How I started
I love to watch TLC channel’s “What Not to Wear”. Although I do not always agree that the clothes Stacy & Clinton (the hosts) believe looks good on them, they do provide some great concepts on Dos and Don’ts. I never understood why anyone would not want to throw all their old and ugly clothes away and buy everything new for FREE ($5000). If I had a chance to do that, I would be more than happy to start all over again.
I used to be a college student so I wore T-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes almost every day. It is comfortable and easy, and who doesn’t like jeans. Also, I notice in Silicon Valley that people don’t really dress up. Maybe in New York City or San Francisco you will see more fashionable people walking on the streets. But that wasn’t the case in Tokyo or Taipei because people in these two cities do care very much about how they look and they are willing to put in the time and effort each morning. I am the naturalist – I don’t like makeup and don’t like to spend a lot of time on picking out clothes every morning.
Ok, the truth is, I am lazy and I hate shopping. I enjoy window shopping when I have no particular things I need to buy -- just browse around, and it also helps me get some exercise (walking that is). Every time when I made a list of the things that I am looking for and then go shopping for it, I never had any success finding it. But I was dying for some change and needed help for my look when I graduated from college.
The Search
One day I read an article that talked about Image Consultants and the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI), Bingo!
After I graduated from College in 2006 I went to AICI website to look for Image Consultants in the Bay Area. I was surprised that there are many Consultants around here but very few have a website. I looked through everyone who has a website first, and then the web design, web content, and consultant background, so I narrowed down to four Consultants to contact. From their email responses I clearly know who I want to work with because some response was very short, some looked like a standard template answer, some even seemed they didn’t read the questions I asked in my email.
In the end, I picked Teresa Gay Morisco because her reply was the longest, most detailed, and she answered every question that I had asked in my email. Also, she was the only one who had a blog (wardrobe 911) back then and the only one who listed the prices on the web for all of her services. I appreciate her honesty and patience so I set up a time right away for consultation. After setting up the date, she gave me homework to do – an 11 page questionnaires form with basic questions such as height/weight/shoe size to occupation/dress needs/day schedule to a personality test. Then I needed to collect some pictures from magazines to show her the styles that I like to have.
The Consultation
In our consultation session, we first talked about my daily life and work so she can get to know me a little bit more. Next, she went through many different color palettes to see what are the colors that would look good on me, so she can put all the colors together later to create a unique personal color palette just for me. The purpose for the personal color palette is for me to carry it with me if I go shopping alone so I won’t buy the wrong color clothes.
She then brought out a big organized styling bible created by her to show me six different styles with details on the style, show me which celebrity represent the style, which brand represent the style with a lot of pictures to demonstrate her points and then let me pick one style that I like for my work and one style for casual. After that part was done, she started to measure every piece of me so she could shop for me if I needed.
The Closet Sweep
We spent three hours to go through my closet. She start by putting wrong color clothes on the side and then asked me to try everything that was left for her to decide. In this process she will take notes on what I would need to add in to my closet for future references. She also showed me how to mix-and-match, and then take a picture of me for my record. When everything was finished, she took every note and piece of information with her and then I will receive a personal style report, a personal color palette, and a small retrievable measure within ten days. Then we made another appointment to go shopping together.
The shopping
The first shopping was focused on what my closet needed at the moment and I let her know what was my budget. Usually she will spend about 1.5 hours to pre-shop for me before I arrive. We quickly go through all the clothes she had picked out for me and then I tried them on piece by piece. Although I trusted her taste and opinion, I still can pick and choose what I want to take home without any pressure. I can tell her to look for something else if I feel there is something missing and she will look for it right away. She is pretty good on keep within my budget and will remind me when I want to buy more than I can afford so I have to set my priority.
If you like to shop, you can make an appointment with Teresa the day after your shopping so she can go through your purchase with you and give you opinions and suggestions. And then you can decide if you need to return or exchange some of them.
The overall experience
We usually shop at Bloomingdale's in San Francisco but sometimes we will also go to other places such as Loehmann’s if we need to. Bloomingdale's also has Valet parking, just remember to bring the parking ticket with shopping receipts to the Concierge on the first floor to validate. The “At Your Service” fitting room is located on the second floor. This fitting room is reservation only. You can call ahead and let them know what you are looking for (including style, size, color, etc) and then reserve a room so you can try them on the next day. You don’t have any obligation to buy any of them if you don’t like it. The “Women’s Lounge” (restroom) is just around the corner. If you happen to shop in Bloomingdale's and want to go to the restroom, especially if you have baby with you, go to the second floor’s restroom – it’s big and comfy.
I love to have Teresa as a personal shopper and I love the experience that I can just go in and out of the fitting room with less than two hours to get everything I need. Teresa knows the brands and designers, and she knows what would look good on me, and she knows where to shop. More important is that since Teresa brings her clients to shop in Bloomingdale's so often, her clients usually can get at least 10% off for on-season items and also you will be treated like a VIP.
Since 2006, I have shopped with Teresa once a year. Today is my third time to shop with her. What I see as a benefit to having a personal shopper is that she would introduce me to something outside of my comfort zone, either it is a color or style that I normally won’t pick out. I remember the first time we went shopping together, the majority of items I buy would be black because that’s what I like. But I noticed I pick out a few colors that I normally won’t wear the second time we went shopping together. And this time from everything I bought, there is only one piece is black. I am sure Teresa noticed my change because it is so obvious. I am happy for the change too.
It’s Springtime and the summer is just around the corner. Do you want to look better? Do you also hate shopping? Maybe it is about time to call Teresa for help.
Ps. If you love fashion and are looking for a new position, contact Teresa. She might have something for you.
But do remember to let her know you saw this post.
Wish everyone a fabulous 2008!
