The best online styling services for women - from Stitch Fix to Trunk Club

The best online styling service overall

Stitch Fix is a well-rounded, well-oiled machine, with the built-in flexibility and clothing variety to cater to your personal style (or where you want your style to be).

With an active client base of 3 million people, Stitch Fix is the most popular and well-known personal styling service, and for good reason.

Its large inventory of brands, styles, and sizes (0-24W and XS-3X, including maternity) at every price point caters to a wide audience. Anyone from a budget-conscious recent grad looking for stylish workwear to a mom who wants to invest in comfortable everyday looks can use Stitch Fix to find a quality clothing piece.

In addition to the Style Profile that runs standard across all the online styling services in this guide, you can make it even easier on Stitch Fix's algorithm and stylists by filling out short quizzes about specific style preferences or challenges you have, or requesting specific items through a "Fix Note" before you schedule a shipment.

Every box contains five pieces of clothing, shoes, and/or accessories like handbags or jewelry. They'll come from a mix of up-and-coming, established, and in-house brands. Don't overlook these in-house brands — they're reasonably priced and made well, and in fact many of my most-worn closet pieces are these Stitch Fix exclusives.

You can also add extras (basics like underwear, bras, and socks) to your Fix in sizes XS-3X (44DDD is the largest bra size), for $10 to $60 per item.

In my experience, Stitch Fix generally got my style right, though it tended toward the safer side, and they nailed fit the majority of the time. Reviewers at The Wirecutter agree about the accuracy of the clothing fits, which ranked the highest of the online styling services they tested.

While you can schedule automatic shipments at designated dates, Stitch Fix is not a formal subscription. It's easy to reschedule or cancel a shipment online.

• Styling fee: $20, applied as credit to any items you purchase
• Number of days to try on and return clothes: 3
• Shipping and returns: free
• Referral bonus: $25
• iOS app available

The best premium styling service

Premium and luxury brands are the name of the game at Dailylook. If you're willing to pay the higher cost, you won't be disappointed.

While other personal styling services are careful to point out that they work for all types of budgets, Dailylook places itself squarely in the "premium" camp.

It has the most expensive styling fee and its clothing pieces all start at $60 each. Example brands include Furla and Badgley Mischka. Even the blue, ribbon-wrapped box your clothing arrives in makes the experience feel extra special.

However, this higher price point works, perhaps because it's combined with the use of full-time stylists (rather than part-time or ad-hoc stylists) who understand the brands and business inside and out, and a feature that lets you "favorite" pre-curated looks to further clarify your own style beyond the Style Profile. This system works so well that Dailylook told Business Insider its customers receive something they like and purchase it 80% of the time.

At least you can save a little money as a member: buy three or more items from your box and you'll get 50% off the lowest priced item. In case you don't decide to buy anything, the $40 styling fee credit doesn't just disappear. You can use it to buy clothing on the Dailylook website.

Compared to those of the other styling services, Dailylook's online user experience feels like it's lacking a little. I found it more difficult to navigate and get the hang of, even though (or perhaps because) the layout is simple.

Still, the actual pieces I received were impressive. Dailylook is best for finding premium pieces that you'll wear in all aspects of your life. I personally kept three (of the 12 total) pieces I tried: a light cami for casual summer days, a comfortable and stretchy jumpsuit that could be dressed up or down, and a bright pink dress that would look excellent at weddings and cocktail hours.

• Styling fee: $40, applied as credit to any items you purchase
• Number of days to try on and return clothes: 5
• Shipping and returns: free
• Referral bonus: $40
• iOS app available

The best styling service for customer service and rewards

Friendly service, free perks, and fashion-forward inventory make Nordstrom-owned Trunk Club the most enjoyable personal styling experience you can try — if you have the time to invest in it.

Nordstrom is known for its great customer service, so it should come as no surprise that getting styled through Trunk Club, which is owned by Nordstrom, comes with top-notch service, extras, and rewards.

Trunk Club sources all of its styles from Nordstrom's inventory, which tend toward the pricier side (ready-to-wear pieces range from $40-$300, while outerwear and boots start at $90). Familiar brands you'll see include Theory, DL1961, J.Crew, and Vince.

Unique to the styling process at Trunk Club is the ability to live chat with your stylist. You can also talk to them on the phone and via email, or meet them in real life at a Clubhouse. If you want more personal interactions with the person who will be picking your clothes, it will take more time on your end, but the payoff could be worth it.

