Leaving the Baggage Out of the Bag
I’ve been feeling inspired after working with a first-time Saks customer who I am hoping will become a client, as we set out to find her a dress for a wedding where there will be complicated relationships and themes to adapt to.
Often times when I am approached by a customer who wants to find a dress, I want to run the other way - especially when that dress is from the ball gown department. And something I realized last night while discussing my sales work and my fashion writing with this lovely beautiful woman is that a reason why dress shopping is so difficult is because of the emotions involved in the dress and in the expectations of the events for which the dress will be worn.
I can sell denim no problem. I have reached such a level of blazing confidence with denim that I can even sell brands to women who are not familiar with that particular cut or wash or who were looking for their "comfort" style but I will hand them something originally unthinkable to them, and they will happily walk out with them. There are a few reasons for this. One, I have always been careful where I buy my denim. I used to go to a store where the associates were one-on-one, and knew exactly what they were talking about and how different denims needed to fit different bodies. I know first-hand the challenges of finding the right denim for the body type it will fit. Two, our Brand Ambassador has become a friend and a personal stylist for me, and she has taught me an entire new world of denim. Three, I finally understand now that I am "shopping" with my customers wallet, not mine. Even if a $300+ pair of jeans isn't "perfect", it really doesn't mean that it will be a foolish purchase.
But denim doesn't carry the baggage that a dress can carry. Denim is only a half-body piece so even if there are serious body issue concerns a woman has there is always a way to compensate with a top piece. Denim also won't be worn to high-stress, high-profile events.
That said, denim is "real life". We wear our denim in good times and in bad, in mundanity and elevation, with flats or with killer heels, and so we might be shopping with more emotional baggage when buying everyday denim than we are aware of, and as a stylist a part of my job is to be able to assess and adjust to my client's backgrounds and needs.
This is why in my last article linked here, I wrote about personal stylist Laurel Kinney who uses a step-by-step process where part of that process requires her client to actually fill out a questionnaire anonymously to help analyze why she is holding on to items that she no longer (or ever) wore, and why she makes the clothing and fashion choices she does.
I am learning that so many of the choices that we make with our clothing run psychologically deep, and part of the stylist's job is to help unlodge those emotional blocks so that the client can start a healing process of interpreting themselves through a more healthy perspective. One of the best parts of my job is helping women feel better about themselves, and if I can help leave the baggage out of the bag, I know I've done my job well.
Often times when I am approached by a customer who wants to find a dress, I want to run the other way - especially when that dress is from the ball gown department. And something I realized last night while discussing my sales work and my fashion writing with this lovely beautiful woman is that a reason why dress shopping is so difficult is because of the emotions involved in the dress and in the expectations of the events for which the dress will be worn.
I can sell denim no problem. I have reached such a level of blazing confidence with denim that I can even sell brands to women who are not familiar with that particular cut or wash or who were looking for their "comfort" style but I will hand them something originally unthinkable to them, and they will happily walk out with them. There are a few reasons for this. One, I have always been careful where I buy my denim. I used to go to a store where the associates were one-on-one, and knew exactly what they were talking about and how different denims needed to fit different bodies. I know first-hand the challenges of finding the right denim for the body type it will fit. Two, our Brand Ambassador has become a friend and a personal stylist for me, and she has taught me an entire new world of denim. Three, I finally understand now that I am "shopping" with my customers wallet, not mine. Even if a $300+ pair of jeans isn't "perfect", it really doesn't mean that it will be a foolish purchase.
But denim doesn't carry the baggage that a dress can carry. Denim is only a half-body piece so even if there are serious body issue concerns a woman has there is always a way to compensate with a top piece. Denim also won't be worn to high-stress, high-profile events.
That said, denim is "real life". We wear our denim in good times and in bad, in mundanity and elevation, with flats or with killer heels, and so we might be shopping with more emotional baggage when buying everyday denim than we are aware of, and as a stylist a part of my job is to be able to assess and adjust to my client's backgrounds and needs.
This is why in my last article linked here, I wrote about personal stylist Laurel Kinney who uses a step-by-step process where part of that process requires her client to actually fill out a questionnaire anonymously to help analyze why she is holding on to items that she no longer (or ever) wore, and why she makes the clothing and fashion choices she does.
I am learning that so many of the choices that we make with our clothing run psychologically deep, and part of the stylist's job is to help unlodge those emotional blocks so that the client can start a healing process of interpreting themselves through a more healthy perspective. One of the best parts of my job is helping women feel better about themselves, and if I can help leave the baggage out of the bag, I know I've done my job well.
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