When you sign up for a personal styling service, you need to put your trust in your stylist’s ability to find clothes that flatter your size and style. It can be hard to get an idea of what kind of clothes they have available for you, especially if you wear plus sizes. Some subscription services focus on smaller sizes, but these two options proudly carry plus sizes. Stitch Fix offers clothes from size 00 to 24. Dia & Co goes up to size 32, so they have even more size options.
If you’re looking for plus size-friendly styling services, Dia & Co and Stitch Fix are both strong contenders. Dia & Co is specifically focused on plus size women sizes, giving the company an edge. Their mission statement is helping plus size women find stylish, flattering clothes. Stitch Fix also offers plus sizes, and has a huge selection of brands to pull clothes from. If you want variety, Stitch Fix might be the winner, but Dia & Co handpicks clothes that are designed to meet plus size women’s needs.
How Do They Work
These styling services both aim to help you find clothes that reflect your personal style. Over time, they might even help you discover more about your ideal fashion sense. Stitch Fix and Dia & Co each have their own style survey, and they send the results to their stylists. From there, the stylists will choose items to include in your fashion box.
Once you’ve decided what to keep and what to return, you can check out online. Checking out online lets the company know what to expect in your return envelope, and this is where they’ll charge you for any items you’re keeping. You can use the prepaid shipping envelope to return anything you don’t want to keep.
Dia & Co
Dia & Co focuses on plus size women, so their style quiz has a few extra questions devoted to finding the best fit possible. Many plus size women have a hard time finding clothes that cater to their specific shape. This service aims to offer clothes that flatter a wide range of body types.
Each box comes with 5 items, and you have 5 days to try them on and choose what to keep.
Dia & Co lets you browse their clothing and choose up to 3 items for your box before your stylist adds items to the box. You can also skip this step and let your stylist decide what to send you. If you decide to keep all 5 items, you can take 25% off your box. This discount is often just about equal to getting one piece of clothing for free.
Stitch Fix
After your order is shipped, you can look at a preview on your account page. When it does arrive, you can try each piece on to see how it fits. Stitch Fix’s stylists include outfit suggestions for each Fix box. Their suggestions include footwear and accessories that might go with the clothes they sent. You can save 25% if you keep everything in your Fix. Your stylist will try to send items that match, so you can get entire new outfits out of your Fix box.
Your Fix box will include 5 items, and usually one of them will be an accessory. After your Fix is delivered, you’ll have 5 days to try items on. If you need more time, you can easily schedule an extension of your try-on period.
Once you know what you want to return, you’ll need to check out online so you can pay for what you want to keep. If you don’t check out, SF will assume you want to keep everything. Everything else should go in the return shipping envelope.
Pros/Cons
Stitch Fix has slightly cheaper options available, and they also have a larger stock. However, their clothes are sometimes lower quality.
Dia & Co was developed with plus size women in mind, and they carry flattering brands and styles. You can ask your stylist to help you get ready for a new job, a big date, or a special occasion.
Dia & Co
Pros:
- Lots of control over what goes in your box
- Variety of styles
- Exchange items that don’t fit for free
Dia & Co gives you the option to add up to 3 items to your box before letting your stylist fill out the rest. You can browse their online store and pick out items you want to try.
Dia & Co prides itself on offering a range of styles for plus size women, instead of the same few styles that are most popular. They have everything from business casual to glamorous dresses.
If there’s an item you’d love to keep, but it doesn’t quite fit, you can request a free exchange for another size. Dia & Co lets you troubleshoot sizing as much as you need to, which sets this company apart from others. This feature shows that they understand that fit is really important, especially for plus sizes. They do everything they can to help you get the best fit possible.
Cons:
- More limited selection
- Only 5 days to try items on
Dia & Co has a smaller selection than Stitch Fix, but the brands they carry are all selected specifically because their plus size clothes are stylish and flattering. They don’t have the same massive selection as Stitch Fix, though.
Dia & Co’s default try-on period is only 5 days, which isn’t a ton of time to try things on if you’re a busy person. You can extend your try-on period, but you’ll need to email, chat or call the company to request an extension. If you’re already short on time, this extra task is less than convenient.
