Not being a Knight Templar (relevance for readers of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code) I am generally unphased by Friday 13th. It has about as much relevance in my life as not walking on cracks in the pavement (honestly, I do that because of my heels, not superstition) and touching wood (when was the last time you did that and there was any real wood within reaching distance?). But today has been a lesson in why one shouldn’t denigrate ‘believers’.

I set my alarm early to leave home early to prepare for my first client early. I even prepared last night by ironing today’s clothes and a clean makeup cape ready to bring with me, early. So far so good. But I really did not want to get out of bed today - I hate dark mornings. Then I dallied about and faffed around, eventually leaving barely 10 minutes earlier than normal, and without my neatly ironed cape! 

I plugged in my hands free to my Blackberry, only to discover that I must have not only left it switched on all night, but that the ghosts were using it, and had completely exhausted the battery. Discovering this about 4 miles away from home - where my charger was sitting in a drawer in the kitchen - made me really happy, not.

I got into the office to find I had lost my keys; I left my equipment in my car so had to go back to the carpark for it; because I didn’t have a working mobile I couldn’t log into my paypal account to process payments; my PC has been doing really stupid network things all day, and I have just spilt my ‘quick cup of tea before I sneak off early’ all down my trousers. So now I have to sit hard up against the radiator to dry off before I go out so it doesn’t look like I have wet myself.

I am going home to go to bed and wait until it is not Friday 13th anymore.  I know there are lots of things I should be doing, but the way today has been so far, I suspect that driving home will be about all I can cope with. I was going to write about book groups and book events at Wigtown and Imprint, but that will all have to wait until I am stronger.

Fingers crossed and off I go………

I have had a couple of disappointing weeks at shows, so am sufferring from tired legs and a hearty dose of the blues.

First there was the inaugural Galston Fun Day, where a good time was to be had by all. It was outdoors, cold and the marquee we were in faced resolutely into the wind and drizzle, so not the best of days. Then there were just the 2 of us. There were only a grand totral of 5 stalls, and only 2 of us were actually trading, the other 3 being community services. Not quite what I had been expecting. And I was not alone in my dilusion. Most of my visitors were people who complained that there was not much going on, they had expected more, or that they had wanted a stand or to do a display, and were turned down. Misery upon misery, and very poor sales to boot. First and last possibly? They need to do much more if it is to be repeated, not least to advertise it; even my neighbours didn’t know it was happening.

This past weekend saw me visiting Moda again in Birmingham. Definitely a last time. Fewer exhibitors and far fewer buyers meant the people were all a lot more grumpy and disinterested. Why is it that if you only have a few people about, the exhibitors seem to resent everybody for breaking into their idle reverie? Wouldn’t you think that what few buyers there are would be welcomed with open arms? I had a second attempt at buying from a well-renowned vendor, and again was faced with a rather sniffy agent; why do they not believe that I know what my customers do and don’t want? Still, I went with a shopping list and a budget in mind, and came away with absolutely nothing, so their loss! Now I just need to find another more useful show, or another agent to sit alongside the Dent’s guys (who are very helpful). Sometimes I feel it is no wonder retail is in the doldrums, if buying is such a chore.

Next weekend I am off to Harrogate to the Lingerie show, and hoping for better things. At least if that is bad I can just nip up to Betty’s Tea Rooms to cheer myself up, whereas at the NEC you just have the station and airport…..

Having been off-line for a few months, it has taken a while to clear up the backlog of spam comments posted in my absence - a very good reason to post more often. And with the end of July in sight, I have a few days to catch up on life, before heading off to the shows in August. It really is a busy time, with Pure, then Moda then the Lingerie show in Harrogate. Usually by the time Harrogate comes around I am too jaded to bother going, but I have booked myself a hotel room, and am looking forward to tea at Betty’s, so this year I am determined to get there. Then the last weekend in August is a visit to dad for his birthday, and that is the whole month gone.
It has been a busy year, with the image business www.cmbayrshire.co.uk being quite steady, and my new ecommerce site www.makeupandaccessories.co.uk ticking along. But the real claim on my time in recent months has been the new charity for training youngsters and interview outfits www.realworkskills.org.uk. So much so that anything non-urgent has just been put on hold, which takes us back to why I got overwhelmed by spammers, I simply took my eye of the ball for too long.
The sun is shining and the weeds are 6 feet high, but today I am sorting out my emails and blogs. Tomorrow I might even get around to updating the products on my website……

I was putting on my trousers this morning - an old and well loved pair - and it struck me just how much the fashion retail scene is changing.

My Viyella chocolate brown side zip trousers are a little more snug now than when I bought them, which must be over 10 years ago. But they are still smart enough to wear for work, and machine wash and tumble dry on a regular basis.

Looking through my wardrobe, I have similar style trousers in black, navy, charcoal, cream and dark green. They are a mix of Windsmoor and Viyella, all with extra long legs, and thinking about it, all more than 10 years old. I have bought trousers in the last year from Planet and Lakeland, but they are not side zipped, although they do have longer leg length.

There is a theme here, so bear with me. You see, like 60% of the women in this country I am pear shaped. So the best ‘look’ for me is to wear flat fronted trousers (I look pregnant in pleats) with a side zip. But it is ages since I found any, so I have resorted to buying front fly trousers. And I have only just realised how easy shopping used to be.

When I stop to think, I used to hang out at the same group of shops on a regular basis; each had its own niche, and I used to go to each depending on the occassion I was shopping for. They were all mid-range high street stores, although being a rural shopper, I frequently had to go to concessions in department stores, or shop in my lunch breaks when I was in London working.

