Personal Shopping

Vanessa finds the key articles of clothing that your wardrobe is missing in order to create the image you want. You can shop together or she can shop without you and bring the purchases to your home or office. When she shops with you, she pulls the clothing you will be trying on before your session starts so you arrive to a full dressing room. To see photos of past Females Clients, Click Here. To see photos of past Male Clients, Click Here.

Vanessa also provides online shopping. When shopping online, Vanessa e-mails you direct links to items so you know exactly what to purchase. You can decide what to keep by yourself, or Vanessa can come to your home to help decide. If need be, Vanessa can purchase the items online for you and bring them to your home. In those cases, Vanessa adds the costs of items you keep to your invoice and provides you a copy of the receipts.

Note: Before Vanessa begins any service with a client, she sits down with you for a Consultation to discuss the look you want.

FAQ On Personal Shopping

I like to shop at discount stores like Nordstrom Rack and Marshalls? Do you take clients there?

Unfortunately crowded discount stores do not cater well to the personal styling process. The customer service, dressing room sizes and organization of garments are incredibly inefficient. You may save money on garments, but will end up costing more in my hourly fee because of the time it will take to find the items.

Money and/or time is not important to me. I just want an enjoyable experience and beautiful clothing. Do you do that?

Absolutely. My service is completely tailored to you. If you want boutiques instead of malls, and exquisite pieces over multi tasking garments, we will relish in that.

How much money should I expect to spend on the clothing and accessories?

If we are shopping for one outfit or a certain garment, you can spend less than $1000. If you are looking to remodel your wardrobe, anything less than $1,000 is inefficient. $1,500 – $5000 is best to for a new core wardrobe. Another way to look at it, on average, a quality garment costs $125. This average takes into account more expensive items like jeans, silks, coats, and boots as well as less expensive garments and sale items. For clients with high-end interest or suit needs, a larger budget is needed.

I am on a tight budget and would like to spend less than $1000 for a wardrobe makeover. Do you work with budget conscious shoppers?

I no longer work with very tight budgets, but I can most definitely refer you to a personal stylist that does. She works differently than me, but she is a delight. Simply contact me and I will send you her information.

How long is our shopping trip when I go shopping with you? How many stores do we go to?

I like to do multiple 1.5-3 hour sessions, versus longer sessions, for a more energized and enjoyable experience. I find people get very tired after 2 hours. It is also nice to go home and let the first round of purchases settle in. We generally do 1-3 stores per session.

Where do you like to take clients shopping?

In San Diego, I generally stick to Fashion Valley Mall unless a client requests otherwise. The stores I prefer to take clients to are Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, J.Crew, GAP, Anthropologie, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Madewell, Hugo Boss, Ted Baker, Macy’s shoe section, and DSW. Obviously I use other stores when needed, like Salvatore Ferragamo, Chicos, 7 For All Mankind, Tory Burch, Scotch and Soda, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara and more.

Do you make commission on the purchases I make at the stores you take me to?

No, I do not make any sort of commission on your purchases when we shop together and I do not work for any of the stores that we shop in, nor am I affiliated with the mall in anyway. The sales associate that assists us in the store makes the commission. You can rest assured, every store and garment I select is based entirely on what I think is best for you, my client.

On the topic of commission, if you are a reader of my blog, V-Style or V-Style For Men, click on a link, and make a purchase online, most of the time I do make a commission through marketing programs, like Linkshare. Obviously, this is completely separate from taking a client to a store, but thorough honesty is important to me.

How many shopping trips do I need?

Unless shopping for one specific event, most everyone needs two shopping sessions. After that, clients tend to book another shopping session for the next season. Once their summer and winter wardrobe is covered, clients bring me in about once a year or every other year for updates, events or personal changes.

How does it work when you shop for me?

I can shop without you in physical stores or shop online and then we try on the purchases at your home or office. If I purchase them on my credit card, I then invoice you for the items you decide to keep, and return the items we decide against. Keep in mind, the time it takes for me to return items to their respective stores will be added to the invoice as well.

I am very environmentally conscious and only want to shop eco-friendly brands and/or consignment and resale shops. Do you work with clients that have shopping restrictions?

I most definitely do, and for those that want to shop exclusively at resale stores, I actually have someone on my team that specifically works with your goals.

I don’t need a lot of advice. I just want someone to get my shopping done for me. Is that something you do?

Absolutely. After the consultation, I will understand my client’s personal style and shopping needs. My greatest skill is my ability to read my clients, even when communication is not their forte. Once we have discussed the items my client needs and the schedule in which they need it, I become more of a personal shopper, versus a teacher.

Can you teach me how to dress so I won’t need you every time I go shopping?

Throughout the process I constantly discuss why we say yes to some garments and why we don’t. We are always pointing out the pros and cons of the items we try on and I am happy to answer any and all shopping and style questions you may have.