Chronicles of a Stylist: Part I

This week on CityGirls we are running a series on what it is like to work with a stylist.  We weren’t exactly sure what we were getting ourselves into, but wow was it fun! Join us and our snarky inner monologue for a very different trip to the mall.

“I should be able to look at you and tell how you feel by what you are wearing.”

-Marc “Aidan-Wintour”

Stare concernedly in a mirror.  Dress casual? Dress fabulous? Wear something nice to meet stylist as feel the need to look good, or wear something crazy casual to meet stylist as stylist will swoop in and save self from aforementioned crazy look?

Maybe wear something a la Carrie Bradshaw?

Cargo shorts and….wedge sandals? With..hat?

Hmmm…..

No. Look like insane homeless person.

Dress with heels?

No……look like am on way to Daughters of American Revolution meeting.

Shorts and t-shirt because am out of time?

Yes!

The Background

So, I’m on my way to meet my very own fashion stylist, Marc, a former Air Force Alabama man who found a passion for fashion.  Did I just say that? Ugh.  I think I did.  But regardless, totally quotable and full of fun, Marc agreed to take a break from his magazine work and take me on as a project— with a goal to makeover my “business” wardrobe.

I told him I was looking for Mad Men meets anything the women were wearing from Iron Man 2 (preferably also making me look like a movie star and 5 years younger with better hair).  He, to his credit, took it in stride and gathered me up for a shopping trip extravaganza.  I needed and wanted dresses that could make me feel beautiful, go from day-to-night, and preferably do my taxes.  All without any kind of medieval undergarment-style support.

Sadly, since it is 100 degrees outside we decided to skip out on small boutique shopping and instead head for the safety of the air-conditioned mall.  Thank god for A/C.  Thank you A/C, for being amazing.  You are my hero.

The Mall

“Trends diminish the vision of fashion” – Marc Aidan

We arrive in the scene and I demand we go to Nordstroms (semi-annual sale! yay!).  Marc, going with the flow, moves us along and we enter, and then promptly get lost and end up in menswear.

Hmmm.

But wait–an escalator and store map appear, and we are off!  But, somehow in the denim area of the store?  Undeterred, Marc dives in and starts holding up garments and educating me.  Phrases like: “Do you own a tweed short” and “What would you pair with this color” are thrown at me in rapid succession, and I find myself following him around confusedly, while answering “no” and “black?”  Marc kindly takes my hand and shows me the power of a color palette by taking bright prints and pairing them against a host of neutrals, helping me to find “colors that pop” in a new way.  As he says “Anyone can pair brown with brown” while showing me how fall colors (reds, oranges) can look great on a dark charcoal.

My head spins.

Delightedly.

Marc gathers up an armful of stuff, and hands it off to a sales lady.  “Let’s go take a look” he says.  And…we are off!

The Dressing Room

“Fashion is about expression” – Marc-Aidan

I find myself in the dressing room with a pair of tweed short and a variety of blousy tops.  Marc patiently tells me what to pair with what, and then steps outside while I change.  When I am done, he comes in, eyes me critically, and then shows my why what I am wearing does not fit.

Me: “But the top is blousy to begin with–how do I know it fits?”

Marc: “You can tell by the neckline and how it hangs–it should not overwhelm you”

Me: “ah-hah!”

After looking critically at several garments, Marc says “nothing here is working.  Let’s go find the dresses” and off we go again!

The Search for Dresses

“The biggest lie the fashion industry sells is labels” – Marc-Aidan

We arrive on a floor entirely filled with dresses! Hallelujah! As we walk around Marc starts commenting on things “Ugh.” “Expensive” “Too Nancy Regan” and we move on quickly.  After teaching me quickly to take different colors and lay them on others to figure out what looks good together (so simple, so obvious, and I’ve so failed to do this for years!), we start acquiring dresses.

Marc heads to the sale rack and starts leafing through it.  He pulls out dresses and holds them up, explaining what he likes about them. “This is a tailored fit that will look good on you”  “This color goes with anything”  “Calvin Kline spends his life making mostly the same dress.  But it is what you are looking for.”

He also throws out more questions: “What shoe would you wear with this” “What color cardigan works with this dress” and gently explains why my answer of “Black? Again?” and “Ummm?”  don’t work as well as bright unexpected colors like a yellow shoe with a blue dress or a lime green cardigan with a bright print.

We circle the entire floor quickly and efficiently, with Marc handing off our dresses to another sales lady.  She, scenting a big sale, comes and finds us on the floor to take our purchases away to the dressing room.  I love Nordstroms customer service right now.

The Dressing Room: Part II

“I get everything tailored” – Marc-Aidan

Marc plants himself on a chair while I start trying on about 20 dresses.  As I come out wearing each one, Marc takes me to the mirror and then shows me how the dress should fit, if they were made for me.  Instead of, you know, made for someone with no hips who is clearly a man.

It’s enlightening! Having someone grab and hold the dress as if they were tailoring it for you makes SUCH a difference. My world is almost completely rocked.  Some of the dresses looked good, but then I saw how they should look and it was like wearing a different dress.  A DIFFERENT dress completely.  Wow.  I’ve heard Tim Gunn talk about fit on PR for years, but now it’s as if I’ve started a cult of the tailor seamstress, and I worship at her pin cushion.  This has potentially changed my life…and then Marc completely changes my life when he says conversationally:

“You know that they can add inline pockets to almost any dress, right?”

I am speechless.

The Cashier

“I don’t believe in paying full price for anything.” – Marc-Aidan

I’ve now tried on 20 dresses, love about 8 of them, and am actually going to buy 4. Once they are tailored.  At this point, I’m practically weeping with joy while talking to the seamstress, and then we head out to the cashier.

I hold my breath.

4 dresses, 1 jacket, and the cost of tailoring? $500.

Can this be true? It seems so….cheap? Yay!

The Before and After

Sigh. Shopping photos.  But here is my testament to Marc and his skills.  Voila! The before, middle, and after!  After 1 shopping trip, I am a fan .

Tune in tomorrow for part 2, of Chronicles with a Stylist.  We promise magic, flowers, and cookies! Or none of the above, but you know what we mean!

Marc-Aidan Wiley is the Fashion Director for FOJO Enterprises, and the Director of Fashion Development at Mwari Magazine.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 11:45 AM and is filed under Stylish, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.