Personal Stylist has changed my life

[Bigboobsnotgoodboobs]

Back in October I saw a personal stylist for the very first time. It was a real investment, not cheap (it was at selfridges). I got some amazing clothes and my style totally changed

I have just had a 2nd appointment for “spring/summer” and can actually say it has changed my life.

each time I’ve gone I’ve spent just over £1000 on clothes, but I haven’t really spent much in between

I go on holiday in a couple of weeks and it’s the very first time I’m going away without being in a blind panic about what I’m going to wear, and literally buying a tonne of stuff online, however inappropriate before I go away.

its not cheap but its such an investment in me. At 45 with young children, size 16/18 I’m not lying when I say it’s transformed my life. I used to live in black leggings and black tops. Now my wardrobe is bursting with colour.

not looking for any validation here, but if you’re in a similar situation and just don’t know how to shop for your body type then I’d say absolutely go for it

Yeah, get a referral code! I’ve already bookmarked her page after this thread.

I’ve just checked out her website and off topic but What a lovely job this would be - if you had enough clients like I’m sure she does

Thank you so much for posting this. I can’t afford a stylist right now but it’s prompted me to follow Clare and I’m going to look into this for next year. You’ve described me — my body has changed so much since having a child and I literally live in black leggings and oversized tops. I was always slim before and I have no idea how to dress myself now. I’ve been waiting (years) to buy new “proper” clothes until I lose weight but I think I just need to embrace my body as it is now. I feel so sad when I look at old pictures of myself but you’ve given me hope that I can feel comfortable in my body as it is. Honestly this post has made my morning.

What a lovely refreshing thread. Thanks OP. This cheered me right up today.

The OP wouldn’t have come up with this herself though, as I understand it, she was living in baggy black clothes. So it’s the extra confidence she’s been given as well.

Funnily, given your user name, I was just thinking, if I had a spare £900, I'd probably spend it on a hospital consultant... or maybe dentistry or new glasses. These things are expensive, but the people dispensing them are qualified and well-trained.

Fair enough. But you don’t need to pay £500 plus £400 to look exactly like every other mum in their 40ies. But OP said it worked for her, to me feels like snake oil.

Glad she helped you. I got dresses for eg weddings and ds's Holy Communion's from Debenhams and that worked well for me.

I'm really pleased for you op. Ignore all the negative comments. Clothes are important in how you feel. When you feel good, you hold yourself differently and it has a positive impact on your mood and actions.

I've just clicked on her Insta and started following. I've just spotted a colleague!

My sister had a JL session a few years ago and on the whole, it was pretty positive. She returned a few items, but the ones she kept suited her really well.

Maybe it doesn’t make sense to you but OP specifically said she was living in leggings and large black tops prior to the appointments. There are many mums in this situation, me included. I literally don’t know how to choose clothes for my (new since having a child) body type. Maybe you have a figure that is naturally easy or dress or maybe you just have a keen sense of style so don’t find it difficult to buy clothes that you feel good in — but for those of us that do find this difficult this service sounds really helpful. It’s a service that perhaps you don’t need but that doesn’t mean it’s not useful for others. No need to knock others down about it.

@Hillfarmer

re ChatGPT for fashion advice - I’ve started a thread in Style & Beauty if you wanted to check it out. Im
only starting out with AI myself and Im not a techy person particularly but its easy to use.

Certainly - and it's good of you to think of them, and I hope you feel better now - but it would also be unkind to prey on the insecurities of women in this situation for financial gain, so I think it's fair and helpful that people can propose alternative and maybe cheaper options for them.

That's quite interesting. I assumed people bounce back to "before" after some time. How did you manage to stick to the new style? Was it drastically different?

What a lovely thread to read today. Thank you for your generosity in sharing and so pleased to hear of your success.
im off to S&B to see about Chat GB now!!!
have a wonderful holiday in your new fabulous clothes 😊

@Compash yes, absolutely I agree about proposing more affordable alternatives as clearly this is a premium service. Like any other service, this will be worth it to some people and not others. I pay to get my nails done professionally even though I could probably do it myself because it’s worth it to me. Some people pay gardeners, others do their own gardening for much cheaper etc.

The previous comment was unkind and implied that the outfits were not nice and that the service was a waste of money for OP, which clearly it was not.

This would be my dream job. I wonder how much they actually get paid? Are they an employee of Selfridges?
I used to be a wardrobe stylist for commercials.
I'm so glad you had a good experience with them.

She will look like a better dressed version. You sound jealous.

Did same at Selfridges 10 yrs ago. Hated the experience & bought nothing. Felt like an insane spend of money as some items selected were not quality (mixing in on-trend high street brands). The stylist was dismissive bitchy guy did not quite understand work style for Sr professional woman.

I had a terrible experience with a JL Stylist years ago. She asked probing personal questions when I’d made it clear I didn’t want to talk about why my body shape had changed recently. She was being nosy and inappropriate, it had no relevance to what would be suitable for the outfit I was looking for.

But your experience sounds great thanks for sharing, I might try again but with a well reviewed independent stylist.

True

Ah thanks for your reply! Really good tips there about making sure you like the style of the assistant themselves. Really great to know they give you practical tips on how to wear also sort of invaluable advice really that you can’t get online. And also great that from those clothes you got such good mileage out of them 🙂

I’ve just looked at Clare Watkins on Instagram and she has posted to welcome viewers from mumsnet where she is trending

Interesting to see the comments on the not so great experiences with JL stylists. For years, I have been wondering if my experience at JL Stratford was unusual, given the usual MN recommendation to consult JL when in a style rut. Upon arrival, the very well dressed older and certainly stylish stylist looked me up and down and said, oh, are you really an 8/10? Just as well I didn't prepare any clothes in advance! I had sent her a detailed brief and my accurate dress size but she clearly hadn't looked at it and insinuated in front of my DD that I had lied about my size. She then brought me various items, not a single one interesting or worth the journey. I ended up buying a pair of black Levis jeans and a stripey Hobbs top, adding to the numerous striped tops I already owned.

As it happens, we also tried a JL interior designer for my DD's bedroom redesign after reading an enthusiastic endorsement by a blogger. This was also really disappointing. My DD's Pinterest board was way more considered than what this person suggested.

In both cases, I would have been prepared to spend quite a bit of money for the right items but the suggestions just felt listless and uninspiring and nothing we couldn't find ourselves.

My local JL never opened back up after the pandemic. I mourned it loss 😂 when I was in the Trafford centre last year I went in thinking of all the amazing things I’d see - I came away so disappointed and thought the whole store was a bit grubby and run down.

I think it’s lost its way unfortunately