(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Online shopping is great—so convenient!—until your closet turns into an impenetrable tangle of shirts, pants, sweaters, and more that you never wear. Calling in a professional organizer can cost about $1,600 for a four-hour session in cities such as New York, which might be affordable had you not spent all your money on clothes.
Fitz, a website started in January, aims to “democratize a service that previously existed for people who are celebrities,” says Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, a co-founder of luxury flash-sale site Gilt, who started her new company with J. Michael Cline, founder of movie ticket site Fandango, after being introduced by a mutual friend. For a flat $300 fee, clients get a three-hour consultation with a vetted stylist, say, a magazine editor, design school alum, or salesperson at a top department store. Unlike services such as TaskRabbit, which let you choose your contractor, Fitz assigns you one.
The service begins with a wardrobe edit, in which your closet is emptied and each article considered individually, a method popularized by Marie Kondo’s bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. (Some Fitz stylists are certified in Kondo’s official KonMari method.) Worn-out garments are tossed; ill-fitting items are tailored and laundered by Fitz-approved specialists; and otherwise unwanted pieces are consigned on luxury resale site Linda’s Stuff. “We take care of all the logistics,” says Fitz’s fashion director, Brooke Jaffe.
Then, because everyone needs a great pair of black pants, the consultants will analyze your wardrobe to identify gaps and help fill them using Fitz’s 400-plus retail partners, including Asos.com, J.Crew, Macy’s, and Bloomingdale’s. (Fitz gets a cut of sales through affiliate links.) Since the site’s debut, 80 percent of clients have purchased items from a partner, and later this year, Fitz plans to launch an app that will let hoarders book appointments and shop, too, thus ensuring they’ll have to reserve another session before long.
To contact the author of this story: Carrie Battan in New York at carriebattan@gmail.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jillian Goodman at jgoodman74@bloomberg.net.
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