When I received an e mail from Marks and Spencer a week or so ago, offering a new , free, service, that of Style Adviser, I was excited . I quickly booked myself in. The on line form, as I recollect, was very straightforward, asking you to choose a location store and to choose one of a number of time slots on offer. It also asked for your size in a top and a bottom and your shoe size. It may also have asked for your age group - I can't remember now, which in itself probably gives a pointer to my demographic ! I think it also asked if you had a special occasion in mind. That was it and, therein lies one of the problems of the system. Just not sufficient information gathered at the outset which, as you will see, led to a less than satisfactory experience.
As you know, I am a big fan of Marks and Spencer. I wanted this new service to be great, to vindicate me and be one in the eye for the Company's detractors. I'm afraid that that wasn't the case. NOT because the Lady who was my Style Adviser was anything other than delightful but that she had not been properly trained . That is not her fault. It is the error of Management at M&S who, it seems to me have cut corners (as usual ) . Gentle questioning revealed that my Style Adviser (lets call her X ) was actually a Sales Assistant who had shown an interest in fashion, had received a little training, and then set off.
This is what I wore to the appointment - very much Marks and Spencer based and, I hoped, indicating some level ( however slight ) of interest in style and fashion. I was also easy to get on and off !
On arrival at the Store , in Leeds, I was shown to a small room (really not much larger than a cupboard) just off the sales floor. It had a long mirror and a clothes rail with a mix of attractive looking clothes and a few pairs of shoes. The room was only just large enough for 2 plastic chairs and a small table with some bottled water and sweets. X and I had to battle not to invade each other's space.
X then tried to assess my body shape. Wearing a pleated skirt and a bat wing sleeve jumper wasn't perhaps the most revealing of my silhouette. I obliged by pulling back the jumper and pulling down the skirt. It did flick through my mind that, after 3 children ( and a number of procedures required largely as a consequence of those said 3), all my normal inhibitions had been skewed somewhat. That thought followed the look of alarm on X's face and that of an elderly lady who had the misfortune to witness the display through the glass panel in the door. Which I hadn't seen until my shameless display was well under way !
Anyway, X initially described me as a "Brick " which I have always thought a clumsy phrase. I much prefer "Column ". This basically means, as both names suggest, that I was straight up and down which, in all fairness is just not the case. I don't think I'm in denial here. If so, I shall be hot footing down to David Lloyd to ask for a refund. I begged to differ, pulling my jumper even closer to my body ( and breathing in ) to illustrate that (if you squint ), there IS a waist !
She then decided that I was a "Triangle " - broad shoulders and slimmer hips. Mmmm, maybe. I couldn't help thinking that the sloping shoulders of the jumper had led her on this one . Despite revealing that I am, actually a 30" bra back , the rest of the session was built on this prognosis. This meant that all clothes were suggested on the basis of " balancing out" my upper half -wide leg or (god forbid ) bootcut trousers - and sticking to plain colours on my top half, reserving any patterns for my bottom half. I began to feel a bit depressed.
In answer to the question as to what clothes I liked, and what I was looking for, I replied that there was no special event, rather that I was interested in what was new and exciting. I said that I was an adventurous dresser and would be open to different ideas. What I really wanted was the cutting edge of Marks and Spencer's fashion . I wanted to see unusual combinations and anything exciting. We set off.....
Walking out into Limited Edition, I admired this lilac skirt. Lilac is massive for Spring/Summer 2018 and, if I didn't already have the same style in black and white gingham, I would grab this. X fingered it uncertainly and said that " You could wear that, if you were brave " !! Not a ringing endorsement. I wandered round the section , admiring the matching mac which is stunning but very very long. And which I confidently predict will be in the mid season sale very shortly.
