In short: fun, but not the miracle I had hoped.
I went last Saturday. It only took a couple days after filling out the website form to get an appointment. I also responded to an email asking for my clothing sizes, budget ($300-$500), and goals for the session (mine was to acquire a smart casual/dress casual wardrobe -- I think I said I was specifically interested in a few good basic pieces that could be mixed and matched for "a nice dinner party or a wine-tasting weekend with friends").
Nordstrom has a nice Personal Stylist section with big, well-lit dressing rooms. My stylist had already pulled a bunch of clothes for me to try on when I got there. A lot of the clothes were not really in my comfort zone (tight white jeans, voluminous tops, striped jersey blazers, gold-trimmed high heeled wedges), or in a color palette that I generally think of as flattering on me, but I figured what the hell, the whole point was to broaden my clothing horizons. So I tried on pretty much everything. Sadly, I did not magically come to believe that leggings-like pants and giant tops are my look, although they are apparently "on trend," in the words of my stylist. She spent a lot of time sweetly trying to convince me that they looked fine on me and that I have nothing to be self-conscious about, when I should probably have been more assertive and said, well, it's nice that you think so, but I'd really like to try some different profiles.
I also tried on some dresses and liked them before realizing that they were all $400-500. "Uh, that's a little out of my price range -- I might pay $200 for something I love, but that's pretty much my upper limit," I told the stylist. She said that was good to know, and whisked away the designer dresses and replaced them with ones more in the $100-$200 range. In general, we did better with the dresses than with the tight pants/huge top separates. But I felt like a lot of them weren't flattering in one aspect or another, and, well, anything over $100 should make you feel like a rock star, right? I did find one red dress that I loved and thought was worth the $118 price tag.
After about two and a half hours and trying on maybe thirty pieces of clothing, I left with the red dress and an oatmeal-colored sheer sweater thing. My stylist and I both felt that we'd disappointed the other -- she asked for feedback and said she was sad that I hadn't left with a bunch of clothes that I loved, and I felt guilty that I'd spent 2.5 hours of her time on something that wasn't going to make her much of a commission. I did like her a lot on a personal level and would consider going back to her again with more defined wardrobe goals. And/or maybe I'll give Macy's a try instead -- it seems like part of the problem was that I have a hard time swallowing Nordstrom prices (I mean, their "low" prices are still over $100 for a lot of things).
In general, I left feeling like it had been interesting and worth the experience, but that I would probably have come home with more clothes if I'd gone shopping on my own. It's true that those clothes would not have been particularly stylish, but I think for me, it might be better to take baby steps. A little more trendy at a time, a little more expensive at a time. Being plunged into Nordstrom fashionville was possibly just a bit too much.
Interesting! Thanks for reporting back. I agree, maybe Macy's would work better with its lower prices -- I would also balk at something that cost $200 and I didn't absolutely LOVE and think I was going to wear for years. Nordstrom seems more for people who think around $100 is a reasonable price to spend on a single everyday item, and Macy's seems better for people who want to spend more like $30-40 on a single everyday item. Also, it sounds like the stylist kind of ignored your request for basics and wanted to put you in trendy clothes, or maybe didn't understand that you didn't want basics to wear this season, but basics that would last.
ReplyDeleteI decided that as a birthday present to myself, I'm going to get fitted for a bra. I'll let you know how that goes.
Yes, the more I think about it, a lot of the problem was probably unrealistic price expectations on my part (I mean, it's Nordstrom!). I would have felt a lot better about buying something I wasn't absolutely sure of if it cost less than $50. But expecting to find a bunch of things I loved enough to feel that they were worth over $100 is a tall order.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the stylist and I didn't really come to the understanding I'd hoped over my goals. Looking back at my email, I had written: "Ideally, I'd like to find some pieces that can be mixed and matched into a few complete outfits, and to get a better sense of what goes together and what looks good on me. I'm not at all trendy/fashionable, so rather than looking for clothes that are very "now," I'd rather have some basic/classic pieces that will flatter my shape/coloring and that I'll be comfortable in." Maybe her idea of basics was just vastly different than mine.
The bra fitting sounds interesting! It seems like there are so many stories where you hear about someone going for a bra fitting and then finding out that she's been wearing totally the wrong size all her life. Where are you going for it?
Not sure yet. I know someone who is an expert (she used to have her own custom bra business!), so I'm going to consult her about where to go.
ReplyDeleteSeemed like you were very clear about what you wanted -- maybe it was too hard for your stylist to resist trying to get you to be more trendy.
Also, like you said in your email, I'd hope that the stylist would give you a better sense of what brands, sizes, fabrics, or silhouettes you should be looking for, or some new styles that you should try, even if you didn't end up buying lots of clothes. I guess you did try some new things, but it sounds like you didn't really get a sense of what works for you beyond what you already knew.