Stitch Fix
Pros:
- Huge selection of brands
- Affordable prices
- Clothes in boxes go together well
Stitch Fix is known for having lots of brands in their selection, which gives them a lot to work with as they style boxes. They might have more items that fit your desired style than Dia & Co.
Stitch Fix tends to have slightly more affordable prices than most other subscription services. The company says their average price per item is about $55. If you buy all 5 items in your box, you get 25% off, too.
Each Stitch Fix box has 5 items in it. Usually, most of the items are clothes and there’s one accessory. Your stylist will try to include items that go well together as outfits, which makes it easier to imagine them mixing in with the rest of your wardrobe.
Cons:
- Mediocre styling
- Sometimes low quality
- Only 5 days to try things on
Stitch Fix doesn’t disclose exactly how their styling process goes, but it involves algorithms along with real stylists. Sometimes the styling doesn’t feel reflective of your style profile. It seems like the algorithm can get confused and include items you’ve specifically said you don’t want included.
Perhaps as a side effect of the lower prices, Stitch Fix sometimes includes clothes that seem low quality. You might end up with flimsy fabric or the messy stitching. Their prices are definitely higher than fast fashion brands, but the clothes aren’t always higher in quality than fast fashion.
Like Dia & Co, Stitch Fix gives customers a try-on period of 5 days, and that period of time isn’t always enough. However, it’s easier to extend your time with Stitch Fix. You can request extra time with the click of a button, and you don’t need to have it approved.
How Much Do They Cost
Both of these services give you a certain amount of control over the price range of the clothing they’ll send you. You can give them a general idea of how much you want to spend, and most of what they send you will fit into that category.
Dia & Co
Dia & Co offers clothes ranging from about $40 to $200. The company says that their average item price is $55. Formal items are probably going to be more expensive, while you can find casual dresses and rompers for less than $50.
Stitch Fix
The price range for items from Stitch Fix is from $20 to $500. The cheapest items tend to be small accessories, while the higher prices are obviously for high-end items, coats, and shoes.
During your style quiz, you can request budget ranges, from “As cheap as possible” to $200+. Your stylist will generally try to stay within the budget you’ve selected, but you might get a few higher-cost items added.
What Style Of Clothes Do You Get?
These services both carry lots of styles from a variety of brands.
If you’re a size 14 or smaller, you might want to try Stitch Fix first, because they have more brands at their disposal. Otherwise, you might be more pleased with Dia & Co, which specifically finds brands that make stylish clothes in a wide range of sizes. Plus sizes are their bread and butter, so Dia & Co chooses brands and items carefully to find quality, flattering pieces.
Dia & Co
Dia & Co has some of its own clothing lines, and those lines help them fulfill a vision of stylish, well-designed clothes for women of all sizes. They carry sizes from 14 to 32, though they have a few size 12s in stock, too. You might get pieces from brands Vero Moda, or Kut from the Kloth. They also have four of their own clothing brands, and you’re likely to get something from one of these lines.
The company carries lots of casual and professional clothes, but they also have statement pieces for nights out or special events. They have everything from cute graphic tees to moto jackets and work pants. Their style quiz asks you to rate your interest in styles like classic chic, romantic, and edgy.
Dia & Co also has a box specifically for activewear, including items like sports bras, compression shorts, and more. They carry lounge and athleisure clothes from brands like Rainbeau Curves and Fila.
Stitch Fix
Stitch Fix is known for its casual, trendy clothes. They have some of their own clothing lines, too. Their clothes aren’t always the best quality, and some of them have similar quality issues to fast fashion clothes, but at higher prices.
They carry a wide range of brands, but not all of those brands will necessarily carry plus sizes. They have sizes from 0 to 24, or 3XL. Dia & Co lets you take a look at their selection through an online shop, but it’s much harder to get a sense of what Stitch Fix has to offer.
Final Thoughts
Dia & Co is the best styling service that focuses specifically on plus size women. The company’s mission statement is all about helping customers find their best fit, and their generous exchange policy comes in handy for anyone who has trouble finding the right size. They carry up to size 32, and their selection will keep you well-dressed for occasions like work or going out.
Stitch Fix serves women up to size 24, but doesn’t specialize in plus sizes. They have more brands to offer than Dia & Co, however. If you’re looking for more style variety, Stitch Fix is the way to go.