M&S clearly do try to group coordinating items together. But, as is often the case, here, there was no top which I would have worn with the skirt. The closest was this polo tee shirt which, again, you will see clustered on the sale rail ere long. It might look ok ( but only ok ) on this size 8 model , but, tucked in, its so unforgiving . X produced another option in lilac but it was long line with a kind of knotted hem which could not be worn either over or tucked into the waist band. The final offering was a nasty, crinkle effect, short sleeved, mandarin collared , top. "Would you wear this ....? " Err, that's a no.
We moved on - "Do you like Per Una ? ". The answer to that was no, not really, but I wanted to be open minded and that was a good thing because amongst some truly terrible offerings, were a couple of stunners.
I really loved this collarless coat and felt that it was a good place to start to build a look around. X seemed to feel differently and we moved on. I began to wonder how the expedition was going to take shape because, to me, choosing a strong central item, a coat or a jacket, then looking for co ordinates and different ways to style it , seemed the best way forward.
In the same vein I then spied this Chanel homage jacket which, again I really fell for. This style of jacket often doesn't fit because its just too boxy and doesn't fit my fuller bust. This was perfect in a size 10 and I'm kicking myself now for not actually buying it. There was a 20% off Family and Friends offer at the time you understand !
Here's a snap of me in it , pretending to smile. I really do like it but, once again, there was no clear choice of what to accessorize it with. It was hanging next to an awful cream cotton blouse with orangey/yellow birds on it and a pale pink, thick lace tunic. The tunic itself was nice but it was no way suitable for that jacket to sit over. In fact, in the entire store, bar possibly a black silk shirt, there was nothing to complement that fabulous jacket. I ended up wearing a cotton , round neck tee shirt but the neckline was too high and the fabric wrong diddly wrong for the jacket. If there was something better my trusty Style Adviser couldn't find it. And, I guess that was really the point of the exercise.
These were the cropped trousers X suggested. I liked the fact that we were straying beyond Per Una's Slim Leg trousers ( in grey , which was the initial suggestion , and which looked vile ), but, for me, a more fluid culotte or cropped trouser would have been a better balance.
Although X didn't suggest this to me ( and I don't think she would have ), THIS is what the M&S website postulates as completing the outfit !!! This thick, textured jumper under that, close fitting, also textured jacket ! Madness !!
Moving on through the store, we now had a couple of unrelated items and , as we passed through knitwear and onto jeans, I began to panic and was holding back from taking over. My sense of insecurity was made worse by the admission that X had been away for a few days and that things were always being moved .
I will quickly skim over jeans. I rejected the idea of bootcut to do the aforesaid "balancing" and settled on a pair of , very reasonably priced (£15) straightleg jeans . I didn't feel I could raise the possibility of Mom jeans or Boyfriend Jeans as the denim options had , very clearly, not been high on the training agenda. And I didn't want to sound like an arse. Which I hope I'm not doing now. I stress again, X was lovely and doing her best. She was familiar with the variety of colours and looks for the next season - kitten heels, pastels, colour blocking, circular bags etc - but that didn't translate to what she was really showing me. Familiarity with stock is essential and, shopoholic that (I now realise) that I am , I genuinely felt I knew as much of what the company had to offer as she did. Which is ok if you're as obsessed as I am but is no good to someone who genuinely has no idea of what they would like or what suits them, or where to find it !
Strangely, still with no actual outfit, just a few unrelated items we moved on to accessories. Surely, choosing earrings and footwear would be last on the list , once the outfits themselves are settled ? I really rate the shoes in M&S so I've added a few of my favourites at the end of the blog.
I had admired this dress anyway so took it to try. X wondered if a size smaller would do whereas I think sizing up would have been a better option.
The next dress was the clincher which made me realise that our personal tastes meant that we were never going to light on the same clothes as being desirable. I did laugh though . X said , looking at the poster of the model wearing it , that it wouldn't be that short on me but that it did look good on her (the model ) but that, well, anything looks good when you're young, not about a hundred year's old !!! Cheers !
