It’s silly season (for a personal stylist, not newspapers)

I was walking to the station the other day and I was reminded why I think of this time of year as the silly season. There on the same street I saw one young guy wrapped up in a winter coat and another who had seen a bit of sun and ventured out in a t-shirt and shorts. Unfortunately neither of them had got it right.

But it’s not surprising really – just when we think Spring’s arrived the winter gives up one last fight. If you’re heading out to work in the morning it’s cold and it’s the same when you head back home in the evening. But during the day when maybe it’s sunny you want to be dressed for spring when you pop out to lunch or simply sitting in the office looking longingly out of the window!

It’s a time when we want to lighten the load but the key is to marry the practical with the emotional. With most people’s wardrobes being divided into just winter and summer I thought, as a personal stylist and personal shopper,  I’d offer a few tips to help fix your between-season wardrobe and lift your mood at this time of year. Some tips are for women only – you’ll work it out men!

1. Layering is the the key

The challenge

Before the warmer weather kicks in there is that desire to lift your wardrobe and wear something that looks and feels lighter – just more appropriate for spring. But there is a practical need to ensure that you’re warm enough. This challenge is one of the reasons that as a personal stylist I am very busy at this time of year.

This week alone five personal shopping clients have put this very challenge to me. The answer I gave them is that it’s all about layering –  if you wear more spring/summer weight layers you instantly look more spring-like but you aren’t losing the warmth level.

Choose fine layers

For example, try wearing a fine layer underneath, then another top with a cardigan over the top of that. Finish this off with a lightweight jacket and you are ready for all situations.

So, when you are warm in the sunshine or indoors, for example, you can take off layers. Equally when you’re in the shade you’ve still got your layers to keep you warm. Those indoor scarves are useful as well at this time.

For men too…

For men the same idea applies – you should be going for lighter layers and more spring-like styles so maybe layering a t-shirt or a short-sleeved polo shirt with a longsleeve T-shirt underneath. For the warmer layers opt for lighter knits rather than thick wool which is too wintery.

2. It’s colourful outside – so should you be!

When the sun comes out we want the sun to come out in our wardrobe – to shed the drab colours you may have been wearing for something more colourful. But maybe you think that’s not right for you – if you happen to suit darker colours closest your face or perhaps you’re looking to create a slimmer silhouette and therefore favouring dark-coloured clothing.

But there is an answer – wear lighter, more colourful items away from your face:

• trousers
• skirts
• shoes
• tights
• handbags
• a broach
• a belt

or layers that are visible but not close to your face. One tip is I often give my personal shopping clients is to stagger the layers of your sleeves, or the lengths of tops, ensuring the under layer that is visible is lighter. So you can have splashes of lighter spring colours in your outfits rather than going head to toe in darker shades.

3. Ditch the hefty coat

Emotionally, switching from a winter coat to a mid-season spring jacket really helps to get you into that spring feeling. This will have a dramatic impact on your wardrobe day to day; instantly you’ll be feeling that you’ve left behind the winter.  By layering as recommended above you can wear a lighter jacket while keeping warm – especially handy if you are  out on a day that’s warm in the sun but if you come home late in the evening it’s very chilly.

4. What to do with your legs

You may not be ready to go bare-legged yet but tights are too warm in the middle of the day. So I recommend either leggings or trousers with an enclosed shoe (and no socks). This will keep you comfortable at all times of the day as the temperature fluctuates. Trousers have the added benefit that you can roll them up to keep cool (though I don’t recommend this if you are short in the leg.)

Bonus tip! Keep it practical under foot

Also footwear is another thing to start thinking about changing. Many women have probably been living in their boots over the course of the winter and now you can start changing to an ankle boot, a brogue, loafer or pump that instantly feels lighter but is still practical – the foot is still covered & you can still wear layers.

Also, men could potentially go for lighter coloured shoes to start their wardrobe feeling a bit more springlike so that will instantly change the feel of their wardrobe.

