StyleMint Magnolia T

It finally happened — I broke down, caved in to peer pressure, and jumped on the StyleMint bandwagon. (I don’t really mean the peer pressure part. Who am I kidding — it was all me.)

I used one of the “new members only” promo codes last month to buy the Magnolia T. (It’s shown at left in blue, although I bought the black version. Because 90 percent of the time I’m wearing either black or red. See photo at right.)

The packaging was a little unexpected … My tee (which StyleMint likes to write as “T”) arrived plainly wrapped in brown grocery-bag-like paper — a much more eco-friendly alternative to the Tiffany & Co.-colored JewelMint boxes and their trappings.

And the shirt? Perfection.

Magnolia is a long-sleeved, cropped raglan with centered seams down the front and back and a finished bottom hem. The sleeves are very fitted at the wrists and then gradually loosen as they move up the arm. The rest of the shirt’s drape is slouchy — with the give of the fabric particularly noticeable at the sides and under the arms.

I added that last part of the previous sentence so you would understand a little better when I say I have nicknamed the Magnolia T “my bat shirt” [raises arms out to sides]. Ha.

The super-soft fabric — 50 percent pima cotton and 50 percent micro-modal — combined with the relaxed fit means I want to wear this shirt pretty much all the time. And it somehow magically goes with everything: dress pants, jeans, skirts, shorts, and even over dresses. I’m also guilty of throwing it on as I was leaving the fitness studio and yet a friend still wanted to know where I got it.

True, there are similar shirts out there for more, and similar shirts out there for less (the full retail price of every StyleMint T is $29.99), but where StyleMint and the other Mint brands have so far really succeeded is in providing a high quality of design, materials and production for a really attractive price. Hats off. And I hope they can keep it up, because it’s a fun shopping experience.

How StyleMint works: According to my understanding, once you make your first StyleMint purchase, your credit card is charged on the 6th of every month, which is after the new collection of Ts has debuted on the 1st and you’ve hopefully had enough time to decide whether or not any strike your fancy. Note, however, that you are never under any obligation to buy and always have the option of clicking a button on your account page that says Skip This Month by the 5th day of the month. (See the FAQ for full details.)

Despite the fact that I’m not the kind of shopper who’s likely to make a purchase every single month, I am interested in keeping my account open because I believe another design will eventually come along that I like too much to pass up.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, fashion designers extraordinaire and the leaders of this outfit (see what I did there?) sound off on the Magnolia T in the video below.

Uh oh, are you caving in, too? Click here to get started with StyleMint. The site will help you create your own style profile (for example, Runway, Classic, Modern, Retro), which involves a few seconds spent clicking on images. And then you’ll be presented with a selection of Ts that fit your fashion sense.

[Disclosure: That is a referral URL just above, but as the reward for referrals is Ts and not cold hard cash, obviously I wouldn't recommend the site if I wasn't happy with the product. Have a T-errific time checking out all the styles.]

-Marie