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Looking Good in laterlife is a regular column
reporting on the latest tips on beauty products and
processes for the more mature face and body.
Anyone who has looked after her (or his) appearance
over the years has the edge in later life compared to
ravers who burned all their candles at both
ends.
 A vast industry is out there
to help with all and every beauty concern. In this
column every month laterlife.com will report
on ideas and products, old and new. All with the
focus on maturity of course.
Click here to view previous editions of Looking Good in laterlife
LOOKING GOOD IN
LATERLIFE
Our
Personal Shopping Experience
Sarah Frankel and Helen
Franks go to Debenhams for a makeover.
Sarah Frankel reports
 This
is my 'before' picture. The chunky sweater (hopefully) draws
attention away from the trousers, as I tend to be a size bigger
there
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Pampered! We agreed, Helen and I, that’s how we
felt, walking towards the bus with our
packages, after a morning’s shopping. The usual experience -
exhausted, exasperated and gasping for a cup of tea – didn’t get a
look in. We’d just experienced the Personal Shopping Service at
Debenhams in London’s Oxford Street, and we’d had a marvellous time.
Instead of rushing from shop to shop,
dealing with sometimes surly assistants and trying to find clothes
that were different, not staid and yet not too young, we decided to
challenge Debenhams to suggest clothes that we might easily wear but
were not accustomed to buy. A complete style makeover. If their
service was good enough for cast members of Coronation Street
and Rachel Hunter, as well as Trinny and Suzannah, it was good enough
for us! |
Greeted by Christine, our Personal Shopper for the day,
we were shown into a private lounge with a large adjoining dressing
room. Feeling very special, we sank into comfy armchairs and relaxed
while Christine discussed our requirements. She asked lots of
questions about what we usually wore, the colours and lengths, our
sizes, budgets and which parts we didn’t want to expose: the floppy
upper arms, the wrinkled decollete or the hairy legs! As if.
When Christine offered a free bra measuring service,
I wondered whether she had noticed that gravity had the upper hand or
whether young people didn’t see the same reflection we saw in the
mirror.
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After offering tea, coffee and biscuits,
Christine disappeared, leaving us to try the perfumes and chat. We
admired the vase of flowers, leafed through some magazines and
generally enjoyed the spacious dressing room with wonderful
mirrors. You could stand in one spot and see yourself from all angles
without dislocating your neck in the process.
Christine soon reappeared with a long rack full of clothes,
a rainbow of colours and florals. “Even if you don’t think it’s you,
try it on,” she said, “You might surprise yourself.” Heeding her
advice we got to work trying different combinations while Christine
disappeared again to look for more.
The only trouble was that she was sucked into the store
and we couldn’t communicate with her to ask her to find this skirt in
a larger size or that top in a smaller size. When she reappeared she
then had to fly off for a third time to do just that.
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I
would never have tried the orange camisole without Christine's
encouragement,
but it
really worked |
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I really
liked this chiffon top, but decided not to buy. The trousers were
brilliant, so I bought them
Principle
Petite jeans (£39)
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She calmly set about encouraging us,
primping and prodding till we put together some outfits that we would
not normally have chosen. We took each other’s photographs while she
disappeared once again into the bowels of Debenhams to look for a hat
and shoes for one of my outfits.
My
problem is larger hips and a smaller top – the typical pear-shape.
I can be a size 10 top and 12-14 bottom.
That’s why I came to the session dressed in neat trousers and a
thick-knit cardigan, taking attention away from the bottom bit.
I
was to attend a spring wedding and chose
a cream trouser suit with an orange camisole. Ordinarily, I would
never have picked anything in orange, but it worked. The jacket and
trousers were sold as separates so I was able to choose a smaller
jacket and larger trousers. The decorative buttons were perfect for
the wedding, but if I later changed these to ordinary buttons, I could
wear the suit through the summer and autumn with different tops.
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For daytime, I chose a pair of brown Principle Petite jeans
which fitted perfectly and didn’t look like teen jeans - quite
surprising, as I always had problems finding that perfect fit in
jeans. I teamed them with a blue camisole and top which I would have
left hanging without a second glance if Christine hadn’t encouraged me
to try it.
There was one blip in becoming the new me.
Christine thought I should emphasise my small waist, but when I tried
on clothes that did, they also emphasised my large hips. Maybe it was
the Trinny and Suzannah influence.
I
know I’ll be back. Now that they have
my measurements and style preferences on file, they’ll have that rack
of clothes waiting for me when I arrive so I can get right down to it
before asking for bigger this or smaller that. Smaller? I should be
so lucky!
Not only is the whole experience a treat,
but it solves shopping problems for those who are unwell or no longer
have the energy or patience to cope with the hassle of lots of
walking, long queues for dressing rooms and longer queues to pay.
And you get Nectar points
too.
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Helen Franks writes:
I wore a skirt for my
‘before’ pic because I don’t have many in my wardrobe, and
particularly wanted a denim one for holidays and casual wear (my
daughter said I should). In the end I bought two, the John Rocha denim
and the Principles red linen, which I have already worn on various
occasions.
Christine was keen on
me trying a wraparound dress, but I knew that they don’t work for
me – too short from shoulder to waist, I guess, so they gape at the
front. But she did have a solution: a camisole underneath.
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I
normally wear trousers, but I chose to wear a skirt for my
'before' pic as I
wanted to buy one for the summer. In the end I bought two.
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The
chiffon top is nice, and something I would never have looked at,
but I didn't like the pattern. The camisole underneath worked
very well, but I would never wear it without a cover-up of my
upper arms. The denim skirt was exactly what I wanted
John
Rocha denim skirt £40
The Personal Shopper Service is free at larger Debenhams stores. There
is no pressure and no obligation to buy. Debenhams also offers this
service for household items, taking you around the store for larger
items. |
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I quite liked the
Principles blue chiffon top, something I’d never have thought of
wearing, but I’m not too keen on the particular pattern. And I would
never wear the blue camisole on its own. You may not see
them, but there are flabby bits at the backs of my upper arms.
Yes – I’ll be back too. You can’t ask
better than that. 
I really
liked this skirt, but wasn't keen on the top
Principles red
linen skirt £45
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Christine told us that sometimes people come in groups of 3 or 4,
bringing a bottle of wine and nibbles. It does take time though,
about 1½ hours if you are on your own and 2 ½ - 3 hours if you are
shopping with a friend. |
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I
didn't buy the wraparound dress because they tend to gape at the
front on me. But the camisole did help |
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To find out more about your
nearest store offering the Personal Shopper Service go to their
website at:
www.debenhams.com and click on ‘contact us’.
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If in any
doubt about any of the information covered in
health related articles and it's relevance for you, consult
your GP.
View previous editions of Looking Good in laterlife
laterlife interest
The above article is part of the features section of laterlife.com
called
laterlife interest.
laterlife interest
contains a variety of articles of interest for visitors to
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It includes both one off articles and also associated
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Healthwise,
Talkback,
Gardener's Diary,
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Looking good
in later life.
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'It could
be you' by Maggi Stamp laterlife's counsellor on human
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Also don't forget to take a look at our regular IT
question and answer section called
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by IT trainer and author Jackie Sherman.
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