Label Fables

How do you react to the following two words; clothes tags?

It curious how something as innocuous as a piece of cardboard can be a source of great joy and great misery. "I'm normally a 12 but these trousers are a 10" I overheard a women exclaim with delight in a changing room yesterday. At the same time, another woman trying on a pair of size 12 jeans squealed in despair that she needed a size 14. One women joyfully skipped out of the shop clutching her size 10 trousers. The other, left the shop empty-handed, glum and forlorn.

The amazing thing was that both these women were the exact same size and shape and thus would certainly fit in the same clothes. But, the cardboard labels told them differently - and look at the psychological impact it had. It seems that nothing will cut you down to size quite like a clothes tag.

Women are often overly concerned with the size number on the label and this can in fact limit their shopping experience drastically. Remember, the number is just a guide, created by a factory; it's not the definitive assessment of your shape.

In my experience as a personal shopper, I've met women who refuse to buy a certain item because of the size quoted on the label, even though the garment looks amazing on them, and often makes them look slimmer!

It's important to remember that if you squeeze yourself into a sightly-too-tight-but-it-is-in-your-desired-size garment, you will inevitably look larger than you actually are. You are better off to go with a larger size, and promptly cut the label off when you get home if it affronts you! Nobody will ever know except you - any you won't care anyway when you know you look great.

On a shopping trip in Wallis yesterday, I put this principle into practice. I found The Perfect Dress in where...their "Petite" section! Petite...I'm 5'9"! But let me tell you this dress fits like a glove; it hugs me in the right places, has an extremely flattering length, and the colours make my milk-bottle-white skin look vibrant and healthy (the lilac is slightly stronger than it looks in the image). It just proves that labels are there to be flouted.

Speaking of Wallis, boy is their Spring-Summer 2010 collection amazing! Have a look at http://www.wallis.co.uk/ to preview (and perhaps purchase!) a huge selection of delectable dresses, sleek workwear and amazing affordable jewellery.

Yours in style,
Caroline