How a Personal Stylist can help

I appreciate getting this right can be a challenge and may be daunting to solve on your own. A lot of people simply don’t have mid-season wardrobes. They have their winter wardrobe and their summer wardrobe and they perhaps don’t think about having a spring or an autumn wardrobe .

As I write this early in the morning for example, it’s sunny but cold outside but wearing a winter coat and boots wouldn’t feel right.  We just don’t want to be bundled up anymore.

You can’t underestimate the the emotional element of this as your mindset is moving into spring and shaking off winter. This fresh start that spring brings is why many clients for my personal stylist and personal shopper services come to me at this time of year there’s a real desire to look forward and get some help, maybe with a personal shopping session, to ensure their wardrobe looks and feels springlike.

If you’d like me to help you find the right styles for you this spring then please do contact me about my women’s Personal Styling sessions or men’s Personal Styling sessions.

Read on, pass on

If you’re new to this blog you might like to read more on my thoughts on style in my article I’m Not Anti-Fashion, but it has to be Style over Fashion Every Time.

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As a personal stylist this is an area I cover as part of my Stye Analysis sessions and I’d like to share some of my key tips on wearing fashion tops with you now. Knowing how many of my clients have a tendency to wear their fashion tops in one particular way this video aims to inspire you on how to get the most wear out of your fashion tops – ensuring you maximise its use in your wardrobe whilst wearing it in the best possible way for you.

So check out the How to Wear Fashion Tops video to learn a personal stylist’s take on:

• Ways to change an item’s appearance each time that you wear it

• Tips to ensure rarely worn items become firm favourites

• Suggestions on how to make tops that aren’t quite right for you more wearable

• How layering can make an item both interesting and change its appearance

• Inside tips on using colour to lift a top

• Consider what you team fashion tops with to dress them up or dress them down

I hope you find this personal styling video informative – please feel free to post any questions below.

If you’d like to learn more about what shapes and styles suit your body shape, then contact me about my Personal Stylist sessions – in my Style Analysis sessions I will share the art of clever dressing which this video touches upon.

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If you missed it you can view How to Choose a Personal Stylist & Personal Shopper: Part 1 here.

Here are my final 7 tips on how to ensure you select the Personal Stylist & Personal Shopper who is right for you.

Are their services right for you?

Personal Stylists and Personal Shoppers offer an array of services from Colour Analysis and Style Analysis to Wardrobe Styling and Personal Shopping sessions for men and women. Do they offer the right package to suit you and your needs?

If you’re busy do they offer a pre-shop service whereby they select items before you meet so you can have a one big try-on to kick off a shopping session? Or if you are on a budget do they let you pick and choose sessions or must you take a bundle of a half day or a day?

You may have a particular need such as work styling, new mum styling, wedding  styling or teenage styling. Do they offer such tailored services that meet your needs?

Is the Price right?

An obvious one but does the price allow you to meet your objectives when you have factored in actually buying new clothes? Which leads me on to…

Can the Personal Stylist / Personal Shopper offer convenient appointment times?

If you work you may wish to take time off and make a special day of your personal styling or personal shopping experience. However, if you don’t can they offer a session at a time that works for you – perhaps in the evening or at weekends?

Will the Personal Shopper take you to the stores you like?

No doubt you’ll have an idea in mind of where you want to shop – low to high end high street stores, designer boutiques and so on. Some stylists specialise in parts of the market and others are confident across the spectrum. You need to be comfortable that any Personal Shopper you choose is going to be able to match your budget and style.

If you are on a limited budget will they be happy taking you to H&M? Or at the higher end do they know their way around the top designers at Selfridges?

Check you are the only client!

You should never feel obliged to buy anything in a session – you are paying for a personal shopper’s time and they should be independent. If they are being paid by anyone else you are not the only client  – if they earn commission in the stores you visit you are not getting independent advice.

Does your (potential) Personal Stylist offer a FREE, no obligation consultation?

Before booking your session, always ask for a consultation which should last for approx. 15 minutes, so that you can discuss your needs. Your Personal Stylist should not only show interest and empathy but demonstrate a clear understanding of your situation and ensure you book the best service to suit you and your budget.