When I tested Trunk Club myself, I loved chatting with and meeting my very friendly stylist. Though Style Profiles do a good job of summarizing your style and preferences, talking to a real person helps fill in any gaps.

Trunk Club lets you preview and approve your pieces before they're shipped so you only try on everything that you want to try. It sends more pieces than other services — 12 total, compared to the average of five.

• When Nordy Club members purchase Trunk Club pieces, they earn points that add up to Notes, which are redeemable online and in store at Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, and HauteLook.
• The styling fee is waived for Nordy Club members.
• Alterations on select items are free of charge (others require a fee) and offered at Clubhouses and Nordstrom stores.
• In-person styling sessions at a Clubhouse are free of charge.

• Styling fee: $25, applied as credit to any items you purchase; free for Nordy Club members
• Number of days to try on and return clothes: 5
• Shipping and returns: free
• Referral bonus: $50
• iOS and Android apps available

The best styling service for quality basics

Frank and Oak makes some of the best-fitting, most comfortable basics we've tried, plus they're sustainably made. Its Style Plan helps whittle down the best pieces for you.

Frank and Oak is a Canadian online clothing brand that focuses on making the high-quality essentials like sweaters, T-shirts, and denim that are often, surprisingly, the most difficult to shop for. The company does this using eco-conscious processes and high performance materials, which is why its clothing is more expensive than average competitors.

When it comes to sustainable fashion that's appealing inside and out, Frank and Oak is ahead of the pack. To make its jeans, for example, it turns post-consumer waste into denim fabric, uses organic cotton, and employs manufacturing techniques that use up to 79% less energy and 95% less water than traditional methods.

Frank and Oak's Style Plan shows you three to five seasonal pieces from this repository of sustainable fashion and each box generally costs about $150-$250 total. Insider Picks reporter Mara Leighton tried the service and surprised herself when she loved and kept all three pieces she received.

The thing about Frank and Oak's style is that it's simple — think slim-fit polo shirts, wool cardigans, wide-legged cropped pants. Amidst the chaos of the fast-moving (and often wasteful) fashion world, however, that simplicity is a welcome change.

Environmentally conscious shoppers with a minimalist aesthetic will also love the Style Plan because it grants them exclusive member pricing of 20% off the rest of the site. The subscription box ships every month, but they can skip any month and directly pick out something they like from the site, too.

• Styling fee: $25, applied as credit to any items you purchase
• Number of days to try on and return clothes: 7
• Shipping and returns: free

The best plus-size styling service

The stylists at Dia & Co. understand body types and plus-size brands inside and out. For women sizes 14-32, this expertise and the access to inclusive fashion aren't always easy to come by.

Founder Nadia Boujarwah says she has been everything from a size 12 to a size 22. No matter what size she was, she wasn't happy with the clothing options presented to her, so she cofounded Dia & Co. to help women facing the same problem.

Dia & Co. carries sizes 14-32 (0x-5x) and brands ranging from direct-to-consumer favorites like Warp + Weft to fashion designers like Nanette Lepore. Since sizing across brands can differ drastically, and particularly among plus sizes, using Dia & Co. saves you the time and frustration trying on multiple sizes of the same piece. Its expert stylists understand these sizing inconsistencies, as well as what types of fabrics and cuts work on various body shapes.

At its core, Dia & Co. doesn't differ too much from other online styling services — you fill out a profile detailing your style and preferences, receive clothing you will probably like or that pushes the boundaries of your style, give feedback, and continue using the service at a flexible frequency that works for you.

However, based on a number of online reviews, where Dia & Co. really excels is flouting the idea that plus-size style should be relegated to ill-fitting, flowy, and boring clothing. More than a styling service, it provides a community for plus-sized women who want to improve their style, receive stylish clothing in a convenient way, and embrace fashion that makes them feel more confident.

Dia & Co. is part of a new and exciting wave of size-inclusive companies like Gwynnie Bee and Universal Standard that are built by plus-sized women, for plus-sized women. While other styling services have expanded size offerings, Dia & Co.'s design as a plus-size-first company makes it the best choice for women sizes 14 and up.

• Styling fee: $20, applied as credit to any items you purchase
• Number of days to try on and return clothes: 5
• Shipping and returns: free
• Referral bonus: $20