Would you use a style consultant?

[frAKKINPannikinAGRIPPA]

And if so how much would you pay (in the Bucks/Berks/Oxon area) and what would you expect?

Just saw an advert for a style consultant who offers to take you shopping, do your make-up, style (but not cut your hair) and give you lots of tips and tricks. She charges £250 per day!!!

I bet I could do the same for £50 in half the time! Or maybe £50 for a home makeover, £100 to go shopping.

Just hijacking to ask whether you've seen my response to yr queries re Réunion?

I suppose it depends whether she goes out and finds all the outfits for you first, or just goes shopping with you.

Similarly with the makeup, theres a lot of difference between doing your makeup from the range she has, to establishing the best brands and colours for you etc.

I'd love to be able to say to someone 'right, I need three new suits, sober colours, long length trousers, interchangable skirts and dresses too, 5 new work tops, 2 pairs interesting new shoes that fit and work with all new suits, and accessories' and for them to be then able to show me photos of those and then I just went to try them on

Oooh I haven't AA. I completely forgot I posted that and haven't been into Living Overseas for a while.

I have no idea what she does - it just struck me as a lot of money for something I seem to do for my mother (and her friends) on a regular basis for free!

I paid around £75 to have my colours done 15 years back- took about 2 hrs.

I think you need to re-think this.

I work free lance and charge by the hour. I sometimes think that people wonder why I charge what I do. it's not just my time that I have to cost , it's also:

*Tax and NI
*Insurance- public liability and prof. indemnity
*Subscriptions to my professional organisation
*The cost of any courses I've undertaken to keep up to date.
*Advertising and promoting a business
*Rent or mortgage for premises
*Overheads such as petrol, stationery, pc maintenance, website hosting etc, telephone, broadband etc.

You aren't just paying for the time youare with that person, you are paying for the whole business that they have to run.

Oh I'm not proposing to do it as a business! Not unless someone thinks it's a fantastic moeny-earner in which case I might consider a career change... I'm a governess who sorts out her mother's wardrobe whenever she's home on holiday!

This woman seems to be working from home/other people's home. Admittedly she has tax/NI to pay, some overheads and advertising which wouldn't normally be covered but I pay my professional insurance, my OFSTED registration, my VOICE membership and any courses etc. but it seems a LOT.

Is there even union for style consultants?

Message withdrawn

Bloss how did you find her?
How much did she charge?

I would love someone to help me sort out my wardrobe when I go back to work after my upcoming maternity leave. Would be easy to justify the money because I can easily waste £100 buying a few unsuitable bits of clothing.

£250 over an 8 hr day is £31 an hour.

Yes, it's quite a lot for "unskilled work"-but then if people are willing to pay, that's okay.

I don't know why you are so upset about it. Anything to do with health and beauty is expensive. There's not a direct correlation between qualifications ,training and hourly fees.

People who can afford to pay for someone to tell them what to wear can afford it- whether it was £250 or £500 wouldn't matter to many of them. and in reality £250 is not much/less more than the cost of a decent winter's coat.

I went to a pamper day at the dc's school during which there was a talk from an image consultant. I liked what she said and so rang her to ask what she charged. She said £150 for the image bit ie. look at what shapes/styles etc suit you, what to look for when shopping etc and the same again for colours. I didn't ask about her taking you shopping, but I know she does it. If it was a little less expensive I would have asked dh for a session as a birthday present, but it does seem a bit steep.

I'm not upset, purplepeony - I've never done it and it's not something I would do because I don't feel I need it, which is why I was seeking other people's advice about whether they thought £250 was a lot of money to shell out on that sort of thing but if people think it's worth it then fair play to them. I am quite prepared to be told that consultants routinely charge twice as much per day and this woman is very reasonable! Maybe she has different rates for different services, I have no idea, she doesn't have a website or I might have snooped a bit.

Although I do suspect part of me was idly wondering whether I could earn cash on the side doing this but I don't think I'd be anywhere near as good at the shopping bit as bloss's was! I'm quite good at rummaging through people's wardrobes and doing makeovers but that's about it (and I suspect that's from spending far too much time in all-girl environments pooling warbdrobes and cosmetics with nothing to do in the evenings because we can't go out!).

I haven't had a style council (arf!) but my sister is a stylist and can recommend going shopping with someone who a) has a professional 'eye' - impossible to certificate or qualify but worth weight in gold - and b) who is constantly in all the shops everywhere and who knows exactly what is around.

Just one shopping trip for dresses with my sister has meant that I know loads more about what suits me and am far more confident in my shopping. I don't know that I'd have paid £250 (I certainly wouldn't at the moment as I am skint and saving) but it would certainly be something that I would request as a special birthday or Christmas present.

Now I just need to find the time with her to tell me what trousers work best for me...