What is a personal shopper? I get asked this question all the time. Well I’ll tell you what it’s not.
On the new HBO series Hung, a guy, previously a star athlete, is forced by the economic downturn and a few other unfortunate factors to join the oldest profession. In the third episode, he and his female pimp turn to a “professional shopper” for potential client referrals. The pimp says to her, “So, these clients of yours – whatever you want them to buy they just buy?” and the shopper replies, “Pretty much. My ladies are so loaded they’re recession proof.” The way that it’s portrayed on Hung, the shopper is a young, pretty (and of course stylish) woman whose clients are elderly rich women who have nothing better to do with their money than to pay someone to dictate to them what to wear. This is not what I, as a personal shopper, do.
Here’s the truth…
Everybody has to get dressed on a daily basis, but some of us just don’t have an affinity for what to wear. The sheer number of stores and the selections in them can be overwhelming and many people just hate the process of shopping. Also – just like people have their laundry done or their houses cleaned, they hire a personal shopper to save them precious time and energy. I do the leg work – they just show up, try things on and take good stuff home. I hear all the time – “I would never have chosen this myself – and I love it.”
When a potential client says, “That must be just for the rich and famous,” I say, “How much money did you spend on clothes last year that you don’t really like and never wear? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hire a professional and have a closet full of things you love?” I have two clients this week under the age of 40, both at a time in their life where they are tired of their results doing it on their own and they see a value in hiring me to guide them in the right direction. My clients are sometimes performers but more often “regular people” – urban professionals like real estate brokers, or even people re-entering the workforce. They are far from super rich, but committed to their personal development and professional success. They know that working with a personal shopper is an investment in themselves and the image they project to the rest of the world.
