Thursday, April 02, 2009

Personal shopping

I was flummoxed by the idea of finding an outfit for Kieran's wedding. I know what to wear at work or home or an evening out but really posh is a foreign country to me. Then I heard from Helen about John Lewis's personal shopping service -which is free! I decided to give it a go bringing Erin along to keep me in touch with reality. It was really excellent. Jan, our fashion advisor, took us to this fairly large room with armchairs and a changing area. She took down my detail and asked me what colours I liked and what was the occasion (as well as imparting a good deal about her own home life). Then we followed her around the fashion floor as she picked up things that I wouldn't even have tried on. We had two hours of her time and I settled on a nice dress and jacket. I knew it was going to go well when very early on I found the perfect shoes. However I am glad that I brought Erin as she dissuaded me from a dress that Jan liked a lot more than I did and I think I would have been too weak to say no on my own. Also when I tried on a fascinator Erin's tittering reminded me of the fact that Andy's reaction would have been tittering times 10! Though to be honest I don't think I would have gone down the fascinator route it did look a bit silly. All three of us agreed that the hat was a bad idea.
All in all an excellent service. I would recommend it although, of course, I went way over budget which is probably the idea!

3 comments:

oreneta said...

What, oh what is a fascinator???

Helen said...

But at least you have got something you like and will feel good in. I have often spent more than I maybe wanted or spent too little, and then spent the day feeling I was in the wrong clothes and something else would have been better. Besides your son's wedding is a real excuse to spend a bit more than usual.

Adrian Jones said...

That's so cool - can't wait to see your ensemble! Also, fascinators...they're v.strange things and often go with the traditional 'mother of' outfits - best avoided I say. Bet you'll look fab :)