I am not particularly well dressed. I don't mean that I'm dressed badly, but I am not the epitome of fashion. I usually wear jeans, sneakers, and a top that hides macaroni stains fairly well. I am aware of the fashion rules à la What Not To Wear, but I don't always manage to practice what is preached. Nonetheless, this past month, not one, but two of my friends recruited me to ensure that they find something to wear to the upcoming holiday parties. They wanted ME to help. The difficult thing with this sort of task is that I actually have to tell a good friend that the dress she is trying on makes her ass look fat, or her chest look flat, or her tummy bulge out. I had a chance to work on diplomacy skills. The first friend kept trying on tight dresses that really clung to her. She didn't look bad, but she didn't look great. I really wanted to get her into something more A-line such that the emphasis was not on her butt and hips. I advised her that the tight stuff she had been trying on was sexier, but the A-line stuff was more figure flattering. I don't know if she totally agreed, but since I was brought along for this exact purpose, she went along with me. We found a great A-line dress for her, and although she claimed it crunched her ribs a little bit, I wouldn't let her walk away from it. It was THE dress. The material has since given a little so that she can breath, and she thanked me, for she said she never would have chosen it without me. The second friend knew to go for the A-line dresses, but the neck-lines were the problem. She is not exactly petite, so I had to steer her away from spaghetti straps, and towards dresses with thicker straps that de-emphasize her arms and shoulders. By the end of the night, she was leaning towards two dresses, one that really worked, and one that did little for her. When she approached the cash with the intention of buying both and later returning one, I put my foot down and told her my services were useless if she wouldn't take the dress that I chose. She agreed, and also thanked me for helping her make the opposite choice that she would have made otherwise.
I can't believe that these friends actually listened to me! ME! I'm a far cry from Stacey or Clinton, but apparently I do good work. Does anyone need a personal shopper?
2 comments:
that is totally awesome - I might just need that kind of thing. Just wish I had somewhere nice to go - do you also tell your client's significant other to take their partner somewhere nice?
Ooh, with the Christmas season fast approaching and all its dress gear required, perhaps I might need to hire you!
(But here's the question, do you come with free $5,000 VISA card?)
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