Subscription boxes seem to be the big thing at the moment, with the launch of JetBlack, the kids’ subscription service from WalMart, and the cool kids’ brand Rockets of Awesome all trying to tackle the red hot space of kids’ clothing at the same time. Enter KidPik, a girls-only subscription service aimed at the parents of kids aged between 4 and 16 years old. We’re all familiar with the pain-point of kids’ clothing and shoes; how no matter how many times it seems like we shop for our kids, their ankles are constantly growing out from the bottom of leggings, and shoes are always outgrown just as the seasons change!
KidPik were kind enough to offer to send over a box of goodies for the New York Family team to try out, and I put my hand up to sample their service. My daughter, Elodie, aged 8, is a keen little fashionista, putting together unintentionally hilarious outfits as often as she clocks up winning looks. She’s always begging for new outfits to mix and match, but I try to do the majority of shopping for my kids online, and it tends to be more oriented around practical choices and immediate needs. Elodie was excited to answer the questions on KidPik’s website, which are intended to identify their customer’s “style”. Kids can choose the colors, patterns and items they’re drawn to, and also set rules about what they do NOT like. Elodie put a thumbs down on anything plaid, and defined her style as both “Girly Glam” and “Classic Chic”, with other possibilities being “Trendista Junior” and “Always Active”. You also get to rank on a scale from 1 to 10 stars of “how sparkly” your kid is. Elodie chose MAXIMUM sparkles.
Once you’ve filled in the questionnaire, you wait to receive your package. We received ours within around ten days, and opening the box was pretty thrilling. Here’s what was inside: One dress, two tops, one jean jacket, one sparkly headband, one pair of jeans, one pair of sandals and a freebie little bracelet. Also a magazine covering Kidpik’s latest styles, which was a fun addition. We got started with the trying on!
Elodie was not a fan of the dress, which I actually thought was kind of cute, but she wasn’t quite able to articulate exactly what she didn’t love about it. My guess is that the print was too strong for her, as it was very bright and bold. The jean jacket fit very nicely, but it’s a basic item, and as we already have one for both her and her little sister, this would be going back. The quality of the jean jacket ($29.50) was extremely nice.
Next up, Elodie loved the tie-front star-spangled short-sleeved top ($19.50) and the headband ($6.50), but the jeans were a little big for her ($25.50), as were the sandals (also $25.50). We kept the starry top, and in the couple of weeks that have passed since we received our box, Elodie has worn it as often as it is washed for her to wear! A huge hit.
The second t-shirt ($12.50) was also greeted extremely enthusiastically, as it proclaims “Glitter is My Favorite Color”… So, true! Inside the box, along with the clothes, is a plastic return envelope to return any unwanted items, as well as your price list for your various items. The total of our box was $146.50, but if we had decided to keep all of the items, a discount of 30% would be applied, quite drastically reducing the price-per-item. So you’re very incentivized to keep all the items, which on top of my general laziness around returns might be a dangerous combination!
The verdict: While we didn’t love all of the items, the main benefit of KidPik’s offering is the ability to let your kiddo experiment and try out some items that we as busy parents would not necessarily gravitate towards when we’re so focused on shopping for a particular purpose. I tend to try to buy pieces which will go with a lot of other things my daughters already own, and steer clear of slogan tees and patterns that aren’t florals because I personally wouldn’t wear those items. But that doesn’t mean they’re not a huge amount of fun (joy in fact!) for your kids if given the choice! I do also love the idea of being able to get seasonally appropriate gear in the mail without needing to think about it. I do wish that the pricing were a little lower for individual items, but most things sit at a sweet spot between Target and J.Crew, which is generally where I like to live when it comes to kids’ clothes! I might not invest in KidPik myself as I work a flexible job where I can head to the shops where necessary, but I would LOOOOOVE to be gifted a subscription, so I would definitely drop a hint to a grandparent.
Some more details: The average cost per item is listed on KidPik’s website as $13.50 when the 30% discount for keeping everything has been applied. Each box has an average of seven items. You can choose your frequency of every 12, six or four weeks to receive boxes.
Check out kidpik.com to give it a whirl yourself! As you can change your mind and send everything back, there’s basically nothing to lose by trying it out for yourself.
*KidPik gifted New York Family one of their boxes, but our thoughts and opinions are our own.
