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Have you heard of Dia & Co. yet?
Dia & Co. is a clothing and personal styling service for plus size women, carrying sizes ranging from 14-32. You get to try on the clothes at home, keep what you like and return the rest. All items are hand selected for you by your very own personal stylist!
To utilize the service, you sign up for an account and you are asked to fill out a style survey. It asks several questions about your lifestyle, your preferences and your budget in order to assist your stylist with finding the best pieces for you.
From there, your stylist hand picks items for you and includes a personal note with styling tips for how to mix and match the items and pair them with other common items you likely have in your closet.
You have five days to try it all on, and you simply ship back anything you didn’t love. The shipping is free both ways so you’re not penalized for not liking an item.
Jeans are RWN By Rawan via Dia & Co. Sweater, vest and bag are old from my own closet.
There is a $20 styling fee for the service, but if you buy any item in the box the $20 is credited toward the purchase. You also get a special 25% discount if you buy everything in the box! You can click here to have your very own personal stylist pick out five pieces especially for you.
My friend Kat recently became a stylist for the company. I had heard of Dia from a few bloggers and friends but hadn’t tried it for myself. After seeing Kat’s excitement about the company and her new job, I decided to give it a try.
My Completely Honest Review
I truly enjoyed the experience of being styled by Dia & Co. As someone who loves fashion, I spend a lot of time “researching trends” (AKA shopping & scouring the internet for hours). I’m also pretty set in my ways about the colors, styles and silhouettes I think work best for me and tend to stick to what I know and love.
Dia & Co gave me the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and stop being a control freak for five minutes of my life by letting someone else take the reigns in picking out my clothes.
THE PROS
Fit: I was absolutely blown away that every item except one was a perfect fit IN MY FIRST BOX with a stylist who had never worked with me! I am a pear shaped with hips that are significantly larger than my waist, and I have a smaller bust but large arms. Finding items that fit me well is no small feat, but my Dia stylist nailed it! I’ve been in this body for 32 years, and I still struggle to find clothing for myself but she nailed it on the first try!
Trying new things: I love that Dia & Co. takes into account my preferences and style but also gives me the opportunity to step just a LITTLE bit out of my comfort zone and try new things. In my style survey, I listed what I NORMALLY wear but also shared that I’m willing to try new things. The pieces I got were not pieces I would have picked out on my own in a store, but I’m SO glad to have them in my closet now.
Brands: I love that Dia & Co. partners with a lot of different brands, some of which are up and coming/not as familiar to me. I received a couple of items in my box from brands I had never heard of before, so I’m really excited to check them out and see what else they have to offer.
Ease: The entire process was super easy. The style survey, the returns, the feedback, etc. were all seamless. If you’re someone who doesn’t have a ton of free time to shop and find your style, this service would be awesome for you!
The Surprise Element: I would say my favorite part of the Dia experience is the element of surprise. Coming home to a package full of surprises on my door step is just FUN! As an adult, you’re rarely able to be surprised and delighted by something, so it’s fun to treat yourself and experience that!
THE CONS
Item Price: If I’m comparing Dia & Co pricing to clearance rack sales, the per item prices are a little high; however, I personally think all of the benefits of the service listed above outweigh the cost differential, especially given what a time saver it is! Also, as I move forward and get more boxes, I expect the stylists will get to know me even better and I’ll want to keep all five items to get that 25% discount!
Overall, I can recommend this service to you with complete confidence.
Click here to check it out!
My next box will be arriving soon. Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to post a haul! If you already subscribe to Dia & Co., tell me about your favorite piece you’ve received in the comments! If you haven’t tried it yet, let me know if you have any questions!
One last thing…..
A lot of people have asked me if I prefer Dia & Co. or Gwynnie Bee. I truly love both and subscribe to both services. Be on the lookout for a full Gwynnie Bee review post soon along with a post comparing the two services and explaining how I utilize both to fit my style needs. In the meantime, if you’d like to try GB you can get 30 days free and a $10 credit using my link.
I do love that striped dress. I am also filing away the term “researching trends” for future use. 😉 I guess I’ve lived in my body for almost 44 years, and while I’m willing to order the occasional thing that isn’t really “me” (for example, a light-colored dress in crushed velvet, or a jumpsuit), I basically can look at things online and know whether I will hate them in person or not (I am willing to order weird stuff sometimes, though, from places with free returns, like ASOS.)
I commented about GB on Insta, but here’s the deal: I think they’re really great your first few months, and they’re really great to the bloggers who plug them. But to everyone else, once you’re past the honeymoon period, you can bugger off. At one point, when I first subscribed, their customer service was really good, and I actually talked to one of their stylists extensively. Then, they outsourced customer service, were having shipping issues, and basically had nothing at all above a 24 that didn’t suck. I got some discounts a few times because of their shipping, but overall, I felt like I wasn’t getting what I wanted from the service, and I could pretty much tell from looking at the new arrivals what I liked and didn’t. I think for people who are younger and finding their style, or who have never really been comfortable with fashion, it can be a good service, but I think if you are old and set in your ways (and also sort of enjoy “researching trends” as stress relief, lol), it’s not the best value. I will be interested to see your comparison post. And I would sort of be intrigued to see if Dia knew what to do with me, since I’m pretty much your opposite (well, I still have a small bust, but it’s accompanied by the back & shoulders of an NFL defensive tackle) & back in the day of What Not to Wear, they had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what to do with non-pear plus sizes, and I think some retailers STILL don’t. (Well, some of them don’t know what to do with any plus sizes that aren’t a 14/16 hourglass.)
