me hesitate: This is the option that gives the work back to me.

I still have to search, filter and decide.

So the cheapest choice might not always be the easiest choice.

And I think that's what I was really trying to figure out.

ThredUp

I Was Asking the Wrong Question

When I started researching this, I thought I was looking for the best alternative to going shopping.

Now I don't think there is one.

I think the better question is this:

What part of shopping am I actually tired of?

If I hate choosing, a stylist might be worth paying for.

If I hate owning clothes I barely wear, rental might make more sense.

If I need professional outfits for a season of my life, I might rent instead of rebuilding an entire closet.

If my biggest concern is money, I might forget all of those subscriptions and start with secondhand.

And if I still love walking through stores and looking at everything myself, none of these services may be worth it.

That's okay too.

I think sometimes we're so used to doing things a certain way that we forget we have choices.

For me, I'm at the point where my time matters more than it used to.

So does my energy.

I still want to put on something cute and feel good when I walk out the door.

I just don't necessarily want to spend three hours, half a tank of gas and the last little bit of my patience trying to find it.

If a box on my doorstep can occasionally help with that, I'm willing to admit something I probably wouldn't have said years ago.

Maybe convenience isn't being lazy.

Maybe sometimes I just want the cute shirt without the field trip.

#EvolvingWomanhood

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A quick note about pricing: Please remember, prices and plans can change after this post is published, so check each company’s website for the latest details before signing up.