Posts Tagged ‘shopping’
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Return of the Style Advisor
Back in June I wrote about my excellent Summer 2008 experience with the Style Advisor service from Topshop. I was so pleased with the service that I booked in again for this summer. I am now very happy to report that this year’s Style Advisor experience was even better than the last…
Some of the greatest hits from this year's Style Advisor mission
Here’s how it works, shoppers
For those who haven’t been, Style Advisor is a free personal shopping service offered by Topshop.
Posted in Fashion
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The (surprisingly affordable) gift of style
Doing a closet clearout chez Sassy and it’s got me thinking about style, and how much of it I possess (or don’t). In fact, it was around this time last year that I realised I had an embarrassing problem: I’m not a very fashionable person.
My uniform, until recently, was a variation on the theme ‘dressing like a twelve-year-old boy’: skinny jeans, flats and a plain t-shirt. Sometimes I mixed in heels or a jumper, maybe a skirt, but for the most part, my wardrobe was a no-fly zone for fashion.
Here’s a cross-section of the old SassyMoola’s colour scheme:
Boring, right? But no longer!
Last summer I was given the gift of style, and I can honestly say it is one of the best gifts I have ever received. It all started when a rather fashionable friend suggested we make a date at Topshop Style Advisor, the store’s free personal shopping service…
Fashionista Friend and I booked our appointments at the Oxford St flagship store. We were directed to the Style Advisor suite (plush private fitting rooms!) where our stylists offered us coffees and took notes on sizes, likes and dislikes before heading out on a thirty-minute power-shop.
FF and I followed suit, and after half an hour of browsing, we crept back into our fitting rooms. Let me tell you… it was a Christmas morning situation. Rack upon rack of bright, colourful, sexy, thrilling bits of clothing, all put together in clever little outfits your correspondent would never have come up with on her own.
Take a look at these fresh and gorgeous summer threads:
Hello, (slightly more) fashionable me!
After trying on all sorts of outfits, I felt a new sense of clothing confidence (“hey, I look great in these shorts!” and so forth) and I chose to buy a good chunk of stuff: four dresses, some tops, a skirt and a belt. (Like I said, things were looking near-Dickensian in my closet!) But I didn’t have to: there’s no obligation to buy, and my advisor was genuinely no-pressure.
The best bit of the experience, for me, was knowing that the clothing I bought actually fits and suits me. I wore it all summer. In fact, I still wear it – and that tells me I got great value for money. So if you’re a penny-conscious fashionista looking for a wardrobe fix, Style Advisor – or a service like it – offers an oola fabulous service.
Where to next?
I’d like to say I haven’t looked back, but as any twelve-year-old boy will attest, sometimes you’ve just gotta be comfortable. However, I now know how to accessorise my uniform, and I have the nerve – and know-how – to wear patterns, dresses and glittery capelets (really, I have one and I love it!).
For my moola, a personal shopping service like this is the way to go – in fact, FF and I just booked in for August. I’ll keep you posted…
A couple technical points: Style Advisor sessions are two hours long and the service is strictly by appointment. Evenings and weekends are tough to get, so be sure to book well in advance. I should also note that this post is not intended as advertising for Topshop; rather, I had a great experience with Style Advisor and I think the service offers brilliant value, which is why I’m recommending it.
Anyone else tried out Style Advisor or another personal shopping service? Anyone tempted to after reading this? I’d like to know what you think.
Posted in Fashion
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Day trip to Paris for £50 [Part 2]
So, I’m off on my day-trip to Paris tomorrow. As you may recall, my challenge is go to Paris, see the sights, take in some culture and eat local food – for £50.The biggest hurdle, of course, is actually getting there (and uh, returning home to London) for less than £50. We always knew this was going to be tricky. I’ve been trawling Facebook groups, Ebay and Gumtree.com for the last few weeks, but I couldn’t find any cheaper tickets than Eurostar’s current return offer for £59. So a few weeks ago I bit the bullet and booked myself a return trip – thereby landing myself an automatic FAIL by going £9 over budget. Merde. Oh well, it’s still an exceptionally good deal, but I’m going to have to spend my money very wisely tomorrow to make up for it.
With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of stuff to do for free in Paris. But actually getting around the free stuff presents another issue. At first I thought I would get a one-day Paris Visite ticket and zip around the city on the Metro, but it’s not exactly cheap at €8.50. And whilst the city’s free bike system is a fabulous cash-free – and green – way to take in the sights, I’m not the world’s most confident cyclist, and I don’t fancy ending up in the back of a baguette van. So I’ve decided to combine walking with two single Metro tickets (at €1.60 each).
I’ve used Google maps as a free tool to plan my walking tour, making sure that all the “free attractions” are within walking distance. At this point, I will take the Metro from Gare du Nord station to le Marais district, where I’ll take in the Musée Carnavalet, one of Paris’s free museums. After that, I plan to partake in a bit of lèche-vitrines (literally “window-lick”) around le Marais, which will lead me down to the Seine. I haven’t decided what to do for the rest of the afternoon, but I’m considering visiting Notre Dame, and having a picnic lunch in either Jardin des Plantes or Jardin du Luxembourg.
Here are my favourite resources for free stuff to do in Paris:
http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/free-city/paris-text
http://en.parisinfo.com/guide-paris/money/free-admission-and-good-deals/MuseumLet me know if you have any tips for free stuff to do around the 5th arr. Until then, au revoir!
Posted in Travel