There was Viyella (now on its umpteenth owner in recent years) which was my first choice for well-fitting good basic neutrals and work suits. But even back in the day, I used to have to go up to Regents Street to buy their cashmere - which is still the best I have ever bought anywhere - as the regional stores didn’t sell it.  Then usually round the corner was Coutry Casuals (now re-branded CC and going for a ‘younger’ look) which had nice outfits for dressed-up casual, but was to my mind a bit like M&S, in that you would go in one season and love everything, then a couple of weeks later it would have reverted to frumpy old person styling.

For concessions there was always Windsmoor, where I was always at least a size smaller than anywhere else, and although much of their output always seemed to be aimed at the ‘cruise’ market, if you chose to ignore their over co-ordinated way of putting things together, they did some great individual pieces. If you bought a full ‘look’ there you would really come across as mother-of-the-bride.

And last, but by no means least, was Jaegar. I loved that shop. Sizes were on the snug side, but they were always more fashion-forward, and great quality. I have spent a fortune in there over the years, never failing to fing things that I just had to have. Harder to find a shop, there just were fewer of them about, but I knew where my regualr haunts were.

And for independent labels, I loved Lucia (now bought out and gone oh so frumpy) and FZR. But with the problems in the market, even the stores I know that used to stock them have moved on.

My latest passion, which I had not even realised until ironing recently when I suddenly noticed all the labels, is MbyM. Great Danish knitwear, in superb styles and colours. I will now be actively seeking it out.

But back to my rant for the day. Where of where can I now source good quality long legged side zipped trousers?

I no longer take weekly or even monthly trips to London, so Regent Street is out of the question. It is 2 years since I made it into Manolo’s, and believe me, that is my first (shopping) port of call when I am in town. Ahead of that is only the V&A, and I have been there recently…..

I do shop regularly, although not often for myself. I look for outfits for my clients, and I am aware of what is out there and the changes in the retail landscape. I buy online, although I enjoy the girly occassion of a shopping trip, but much of my clothes shopping traditionally was simply a quick spin around a few cherished labels, and home laden with bags. I think those days are gone, and that is a shame.

I am writing this sitting at my studio desk in a High Street location above Superdrug. Opposite is a closed Principles, along this side one way is a closed Woolworths (been empty for 3 years) and on the opposite side is the Woolworths that closed at Christmas. Next door to me is an empty ex-Barratts, and between here and the car park I pass shop after shop that has disappeared this year.

The High Street concept was dying because of ‘out-of-town’ shopping, but now there is nobody here, you really have to ask why people will bother coming into town at all in the future. Obvioulsy there are the few remaining names, H&M, Next (is it me or are they going down market?), Primark, River Island etc. And of course Debenhams, which frankly is looking increasingly like an indoor market it is so crowded and jumbled and ‘couldnt-care-less’ feel is really off-putting. But where next?

I feel there is a huge gap opening in the market. My 40+ shoppers do not want to look old and frumpy, do not want to look like their teenage kids, and frankly have loads of money and time to spend on themselves, but nowhere to spend it. A very loyal band of shoppers is looking for a home.

Oh, and just because I have had some of my trousers for over 10 years, do not run away with the idea that I do not spend much/often. I am an impulsive shopper, I love cashmere and maxi dresses, Manolo shoes and anything bright and sparkly. I shop every month, and I clear out my wardrobe every 6 months or so. And when I say wardrobe, I have a spare bedroom that has no bed in it, just rails and shelves. I am beginning to wonder if I am going to be saving a lot of money in the future, because I just haven’t seen anything that I want to buy/must have/need………..

I have just spent a long weekend in a beautiful country house with a gaggle of image consultants from all over the world. Some are relatively new to the industry, and some are ‘old hands’ and real experts, but all are seriously lovely people (mainly women) who are easy to get on with, and happy to help each other out, whilst maintaining their own business edge.

Not being myself a very girly-girl, I have always had a dread fear of large groups of women together in one place. It can be very intimidating to have your peers apparently watching your every move, and in this case, every outfit you wear, whether you feel well put together or just flung something on (in my case because I put my heel through my trouser hem on the way in). But I have to say, I enjoyed it, and learned loads of things, not all of which were on the agenda!

As with most events, the unscripted sessions are usually the best. Nowadays we are taught to call these ‘networking’, but in reality it is chilling out with friends old and new, having a good whinge and a quick bitching session, then putting the world to rights over good food and wine. A bit of almost-work-related pampering never did a soul any harm.

As you can imagine, one topic recurring throughout the weekend is how image consulting will fare in a recession, or financial crash, or call it what you will, when we are all economising? Have you ever noticed how a group of women together will never admit that they are each not doing as well as everybody else in the room? So it is hard to judge the reality, but overall the mood was upbeat.

Personally I think that people reach a point in  their lives where they want to find out more about looking good, or are having a crisis of confidence, and that is when they seek out an image consultant. If you are not ready, you will not bother. I do not believe it is on a tick-list of ‘things I have to do before….’ so people will still want help and reassurance, to boost their confidence. It is just a question of how they spend their disposable income.

There is an argument that your clothes shopping becomes more effective (as in more value per £) if you have your basic rules, but whilst that is certainly valid, it is not, in my experience, a reason to seek out help. we will see over the coming months if articles written around the various subjects involved in image consulting start to contain cost-cutting references. It is not and never has been about spending loads of money on designer outfits or a new wardrobe, but it is still perceived as a bit of pampering, a treat, and to drive it forward on a cost agenda would, to my mind, be entirely wrong. The next few months will be interesting for all of us.