Can they provide happy customer testimonials?

The real proof point of course is do they have happy customers. Quotes from named customers on the personal stylist and personal shopper’s website will give you a certain confidence. You can always go a step further and ask if you can have a chat or drop an email to a former customer. A good stylist will have customers who are so enthusiastic about their service they’d be happy to talk.

Also you should ask any personal stylist and personal shopper whether they have had a customer with a similar need to you – you’ll be able to tell from this response how well they can relate to you and ultimately help you.

Hopefully, that gives you a some pointers to finding a personal stylist and personal shopper who suits you and your needs. Not everyone will be right for you so it’s important that you are comfortable with the person, are sure they ‘get’ you, are confident that they know their subject and can deliver a service that is right for you. If they tick all the boxes you will I believe make the right choice.

Have I missed anything? How did you choose a personal stylist and personal shopper? Do let me know in the comments section below.

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Personal Styling is now a more recognised concept, in the advent of Trinny & Susannah advising us on What Not To Wear, Gok Wan teaching us How to Look Good Naked and 10 Years Younger. Although in the real world there are no 3D mirrors, glamorous photo shoots or invasive surgery, the general principle is the same – helping people to look and feel their absolute best.

However, who you choose to give you a Fashion Makeover is a big decision and therefore one you need to make carefully.

Whatever has prompted your search for a Personal Stylist (e.g. new mum struggling with her post baby figure and/or wardrobe, getting older but not sure how to evolve your look, wardrobe full but seemingly have nothing to wear etc.), you need to choose a Personal Stylist you can trust to achieve the best results for you.

There are three steps to selecting a personal stylist &/or personal shopper:

Step 1: Objective

Establish exactly what you’re discontent with, what don’t you like about your look/wardrobe/shopping habits? Why doesn’t it work for you?

Step 2: Research

Compare the service offering and pricing and pull together a shortlist of Personal Stylists / Personal Shoppers in your local area.

Step 3: Enquiry

Engage with the Personal Stylists you’re considering, to ensure the service is right for your needs but more so that the Personal Stylist is right for you.

As you go through this process there are a range of criteria to consider – there’s probably more to think about than you may at first believe.  In fact when I sat down to write this I didn’t expect to have to divide the post into two parts to make it more easily digestible! However, I didn’t want to miss anything out so that you can choose a personal stylist or personal shopper wisely.

Are they a good personality fit for you?

Be sure they are going to deliver a service in a manner that is right for you? Are they approachable, friendly, down-to-earth and passionate – ultimately you should enjoy your experience and feel totally at ease in the company of the Personal Stylist (rather than be intimidated by their knowledge and experience!) I’d recommend phoning a stylist to get a sense of whether they are a good fit for you. Talk through your needs – they should be able to advise you accordingly but also reassure you as to how they can help you.

Ultimately, it’s a two way process – you are working together. It’s not just the Personal Stylist doing their thing. Do you feel at ease talking to them? Are you able to communicate well? Judge them on their response to your requirements and situation.

Some stylists will have video on their site or on YouTube so you’ll be able to get an idea for their personality from that. After all, you are going to be spending several hours together on something very personal so you want to be sure.

The best sessions feel like shopping with a friend – one who just happens to be able to help you with your personal style!

How experienced are they?

You are putting a lot of faith in this Personal Stylist & Personal Shopper for something that is very important to you – so do check how experienced they are. How many years have they been working in the personal styling? Have they had professional training – was it a vocational hands-on, practical course or just a correspondence course? Do they have a real aptitude for Personal Styling? Which brings me to my next point…

Do they look GREAT?

If you go to the hairdresser you look at their hair. If you are having a makeup lesson you check out the artist’s own make up. The same applies with choosing a Personal Stylist & Personal Shopper. Do they look like the living embodiment of what they offer in a good or bad way?

