I’m back! But I have very slow and intermittent wifi right now. I’ll post more later.
Very successful! Budget blown in first 30 minutes. She spent much more than 2000 and was OK doing it. What a fascinating experience. Details to follow.
Yea!
Can’t wait for details! Hope you kept notes!!
dittoing nottelling!
Glad she was OK with blowing through budget!
It may very well be in this case (as someone else already inferred) that the person has no clue what clothes cost these days since she never buys any. And as @fireandrain posted in #140, it sounds like she was able to blow her original budget and was OK with it.
This is different than someone who truly cannot afford to go beyond their budget on something like clothing.
That is true, but that is assuming that these folks have the discretionary money to spend on any of these things and simply have different priorities (I don’t own a flat screen either, by the way!). But this is different than someone who has a budget for necessities like housing, food, insurance, auto, etc., and truly has a limited amount to spend on discretionary things like clothing, furnishings, vacations, electronics, etc. So, in some cases it is a choice of priorities, quite true. But in some cases, a budget is truly all that can be afforded for something. So, if someone truly can just afford to allocate $2000 to clothing for one person in the family, then suggestions of $700 blazers or $350 shoes just isn’t all that helpful other than to look at styles of things and then try to find such styles for less. Honestly, people who can afford a pair of shoes that costs $350 may be common in this online community but represents a pretty small percentage of Americans. I certainly could not spend that much on one pair of shoes. But I’ll enjoy living vicariously through some neat posts with pretty things!
Yay!!! Waiting for the full report. Now… The challenge is: will she wear her new stuff or revert to her old safety items? Like in the old tale about the farmer’s wife… 
I don’t know the old tale about the farmer’s wife . . . tell it to us to entertain us while we wait for the update!
I too am eagerly awaiting the update. Glad it was a success. Shopping with other people’s money can be great fun.
I’m interested in the why behind the why. Did she come out with any self awareness - eg (misplaced) body discomfort, fear of standing out, not knowing what was fashionable, afraid of being too pretty, etc. Was she receptive to new ideas and if so, was her intent to update a classic look or go into an entirely new direction. Inquiring minds!! You are a great friend to help her.
Get the popcorn!!
@fireandrain
you’re terrible: such a tease! Details! We need details!
Hooray for you and your friend @fireandrain! I knew that she would love seeing herself in new work duds!
Hopefully they are painting the town in The Big Apple and dressed to kill! 
I already ate my whole bag of popcorn.
OK, CC friends, I’m going to give more details. However, for the sake of the privacy of my friend, I can’t say too much – especially answering Pizzagirl’s questions about the why behind the why. I don’t feel comfortable sharing in a public forum.
However, anyone who is really curious can PM me. I will give more info in a PM.
And I do have before and after photos. So anyone who wants to see those, also PM me. It might take me a while to crop her head out and figure out how to share them – and it is also possible that I will have limited internet in the next couple weeks, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to disseminate them.
We spent almost 5 hours shopping. My friend was so incredibly grateful to me, but frankly, this was such a fascinating experience and one I could never participate in without having a friend who could spend $xxxx, that I was glad to do it. I learned about the 1% today.
We had a private room. We were served lunch. We were offered wine.
The salesperson “got” my friend immediately. She knew at once exactly what she needed, and didn’t try to push her into something edgier or more fashionable. Good thing she was there, because I know I couldn’t have found the classics that were needed, and I would have tried to go more edgy. My friend wants matched suits, because she lacks the ability to mix and match. She wants easy. She wants classic. She won’t wear dresses or skirts, so we focused on pants and blazers.
I mentioned some of the brands you recommended. The shopper immediately nixed Lafayette, Theory (too cheap, too young, doesn’t last), St John (old ladies who lunch). She thought Hugo Boss would be perfect. While my friend tried on a few other designers, she discovered she loved Hugo Boss, and the fit was perfect. It was interesting to watch salespeople for each designer scurry around searching for my friend’s size as the pile of clothing grew larger and larger.
I was astonished at the job the tailor did when she pinned the clothes. Pants that were swimming on my friend suddenly fit perfectly.
The shopper also explained why quality fitted clothing is so important, especially for someone making public presentations.
