I’ve worked in the fashion industry for over 20 years now and still love it so much! It all started with my obsession with the Fashion Wheel as a child and then it was just working out what I wanted to do within Fashion. I remember watching This Morning one half term and everyday they were doing a “Day in the life life of a ……………” for career inspiration and one day they covered a Fashion Buyer and I was hooked! I worked as a Senior Fashion Buyer for both Debenhams and House of Fraser creating ranges with the Design team, it was great fun and so rewarding seeing it all in store and customers shopping it! I got to visit both factories and shops all over the World with my job which was a highlight, along with working with John Rocha and Jasper Conran!

How can you help people get the wardrobe of their dreams?

The key thing here is to wear your wardrobe and that’s wear the sustainability starts, especially by doing a wardrobe edit as it allows you time to remind yourself of what you have, what you love and what you really need, if anything at all. Being familiar with your wardrobe ensures you make the most of what you have and it will reduce your impulse buys going forward. When you then shop do try and think about newer smaller sustainable brands where items are made to order to reduce waste or buy into brands that use environmentally kind production processes and yarns that protect as opposed to harm  our environment! I am also a huge fan of preloved shopping too, giving unwanted clothing a home is kind on your purse and the environment! If there is a gap in your wardrobe before shopping new have a search on key preloved sites and you may find what you are looking for!

I feel so lucky with the high street in St Albans as it has such a breadth of retailers from charity shops, small businesses, pop ups, the market and many of the big players in retail too! I love to keep my shopping habits balanced as I feel we need all these elements supporting each other to have a successful high street, however the charity shops do tend to be a favourite of mine as you really do not know what delights you will find! It reminds me of my buying days where we would hunt vintage shops and fairs for anything that gave inspiration for the next best sellers! It’s great when you find something you love in your size and it feels like a one off too! I have introduced a lot of my clients to preloved shopping and they love it!

My services are constantly evolving and that is the beauty of running my own styling business as they can be so adaptable to what my clients need. Wardrobe Edits are extremely popular right now and a great place to start if you want help with your style and outfit choices. I also do personal shopping both out at the shops or bring it to your home, I also do virtual styling via personalised look books where my clients can shop the looks form the comfort of their own home and then for fun, I do style parties with groups of friends. I present the key trends of the season and then bring all my picks from the high street to show how various looks can be pulled together and then the best part…trying it all on. It’s a great way to try some new things and have fun with your friends at the same time!

The biggest seller in the lead up to Christmas for me is without doubt my gift vouchers. Using a stylist is not necessary something people buy themselves but it’s always a great gift that someone may have not considered! Gift vouchers start from £38.00 which will buy you a personalised Mini Look Book then you can choose to buy any other service or a value towards a service. I package them up so they can be presented as gift to the recipient, and they always tend to be well received!

You can follow me on my insta page @stylewithwisdom or facebook page Style with Wisdom where I share tips and tricks for styling and editing your wardrobe.

There is also my website www.stylewithwisdom.com which includes everything about me, my services, my testimonials and all my contact details if you would like to get in touch!