As a personal stylist based in Northern Ireland, who is my typical client?
I will work within women of any age but typically she is somewhere between 35-65 years old. Some will have challenges with her style and how it aligns with her lifestyle. She may have had some changes to her body shape and has lost confidence in how she dresses. This could well be impacting on her confidence in other parts of her life
Give me an example of someone you have worked with recently
Shirley is 57 and just recently retired from a very busy job, with a high level of responsibility. A Mum of 2 boys, she is divorced and starting to date again
She is very healthy and loves to train a lot in the gym. She is feeling that she doesn’t have many outfits to wear when she is meetings friends for coffee or evening dinner, although she thinks she has lots of clothes
What was your analysis when you did Shirley’s initial style consultation?
Shirley is stuck in a style rut of gym gear, walking clothes and skinny jeans! When I analysed her wardrobe she really has very few outfit combinations to speak of. There were lots of jeans that were making her look out of date. And were very few tops and jackets to create outfits.
She is a perfect size 8 and slightly strawberry in shape – slightly broader shoulders than hips and a full bust.
She is SPRING in her colour analysis and there is very little colour in her wardrobe. Having a personal stylist that is also a professional colour analyst was of great interest to Shirley. Colour analysis was something that she was very interested in
What work did you do with Shirley?
Style personality analysis
We spent some time talking about her lifestyle, the types of things that she needs to get dressed for
I asked her how she would describe her style now and how she wants it to be
I use lots of images and Pinterest boards to get under the skin of how she wants to look and feel. This is something that she had done some homework on too, which really helped
Personal shopping
We decided that we wanted to focus on smart casual outfits and footwear and Shirley was clear about what her budget was. I planned and organised a 3-hour personal shopping experience – I had done the visits ahead of time and picked out the pieces I thought were suitable for Shirleys body shape and lifestyle.
After buying several pairs of jeans, some knitwear, a fabulous coat and some new boots and she went home totally thrilled with her new purchases
Wardrobe edit
Once Shirley got home with her new items she wanted some further support in how to put those items together. And also, how to tie in some of her older pieces in her wardrobe.
We tried on everything and in every permutation. We took photographs of all the outfits and I sent her voice notes about how to wear and where to wear it.
This will help build up her confidence.
Follow up shopping links
On Shirleys digital style board which I send as a follow up to all my clients, I added any additional shopping links to items that she was still missing.
After we finished to this point, Shirley was ready to build on her confidence and practice putting her outfits together. Until the spring when we will give her wardrobe a new seasonal refresh.
She spontaneously wrote me some feedback recently:
“…….Suzanne truly understood my lifestyle, my preferences and even the little insecurities Ive developed about dressing over the years. The wardrobe edits were incredibly eye-opening; she helped me see new possibilities in pieces I already owned and gently encouraged me to let go of items and no longer served me……
Working with Suzanne has been one of the best investments I’ve made in myself. I’m truly grateful for her expertise, her warmth and her ability to see the best in me- and bring it out through my style”