Think about what you want to achieve in your session. For example, if you are interested in Colour Analysis are the photos on their website proof that they can mix and match colours well? Or are they just dressed in black or white? Similarly if you want to dress a challenging body shape flatteringly have they managed to achieve that with their own look? (Assuming they aren’t a lucky blighter who doesn’t need to!)

This doesn’t mean that they have to be dressed in a look that matches your style – a skilled personal stylist and personal shopper who listens to their brief will be able to reflect a client’s style personality – but they should look like they know a thing or two!

Don’t be shy – if there’s little evidence on the website (or just a head and shoulder’s shot) then ask them to send you some photos of them in a range of outfits.

What is their approach? 

There’s a lot to take in whether you are considering a Personal Styling, Personal Shopping or Wardrobe Styling session so will the stylist’s approach suit your style of learning? Will it be delivered in a manner that will ensure you follow and do what you have learnt? One way to check this is if you speak to them on the phone – when they talk through what will happen in your potential session was it easy to follow or did they use jargon that wasn’t clear to you?

Look out for How to Choose a Personal Stylist & Personal Shopper: Part 2 where I’ll share 7 more tips on how to make the right decision about your Personal Stylist & Personal Shopper.

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So check out the How to Choose Fashion Tops video below to learn:

• How the right neckline can flatter your body shape
• The benefits of detailing in a top
• How pattern and colour can delude the eye to cover areas you wish to disguise
• The importance of choosing tops that reflect your fashion personality
• The tricks of accessorising to lift a top’s look

I hope you find the video informative  – feel free to post any questions below.

If you’d like to learn more and also about which cuts, styles and colours suit your body shape and fashion personality, then contact me about my Colour Analysis and Style Analysis sessions in which I will share the art of clever dressing.

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The trick to being a smart shopper and being true to your own personal style is using just Four Personal Shopper Filters - colour, style, personality and practicality – which ensure you can quickly edit the shop floor and walk out with items you’ll love and wear.

Personal Shopper Filter 1: Colour

The first filter is colour. If you are confident about which colours suit you (perhaps you have had a Colour Analysis session) then this is the quickest and most dramatic filter. You can scan the shop floor and ignore all the colours (and there will be many of them!) that aren’t right for you. Instead you can zone in on your colours.

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Personal Shopper Filter 2: Style

Next you should edit by the second filter, style. The key here is to assess all the elements of the pieces in your colours and check these are going to flatter your body shape; Does the cut flatter you? Is the fabric right? Do the details do what you need them to?

Personal Shopper Filter 3: Personality

Once a piece ticks all the style boxes then it’s time to apply the next filter, personality. Does it project the look you want to put across – whether that be at work, out socialising, on the school run or simply at home? If the personality of the piece isn’t right you won’t feel comfortable or true to yourself, which others may well notice as you’ll likely appear awkward in it and ultimately not manage to carry off the look. So it will end up in the wardrobe unloved – and having wasted your money.

Personal Shopper Filter 4: Practicality

Then the final filter is the actual practicality of the piece. Yes, the colour is right, the cut is perfect, it’s very ‘you’ but it’s really dressy so are you are ever going to get to wear it? This filter is most important when on a budget as naturally you will really want to justify the purchase to yourself.  Test yourself – when am I really going to wear this? Will it go with other items in my wardrobe (although the more your wardrobe is filled with items that have been through the Four Personal Shopper Filters approach the less of a problem this will be!)?

Going through all these filters you should then have a basket of items that tick all the boxes for your personal style and therefore you will feel very confident with all of your purchases.

Are you limiting your shopping choices?

Like many of my customers you may be thinking “but won’t I be limiting myself with these filters?” To which the answer is “yes… and no!” While they will narrow your choices and could mean you end up buying less when you are out shopping you can be confident that you’ve not wasted a single penny as the items you have bought will not end up stuck in the wardrobe. You’ll also have spent less time in each store so you can cover more ground in the time you have free.

