Isabel, you are so right. Angie is terrifically no-nonsense about it. If the fit isn't perfect, you move on, and that is all there is to it. What I learned was that if you hit enough stores, eventually you will find a fit for EVERY BODY. The Ted Baker jackets that collapsed on my chest must look fantastic on someone.
It is very, very important to try stuff on across all price points. This is something I am often nervous to do. I go into high end stores but won't put things on out of some kind of fear. Well, that is just craziness, because if you don't try, you won't know. We hit so many stores on our trip!! (Or at least it felt like a lot to me). The Rack (with many brands represented). Club Monaco. Ted Baker. Intermix. All Saints. Reiss. Zara. A fun consignment shop. BCBG. LK Bennett. Tahari (though Angie was gone by then, alas....)
And I put on clothes everywhere, from the Zara to Intermix. (Mosty just jackets, in my case -- so this did not involve a lot of undressing and dressing.) Doing so gave me a clear sense of fit differences across different brands and helped me get a clearer sense of where and when and to what degree I personally feel okay about compromising on quality -- and where I really do want to wait and pay for that fourth P -- "perfection."
Angie did point out a few items to me. One was a Helmut Lang jacket. She didn't tell me to try it on...she just pointed it out and showed me the workmanship (which was lovely). So of course I did try it on. It was gorgeous...and beautiful....but very pricey. I put it back. The strange thing is, I didn't feel any regret when I put it back. I felt MORE regret about the classic Club Monaco blazers that I left on the rack simply because I can get them cheaper here in Canada.
She also pointed out a fun piece in BCBG Generation and in that case she DID ask me to try.
What I learned? Angie was gently helping me probe my style aspirations. I have several times said that I'd like to move in a more "avant-garde" direction. The pieces she suggested fell into that category. And guess what? Trying them confirmed what I have lately come to decide for myself -- they're just not "me." What I am after is more a minimalism and crispness vs. a drapey, arty look. These try-ons (at radically different price points) made that perfectly clear.
I also asked Angie her opinion about a few things. As others have said, her eye for fit is quick, accurate, and impeccable. In the case of a Club Monaco blazer, she confirmed what I already believed -- I had found a good fit there and this was worth pursuing.
She also gave her blessing to my major purchase of the day (my major purchase of my LIFE, if you want to know the truth ...I have never spent so much on an article of clothing!!) and confirmed that it was a real keeper.
Angie is a warmly enthusiastic person. She lights up a room with her presence and her joy. The sales associates fall all over themselves in awe when she is around. Several of the smart ones were taking notes, let me tell you!!
She's fully capable of getting (momentarily) bowled over by a fun detail, a bright colour, an interesting cut, or fine workmanship. She appreciates the details and exclaims over them with joy!
But if the fit is off, she will tell you to put it aside.
Watching her, I learned to go first with my feeling, my intuition...to follow my bliss. And then to add the power of discrimination. And to keep trying.
