Personal shopper and budget

[GoodyGoodyGumdrops]

I've got a wedding to go to this summer. I don't go to many weddings, and I'm a jeans-and-t-shirt type, so I thought I'd try out one of the free Personal Shopper services.

Where? John Lewis, Debenhams and House of Fraser are all accessible.

I'm a woman of substance - chub, that is, not dosh.

What sort of budget would be reasonable? I don't think I've ever spent more than £50 on a dress, if that!

What else do I need to consider?

Long dress or short?
Do you think you'll also want a hat, shoes and a handbag and maybe a bit of costume jewelry, or do you already own things that might work?
What about a wrap or cardi in case it is chilly?

Shoes are tricky for me. I think I'd better bring the shoes I've already got, rather than try to buy yet another pair that I will barely ever wear.

I've got lots of shrugs, cardies and shawls. OTOH I'm not averse to buying another - I do use them.

Handbag... I hate handbags. I'll either use my everyday bag or a generic little black evening bag. Definitely not spending on a bag.

I'll decide about jewellery when I see whether what I've already got goes with the outfit.

Hat...I do like a nice hat.

So, do you need spend on clothes because you need to be careful, or is it because you're not very interested in clothes?

Other posters may know better, but I'd think you'd probably need to start around £200 with the flexibility to spend a bit more for the right dress.

I would think the personal shoppers could help you find a versatile dress that could be used for all sorts of different occasions based on how accessorised.

I suppose I'm not really all that interested in clothes. And I really could not justify spending £££ on something I won't get much wear out of.

A versatile, multi-purpose dress would be good.

Personal shopper will be helping you look for a whole outfit/wardrobe.

Plus if you have got their attention, it is worth making the most of it - as an overweight woman I found shopping with one transformational. I got a whole capsule wardrobe of stuff that fitted properly, went together and I wore all of it, instead of having items abandoned down the back of the wardrobe.

I would suggest a budget of a least £200 for the whole outfit - plus you aren't going to find a dress for £50 in John Lewis anyway

I just had a personal shop at JL. It was great and I ended up with two nice dresses and a very nice top. A couple of other bits I bought I returned this morning - they were nice but not versatile enough.

I agree that a £50 budget would be tight (though not impossible). The two dresses I bought were £79 and £119 and were both reduced in the sale.

It's not that my budget is £50, it's just that I've never spent more than that on a dress, so I don't know what to budget.

Which shop should I go to? If it makes any difference, I'm 50, size 18 but in my head I'm late 30s and size 14.

I've used the personal shopper at John Lewis plenty they are brilliant. But I don't think £50 would get you a larger size dress plus accessories there. You can Get a rough idea online Re prices.

I'd go along to the consultation, because hopefully they'll suggest things you'd never think of trying on. Try on as much as possible and try to note what suits you best.

There's no obligation to buy so you could look on eBay afterwards to see if there's anything that looks similar.

Or, you could always resell after, either on eBay or at a dress agency if it's a decent brand.

I'm already dreading this type of shopping when/if my children get married. I'm also a jeans and tshirt kind of person so I feel your pain.

Good luck 😉