I recently decided to try out the personal shopper experience at Nordstrom's. If you're not familiar, it's a good deal: first, you send them an email with the objective you're trying to accomplish. It doesn't say so, but decided I didn't want any issues with my budget to be a problem, so I clearly stated the amount I wanted to spend. Second, the manager at the Nordstrom's you want the appointment at contacts you with follow-up questions and dates/times that work for you. Then, you're assigned a stylist the manager thinks you are best suited for. There is a confirmation email, and then, voila - you show up, check in at customer service, and wait for your stylist to grab you. The dressing room is all ready for you with clothing they've pulled based on your objectives and the sizes and colors you gave them in the preliminary emails, and your stylist stays with you the whole time, evaluating the fit of each item, accessorizing, coordinating and pulling more clothes as she gets to know you and your tastes better. Did I mention all of this was free?
Of course, I'm sure shoppers who take advantage of this service spend more than your average shopper, so it works out in their favor. Really, it's no different than going in on a slow day and hitting it off with a really attentive sales clerk who starts grabbing stuff for you. If you are short on time and like your shopping experiences to be productive, this is definitely the way to go.
It was a little justifying to see my stylist struggle the way I do to fit my chest. I had sent her my measurements and bra size, and got there to discover that she had pulled clothes based on my bust measurement (36"), which of course puts you in mediums -- wayyy to baggy for me. She had to pull almost a new closet right away of smalls, and after that it was just trial-and-error to see what smalls worked on me and which ones didn't.
The most profound things I learned was that I still had some lingering misconceptions about my own body, and that I really didn't know how some clothes should feel when they fit. The bombshell was that I'm actually a petite in tops! This was revolutionary information for me. Now I know why blazers never seemed to look good on me, and why I have so much trouble with necklines and armholes being a little too low. It seems obvious now, but I've been dressing myself for 15 years and never once thought of this. I suppose it never occurred to me because I'm not short (I'm 5' 5" - fairly average). However, being a petite on top has to do with a short torso, not total height.
The other revelation was having someone talk me through the way things should feel when they fit right. This is pretty specific to the actual item, but a couple of things I tried on, I thought were too tight and did not "fit." My stylist insisted that that was the intended silhouette of the item; they were supposed to fit snug. This kinda blew my mind too; I think I may have been buying lots of things a size too big for years now.
I'll still shop on my own, but I'm really happy with the pieces I did eventually come home with. They've been in very heavy rotation in my wardrobe. I did end up returning some of the pieces, only because I decided they weren't going to get enough use in my lifestyle to justify the price tag. I will definitely make an appointment to do this again, especially when I have a defined objective (like a specific outfit or work-wardrobe overhaul.)
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