CHARLES
AND PATRICIA LESTER
Shopping for
Luxury Fashion
Shopping for luxury clothes in the High Street vs the individual attention at the Lesters'
With all the clothes shops out there - are we able to find what we want?
Shopping for luxury clothes in the High Street vs the individual attention at the Lesters'.
Some people can seriously lose the plot when shopping for clothes and express such relief when they discover our creative sanctuary, safe from the turmoil and traumas of today's shopping culture. However, people coming in for the first time sometimes feel daunted by the choices available to them. I know that trying to find something special in the high street can invariably be an absolute nightmare - especially if we want to remain true to our own individual identity and are a bit of a funny shape. However, I had not really thought about how different this might be for some people.
With all the clothes shops out there - are we able to find what we want?
Some of us are 'lucky' in that we fit the mould of our favourite brand whilst others have to get considerably more creative to gather together the outfits they want. It seems that unless we slavishly follow the trends of the day, it is more likely that we will approach our clothes shopping with restricting beliefs - and who can blame us? We stand a far greater chance of finding things that do not fit, not in our colours, not in our size, do not feel comfortable, not in lovely fabrics, not suitable for our needs, not different enough to distinguish us from the masses, and all the other negatives that restrict our choices!
Bar coded and shrink wrapped collections come and go, time limited so that if you see it and like it you have to buy it - now, otherwise it is gone by next week. And don't be fooled into thinking that it has been sold - there is a conveyor belt system to keep the flow of fresh stock flowing. Sell by dates keep us 'in fashion' regardless of whether our body shape fits their vacuum formed model mould. Garments may as well have a "Use By" date too, as the self destruct button ensures that they fall apart within a dedicated time limit so that you have to suffer the ordeal all over again even if you are paying luxury prices. Sales assistants see you as fresh meat to make their targets tally and commission cheques swell. Stores tempt you with seductive discounts to sign up for their own brand schemes and cards saying that they can make your life easier and more enjoyable - not so! It is engineered so that they can analyse your every shopping move so that they can 'get' you again!
What is luxury clothes shopping really all about?
Not everyone has these sorts of experiences - they are impervious to the attempts to make us conform to suit a corporate bottom line but is it any wonder that some people support the idea of a conspiracy theory? It makes you begin to suspect that there is some utopian ideal to uniform the masses, making you a statistic - a brick in the building of a new and bold future where everything is 'nice'! However we feel about this idea, we do know for certain that we are a digit in the bottom line profit figures and whatever we actually want or need becomes irrelevant when it comes to out hunting for beautiful clothes that make us feel and look great.
Time and again we hear of the struggles to find clothes that not only fit but are fit for purpose too. Too often customers get sick and tired of being seen as a fruit machine ready to be pounced upon by eager sales assistants who learn to play their customers ensuring that you spew your hard earned dollars into their gleeful laps. On guard and wary we get to the stage where we look to buy but the primary concern is that we don't want to be 'sold'. Enough is enough!
What make the Lester luxury clothes shopping any different?
So when someone comes into our studios for the first time the experience can be very overwhelming. Some have to leave after the initial eye opening introduction so that they can think about and adjust to this new experience. There are only an elite few who know about and can afford to shop in the small exclusive luxury boutiques that give a genuine personal service and where you the customer are the one in control but even the best of them would struggle to match the flexibility of what we have to offer. For some it takes a little re-programming to change the way to approach buying beautiful clothes. We are all gorgeously different and unique. There are many similar characteristics between certain individuals but we are never ever going to be the same and sadly many shops do not understand this. For us, each person's needs is like a puzzle that is fun to solve and as soon as you walk in through the door - the game is on to find the perfect outfit, in the perfect colour, in the best fabric and hopefully at the perfect price too. And the greatest challenge is to enjoy the journey of trying different ideas until between us, (you and me) we find a solution that not only looks great but is so easy to wear that it does not intrude into our sense of comfort.
Back the September Newsletter
CHARLES & PATRICIA LESTER
Design Studio.
The Workhouse,
Hatherleigh Place, Union Road,
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. NP7 7RL
01873 853559 Open Monday to Friday.
Telephone for other times
Also at Harrods Plus Collections
Knightsbridge, London
Liberty
Accessories Department
Great Marlborough Street, London. UK
Telephone: 0207 734 1234
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