It's first thing in the morning and I am cramming as many clothes into my suitcase as I can skirts, trousers, jackets and jumpers but I am not going on holiday. I am going to have a mini wardrobe consultation with Katherine Hardy and Dawn Hooper.
Katherine and Dawn are dress designers, who create their own made to measure and off-the-peg collections for their shop Hardy & Hooper. They met when they were training at the London College of Tailoring and both had extensive careers working for leading fashion houses before they set up their own business.
The mini wardrobe consultancy takes place in their bright and spacious shop in Eton High Street.
As I enter I wondered how they are going to react to my pile of clothes that are more fit for the charity shop rather than a consultation. Am I going to get the Trinnie and Susannah treatment of how-can-you-possibly-wear-that? Is my bum going to look big in well everything? Am I wearing the right clothes for my height, shape and colouring, or are they all going to be sent to Oxfam? I am about to find out.
Not being able to bring my entire wardrobe, I select clothes that I wear often and like for both work and the weekends, but are Dawn and Katherine going to approve?
Katherine says: "We do a wardrobe consultancy where we go to someone's house that takes about five hours. The idea of the mini wardrobe consultancy is to give you an idea of shapes to look out for or to up-date a look. Some women are still wearing a style that suited them years ago but haven't picked up the new trends, other women may be going back to work and need to reinvent their look. We also show you what suits your body shape."
Dawn hangs up my clothes on a rail.
I slip into one of my jackets and skirts bought from a well-known chain store and gingerly step out of the dressing room. Katherine and Dawn coo sounds of approval but then Dawn grabs a box of pins.
"If the jacket has a very basic button, you will make it look much better quality by simply changing the buttons to special ones," she says.
She dives to the back of her workroom and brings out a tin of buttons and shows me the effect it would have. I am impressed with the result.
Then I slip on a jacket I have just purchased. Dawn is ready again with her pins.
"Make the effort to have sleeves shortened if they are on the long side this makes the world of difference to the look of a jacket."
The big advantage Katherine and Dawn have over Trinnie and Susannah, from the TV show What Not to Wear, is that because they design their own clothes, they can show you how to alter your garments instead of just telling you to go out to buy a new wardrobe.
As I am only 5' 1", I do have problems finding clothes to fit. So often in shops, I have picked clothes off the rails then when I put them on they just don't look right the waist is in the wrong place or the length is too long.
Dawn and Katherine give me some tips for when I next go shopping avoid hip-length jackets which cut the figure in half, instead go for ones that are just four inches below the waist.
Then Katherine hands me one of their long jackets to try on. It is something that I would never have considered.
"It will swamp me," I protest.
"You can wear fitted knee-length jackets it will make you look more streamline," she says. And she is right.
One of my bugbears is getting trousers to fit.
Dawn's advice is to go for a straight leg which hides heavy thighs and to avoid side pockets and front zips. Instead I should try to find a pair that has a side zip, which is much more flattering over the tummy.
Then Katherine hands me a dress from their collection. It is one that I wouldn't consider at all, if I was shopping.
"Try it and see," she says.
It looks great. The bust detail which I would have steered away from is flattering.
Scarves and accessories are also a way of inexpensively updating a wardrobe, I try one on and they show me how it draws the eye downward giving a slimming look.
In the two hours I was with them, I did find out a lot about my own shape what clothes work for me and what doesn't. The advice they gave, I will use, so the next time I go shopping I won't make a costly mistake.
Christmas gift vouchers are available for a mini wardrobe consultation costing £175 for two hours at Hardy & Hooper. Telephone: 01753 830050.
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