Don’t be a victim of fashion

What is true is that we are all victims of what is on trend right now. So you may find it frustrating that there seemingly isn’t a lot of your colour out there. But don’t lose heart – you can always find every colour at any given time – yes catwalk trends will determine how much of your colour is in the shops but if you look you will find. However, if you are fortunate that your colours are abundant in the shops right now then (if you can afford to) I urge you to make the most of it and stock up. It won’t last forever! As I’ve mentioned in my previous post it needs to be Style over Fashion every time.

Be a demon in the sales

Sale time is normally a challenge for most of us – especially as a lot of stores can resemble jumble sales and all the clothes are mixed up together. But armed with the Four Personal Shopper Filters approach you can quickly zone in on the right colours and then follow on with style, personality and practicality. Even when something is half price remember to apply the practicality filter. A half price item left in the wardrobe unworn just means you’ve wasted half the amount!

The Golden Rule of becoming your own Personal Shopper

Which leads me on to the Golden Rule which is however amazing the item is on one, two or three of the filters do not be tempted to skip one of the filters. They all affect your personal style in different ways but they are all of equal importance.

So I hope the Four Personal Shopper Filters approach will help you become your own Personal Shopper – so ultimately every time you are out you will be able to shop smarter, faster and cost effectively. Do you already use these techniques? Or do you have your own method that works? Do let me know below!

But if you would like a little one-to-one help then do contact me and I will personally share with you the skills to become your own Personal Shopper.

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Don’t just follow fashion – be true to yourself 

For me as a personal stylist I think it is fundamental that to look your absolute best, you need to develop and follow your own personal style. Looking inwards and thinking “what do I really like and what’s really me?” in my view should come above fashion. Such an approach will also ensure you achieve the most value out of each item you buy. As soon as you break away from wearing what’s in fashion, and focus on what suits your personal style you’ll end up with a wardrobe that will last you many seasons.

Adapt the latest fashion

Yes, it’s absolutely fine to have nods to what’s on the catwalk and by all means be inspired but ultimately you want to create your own version – adapt it for you rather than just replicating the latest fashion.

So if they say brights are in but brights aren’t good on you then don’t feel you are out of touch unless slavishly follow the trend. Instead you could wear a nod to the fashion – for example bright shoes or a little accessory. Or if, say, colour blocking is in vogue but you are trying to lengthen the appearance of your body that’s simply not going to work for you.

There will always be lots of trends that won’t suit you. Once you accept this then the pressure is off and you can begin to focus on your personal style.

Be unique

Many of my personal stylist and personal shopper service clients want to look original. They don’t want to look like everyone else in the office or on the school run. I always advise that by investing in items that are right for them and true to their style personality will ensure they have a working, wearable wardrobe that will look best on them (should anyone try to copy it!). Yes be inspired by fashion and, yes, do update your wardrobe – after all we’d all look dated if we didn’t acknowledge any changing fashion at all. But the trick is for style to come first, fashion second. Hence the name of this blog – Style over Fashion (I emphasise – it isn’t Style not Fashion! )

Am I out of date?

I get many questions from my personal styling clients asking “Should I be wearing this right now – does it look dated? To which I reply “The question to really ask is ‘Do I like myself in this?’” After all, if you have a dress that flatters your body shape, is in the right colours and gives off the look you aspire too but happens to be five years old, so what? You’ll look better than someone following the latest catwalk trend with a dress that makes them look several size bigger, tired and ‘trying too hard’! Obviously there is a limit for most items but you don’t have to a ditch a great item just because it’s a few seasons old.

Why clothes are like husbands

This blog intends to help you find your personal style so you can wear outfits that flatter and you feel great in. When I feature outfits that are in fashion I will make sure I explain who they are right for and why. After all nothing is for everyone – whether it’s husbands and wives, houses, restaurants, films or books – so why should clothes be any different? We shouldn’t all be wearing the same clothes any more than we should all want the same house. What a dull world it would be if we did!

To this end in future blogs I shall be translating the latest trends from the catwalk for real people.

Let me know your thoughts on how you combine style and fashion and what you’d like to get out of this blog. If you’ve liked this post it would be great if you could click the Facebook and Twitter buttons!