First of all… thank you so much for such a well-thought out and in depth response here! I really appreciate you taking the time to read and respond! Everything you have said makes a ton of sense to me. And to be honest, I cancelled GB after a few months my first time because I wasn’t happy with any of the clothing I was getting. Each time I’ve tried it again (I think I’m on my 4th subscription now – LOL) it’s been better than the time before. For me, having that variety in my closet was worth dealing with the issues. The one thing I struggled to look past was the lack of options above a 24. They’ve gotten better there, but still not where I’d like them to be. I get SO upset when I look through new arrivals only to fall in love with something that doesn’t come in my size.
In terms of how GB is with bloggers vs. general public, I don’t really know. The Gwynnie Bee team has no idea who I am (LOL) at least to my knowledge! I have heard they treat their affiliate partners very well but I’m not one yet! My GB referral link here is the same link any GB would be able to share with their friends, family, etc. Full disclosure, I am part of the Dia & Co. affiliate network, but I paid for my own subscription and clothing.
For me, being completely transparent is the most important thing here and when I’m unhappy with something I’ll be sure to share that too. For example, I had planned on doing a post on my first Gwynnie Bee shipment but the first three items I got were things I didn’t love enough to share. It wasn’t Gwynnie Bee’s fault.. I was just trying new things way out of my comfort zone and had a couple flops! I plan on continuing to share my experiences with both companies over time so my readers can get a real glimpse into what the services are like.
Re: Gwynnie Bee value for people who enjoy shopping – I def see your point there. For me, I spend an abnormal amount of time researching deals and I practically have memorized the sale cycles of my favorite stores. I could definitely buy several nice pieces for the $100ish I spend per month on Gwynnie Bee, but for me I like the balance of having that never-ending cycle of new things. I don’t have a ton of closet space either, so realistically I can only buy/keep so much! When I move and FINALLY have a bigger closet, I might choose to buy more vs. renting in the future.
I would be SOO interested to see what Dia & Co would be able to pull for you given the differences in our body types!
I’ve thought about seeing what they can do with my large bust, large waist, and skinny legs/hips.
Sorry! I didn’t get a notification about your comment! I bet they can get it right! I’ve seen a lot of variety in body shapes/body types on their social media and they seem to make it work for all of us!
Glad to see you writing about this. I started out with Dia & Co and now am on Stitch fix (which does not have larger sizes) and have seen GB but never thought about using it.
Dia & Co has been a roller coaster ride for me. I started out excited because I saw all these other boxes for smaller sizes and was excited to have something for my size. I tried it because I wanted to think outside the box, with colors and styles that I would not have purchased on my own. It gave me that! It opened me up to new designers and buying the most expensive jeans I ever purchased. I have also gone on to buy 3 more jeans FYI. 🙂 I was frustrated with the prices , which were really high and I knew I could find better deals on my own. I also didn’t like that they didn’t have a simple app on giving feedback on the items and you can only elect to be one for once a month or get something whenever you write in. My budget didn’t allow me to spend $250 to $300 a month on clothes.
Stitch Fix was a lower price range and also sent shoes which to me a a more whole styling situation. The app is much easier because you can give your feedback from your phone and schedule what you need. The schedule allows you to have it quarterly as well as monthly and as needed. The price point is cheaper.
All in all they both have not been spot on, yes they have pushed me to step outside, but as the others have said I am picky about how things fit on me and a lot of the shirt options are just big shirts with no shape. I prefer shape to all my clothes because I do have one even if I am on the plus size.
I would still get Stitch FIx but I have not gone back to DIa and Co since I discovered SF. There are lots of options out in the world now so I feel better getting items on my own.
I have tried GB and Dia & Co as well. I loved GB but after a year I decided to take a break from it. I do have some pieces that I love that I purchased. There are a lot of dresses – but I found it lacking in pants. I will likely subscribe again someday and just sharing it a few times on my blog – I did get some people joining and got some free months – which was nice. Dia & Co was ok but I didn’t have great luck with my stylist – even when providing notes – and they were pricey. I just started with Stitch Fix and I like them a lot better. They are listening to my feedback and modifying accordingly. The first month I got – I bought the whole box. Since I’ve bought 1-2 items each time. I just got my 4th box yesterday and it looks pretty good! I’ll be following for sure!
I agree that there aren’t a ton of pants options on Gwynnie Bee but I wear mostly dresses in spring/summer so it works for me! I subscribe and unsubscribe occasionally too depending on my wardrobe needs. My favorite time to subscribe is spring/summer for all the great dresses. I’ve only done one Dia & Co. box so I’m definitely going to keep providing updates as I continue! I haven’t tried Stitch Fix but that’s on my list. I was a bit hesitant because they aren’t exclusively plus size but still worth a shot. I’m glad to hear about your experience! Thanks so much for reading and commenting.