Ruffle Front 3/4 Sleeve Dress £35
I had already said that I wasn't keen on short hemlines, unless I wore them with opaque tights. X was , however much taken with this dress - both colour and style - so I decided to give it a go. It was always my intention to take advice and guidance. Whilst she and her collegue in the changing rooms thought it looked fab, I loathed it. It was clearly too tight across my bust - you can actually see the bra seam ( and probably my veins if you look closely ), it clung to my back (fat ) and rode up on my bottom.
M&S shoes are great. I liked this style , which comes in a number of colourways but looks most striking in green. Which reminds me, at the outset of our quest , I mentioned that I fancied trying green as it seemed to be high up there on the M&S colour palette .Apart from these shoes, which I sneaked in, X didn't think she saw me in green . So that was that.
As I type it's dawning on me that I was not perhaps as receptive to X's ideas as I had intended. This skirt was my choice again - I'd seen it in the Press . I also want a cashmere roll neck so pretty much railroaded the next outfit.
Asymmetric Check Wrap Midi £39.50
I am in love with both the skirt and the jumper but, one again, that brought me into opposition ( in a totally unthreatening way ) with X and her chirpy colleague . Our differences seem to centre around size and proportion. I prefer a more relaxed, oversized look and this is largely reinforced by the posts I see of many Insta bloggers. Is it fashion over style and what actually suits you ? I'll have to ponder that . We were definitely marching to different tunes though.
A further example of that was the current style of wearing trainers with skirts and dresses. I have mentioned before that , so far, this is somewhat outside my comfort zone but its the nature of fashion to experiment and I fully intend to do so. I tried this skirt/jumper combo with the conventional court shoe ( approved by my M&S friends ) , then added a trainer for , what I believe to be a more edgy and contemporary vibe . That got the thumbs down but I loved it.
Now that I've hit upon the word "proportion ", the more I think that this is one of the big issues with the Style Advisor Service .I wanted fashion advice from someone who was au fait with the latest trends. Someone who could steer me to a more experimental look. Different proportions perhaps . I appreciate that not all ( not many ?) customers will want that. But I did . And it's beholden on Marks and Spencer to provide that, IF NECESSARY. A more detailed, pre appointment questionnaire , asking what, exactly the Customer's tastes are, would certainly assist . As I keep repeating, my experience is not a criticism of X , but of the organisation that hasn't equipped her to do the job properly. If you look on Instagram at M&S's posts, they are inspirational and fashion forward. They need to carry that through to this service.
X chose this blouse and it's fab. I was persuaded to buy a size down though and its way too tight. The shoes are not me either but, by this stage I was very tired an dying for a cuppa !
Striped Blouse £29.50
This grabbed me (not with the trousers - I look like a jolly Hobbit ) but X asked me to make it quite clear that it wasn't her recommendation. Proportions again. Yes, it probably doesn't "suit" me in that it doesn't really showcase my figure ( if you know what I mean), but it has an ott value and drama which compensates.
Per Una Striped V Neck Ruffle Blouse £32.50
Think with wide legged cream/white trousers and a pair of wedges or some cropped capri pants .
X didn't want to take a pic of me in this but, again I was drawn to the relaxed fit . I will wait for the sale !
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My final rail. The only thing I actually kept was the skirt and I sneaked back for the roll neck. So, I didn't branch out of my usual style in the end but feel that, had I accepted the recommendations, it would have been, in fashion terms, a step backwards to a more conventional wardrobe. The experience was a good one, in so much as I enjoyed meeting X and wandering around M&S is , to me, always a pleasure but there are a great many things they could do to improve the service.
Whilst looking around I came across a couple of pairs of shoes which I wanted to share with you. Brogues. My new obsession it seems. Hope you approve.
Also in black patent and grey
And finishing with the World's most comfortable shoes. Size down at least a half size and grab them if you see them in store as they are virtually sold out on line. Not very cutting edge but we all need a day off sometimes, don't we ?!
Also in black.
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