I want to tell you it's jeans. I'm good at selling jeans. I used to design them in Los Angeles in my past life. I was also the Department Manager for t.b.d. at Nordstrom Calgary where our number one selling item was premium denim. Jeans come easy to me, even if they don't for my customer. Jean shopping can be difficult in the best of situations but most people wear them everyday, if not all weekend and they need to look good from the front, fit well through the mid section and pass the butt check. They are an investment piece for some because they usually start above the $280 mark and they have other pairs in their closet so new jeans need to fill that hole.
But ladies, the jeans today seem to be made for the young and adventurous, the tall and lean, the trend setters and trail blazers. They are not made to fit the short (me), the mature, the woman who has looked good in "Skinny jeans" for the past decade. They are cropped, wide legged and stiff, 3 things most women honestly don't immediately look good in without the help of youth, heels or a stylist.
This week I've tried to show every client jeans because frankly they are requested before or during almost every appointment regardless of the original shopping excursion. And it hasn't gone well. We are humming along finding dresses for galas, presentation outfits and clothes for trips to Tokyo; and the dreaded question comes in: "Can you pull me some new sort of jeans?" The panic sets in (I'm being dramatic here for affect) and I run ( I do literally speed walk when in appointments, nothing is worse than being left in a fitting room, am I right?) to grab jeans that she "saw on a young girl walking in front of her down 4th the other day".
Most clients want to open the dressing room door (or curtain) to show me things after they put them on, but I get the dreaded silence as soon as they put their new jeans on. It's a learning curve for me as a stylist too in that I shouldn't leave them alone in there with a pair of these jeans without styling them first. I've learned my lesson because it takes about 5 minutes of convincing for me to even be able to tell them how they can make these work. "Let's put your new Marc Fisher heels on with these, and tuck your t-shirt in here, and let's throw on that beautiful oversized Vince cardigan on, and let's add your Gucci belt here."
And slowly, very slowly, they begin to trust me again. And in the end, they like the look but just aren't ready to jump the wide gap between a good pair of dark wash, high waisted AG Farrah skinnies for this new look.
I did have one client text me this morning to say that she slept on it, and can't get "those jeans" off her mind, so next time she comes in to "remind her to try again". I love these text. It tells me that my clients are willing to trust I wouldn't put them in clothes that don't look nice when they are out. I mean, I wouldn't to begin with, but also, my small referral based business grows when people like what their friends are wearing, not the other way around. When they can say, "Hey, go see my personal stylist at Nordstrom, she has really helped dress me well, broaden my horizons a bit and make shopping enjoyable again".
By the way, my favourite shoe of the week, that would go with both a wide, cropped, dark pair of jeans, or your skinnies are these Fendi Slingback pumps that are comfortable to boot:
(If you live in Vancouver, book a session here: https://www.brianaaimee.ca/plans-pricing . If not, I have virtual ways of helping you with your wardrobe as well. Also, my business grows by referral. If you know someone who could use a personal stylist, hubby maybe, or girlfriend, let me know! )
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When it comes to talk about fashion then keep in mind that most of the designs are customized. These suits fit best for your need. So, if you are willing to buy a new suit it's best to have custom tailored suits for yourself.