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FORTUNE.COM // NOVEMBER 2019
ing the groundwork for her company’s next
chapter. She wants to tap Stitch Fix’s data-
crunching prowess to even more accurately
predict what shoppers want to buy and keep,
and to drum up more business between so-
called fixes.
“We are trying to figure out how we can use
personalization to deliver more parts of your
closet so that you can use those items for all
occasions,” Lake tells Fortune.
For Wall Street, Stitch Fix’s push for new
revenue sources can’t come soon enough.
As of mid-October, its shares were down
30% from their 2019 high, owing both to
the rising cost of attracting and retaining
customers and to rivals’ copying its
“Do you want a ripped
denim?” asks Katrina
Lake, CEO of online styling
service Stitch Fix, her
computer cursor hovering
over an image of faded
blue jeans.
I’ve never actu-
ally owned a pair of
pants with premade
holes, so I’m unsure how
to answer. Lucky for
me, the software Lake is
running on her MacBook
has already spit out an
educated guess on my
behalf: There’s a 74%
chance that I’ll like this
particular garment. I
tell her yes, and the
CEO clicks on the image,
adding it to my “fix” (the
personalized box of five
items Stitch Fix sends to
its clients). We move on
to outerwear.
“Ooh, this one is good for
San Francisco weather,”
she says, pointing to a
black jacket. Apparently,
it belongs in my closet—
I have a 62% chance of
keeping it, according to
Stitch Fix’s software.
It’s not just algorithms
that pick clothes for
customers at Stitch
Fix; it’s also art. The
company’s human stylists
have a say when creating
fixes for customers.
Today, Lake is giving me a
behind-the-scenes look
at the process—and using
my real-life Stitch Fix
profile to put together a
real-life fix for me.
Here’s how it works: Be-
fore a fix is started, Stitch
Fix’s technology pairs a
customer with a stylist,
taking into account
variables like location
and fashion preferences
(we’ve skipped that step
because Lake has been
designated as my stylist
for this demo). Then the
selected stylist accesses
the client’s account to
review a preselected as-
sortment of clothes that
the system’s algorithm
has deemed to be in line
with that shopper’s taste.
A lot of data feeds
into this computerized
curation, including a
customer’s profile (I’ve
told Stitch Fix not to send
me “critter” prints, for
example) and purchase
history (I may say that I
want bold colors but tend
to keep black tops). The
stylist still has say over
the final selection and
can override the system’s
suggestions.
“It helps the stylist
thoughtfully make the
right choices,” Lake says
of the technology, adding
that stylists can send
shoppers an item with a
low score if the shopper
specifically asks for it.
I see this play out in
real time when I ask Lake
to find me some boots.
When she clicks into the
category, though, the
highest-ranked boots
are listed as having only
a 4% likelihood of ending
up in my closet. “ We’ve
sent you 11 pairs of shoes,
and you’ve only kept two,”
Lake says. (We decide to
skip the boots.)
A few days later, my fix
arrived on my doorstep,
along with a note from the
CEO. “Just for fun, here
are our predictions on
what you’ll like!” wrote
Lake, noting for each item
the statistical probability
that I will. As it turned out,
the combination of Lake’s
eye and her company’s
algorithms was a winner:
The three garments I kept
all happened to have the
highest likelihood of my
keeping them—and, yes,
I’m now the proud owner
of ripped denim.
MY OWN PERSONAL SHOPPER
Stitch Fix’s CEO shows what it’s like to let algorithms and
human stylists choose your wardrobe. By Michal Lev-Ram
COURTESY OF STITCH FIX