My favorite moments:
– The shopper picked up two pairs of skinny jeans. My friend puts them on, asking – do women really wear jeans this tight? She was incredulous that something that tight could still be comfortable. They were purchased. I am still in shock that we got her out of mom jeans.
– The bra fitting. The shopper figured out immediately that help was desperately needed there. (Even I could tell the bra was wrong.) I can’t give details publicly, but the bra fitting was a revelation.
– The shopper took a before picture of my friend, and just marveled in horror at things like the navy jacket bought at a consignment store and other stories of my friend’s sartorial ineptitude. She said that my friend was going to be a chapter in her book.
The shopper did an admirable job trying to convince my friend that she needs new shoes, new bags, new hair, new makeup. We tried to explain that well-made expensive shoes are just as comfortable (if not more so) as cheap orthopedic-looking shoes.
Bunsen – good point about whether she will abandon her old stuff. The shopper tried to throw out her bra, but my friend fished it out of the trash can. This bra is 10 years old – we begged her to understand that bras just don’t last for 10 years!
She bought 3 suits, a patterned blazer with matching solid pants, and a plaid blazer. A few shirts, the jeans, bras, shapers. When we finished, we went to Bolton’s and she bought two more shirts. I have no idea what she spent, but it came to significantly more than $2000. My friend loved everything – she simply could not believe how well things fit her.
I bought a pair of black jeans (Jen7 is the brand). The shopper wanted to do me too – recommended Tory Burch.
Wow!!! Sounds like you had a ton of productive fun!!! Yay, and she even loved skinny jeans! I think she will love her Hugo Boss for years to come. Good stuff, and good call by the personal shopper, too. I was at the mall today and checked out the collections, and the new St John did not impress me, but Hugo Boss did have some nice pieces. Congrats, your friend is lucky to have your support.
(I happened to do a personal shopper thing of much smaller proportions - dragged my friend to the mall because “I needed to return a few things, but Mr. took the car.” She bought a Classiques jacket on sale for $200, and only because I grabbed it and brought it to the fitting room.)
fireandrain, thanks for letting me live vicariously as a tall, slender 1%-er on a very fluid budget. This sort of made my day.
Ok, had to laugh at the bra story! Here is the deal with the farmer’s wife. At least this how my mom told me this story at bedtime many moons ago. So, this poor farmer had a beautiful wife. They were poor, and he could not afford to buy her new clothes, so she wore her trusted old skirt every day. When the skirt would develop a hole, the farmer’s wife would patch it up using whatever pieces of fabric she had available. It made the farmer sad to see his gorgeous wife in such horrible rags. One day, the farmer went to the big city and was able to sell his crops for more than he expected. Ecstatic, he bought a nice new skirt for his wife and proudly gave it to her upon his return. It brought tears to his wife’s eyes! The next morning, the farmer saw his wife happily patching his old skirt… What happened to the new one I bough for you, my dear wife, he said. Oh, my sweet husband, I cannot thank you enough for your wonderful present! I was able to make many, many patches out of it for my skirt!.. The end.
So let’s hope f&r’s friend does not make patches for her 80s clothes out of her new Hugo Boss stuff! 
When I started work 30 years ago, I really didn’t have any sense of style or what looked good on me. I will give my Ex credit, he was the one who took me shopping and acted like my personal shopper. I would try on different styles, brands to see what worked. I was surprised some styles that I thought would never look good on me were actually very flattering. Since then, I have been more adventuresome. When new style comes out, I would at least try it on before I decide I am too old, too young or just not my style.
I know a lot of people do not think clothes matter, but when I look good I feel more confident and happier when I look at myself in the mirror.
OP - you did a good thing for your friend. She may have the money, but without your support she probably would have been more reluctant to take this big step.
Thank you for sharing @fireandrain. I’m glad the story has a happy ending! It sounds like your friend bought some great items and actually enjoyed the experience. Maybe she will return to this personal shopper in the future. Perhaps the shopper can help your friend’s H select gifts to add to her wardrobe.
Can you talk your friend into round 2 (shoes and accessories) and round 3 (hair and make up)? This is fun.
The store was very smart to supply wine at the beginning of the experience. It takes fortitude to try on clothes for hours.
FireardDrain. You win an award for good friend ^:)^