CLOTHES PROS

IT’S ONE MORE thing you didn’t know you needed until someone told you that you needed it. We have columnists to straighten out our love lives, H&R Block to figure our income taxes. Why not someone to choose our clothing?

Why not a fashion consultant?

If that idea strikes you as peculiar, consider the hundreds -perhaps thousands – of Dallas men and women who have placed the decision of what will plume their person in the hands of someone else. Someone professional. Someone for a price.

If you think it’s a passing fancy, think again. Five years ago, the number of fashion consultants in the Dallas area could be counted on one hand. Now they can’t be counted at all. Dozens of local men and women -mostly women -have discovered that there’s a healthy, swelling market in the fashion consulting business.

These entrepreneurs go by various names -fashion consultant, wardrobe consultant, personal shopper, personal consultant -and they carry out different tasks, but all of them claim to be in business for one reason: to help Dallasites look their best.

Some consultants simply give wardrobe advice; others take you shopping. Many shop for you on their own. One may work with you for an hour; another, for several years. Most will negotiate a combination of services, remaining flexible and sensitive to what you need and want so that your clothing consultation is truly tailor-made. But the bottom line is that decisions of aesthetics and personal taste are made largely by an authority other than yourself.

When it comes to style, even individuals who are only marginally concerned with what’s in fashion are influenced by magazines, newspapers, television -by people other than themselves. And the people who are pros -either working in the fashion business or privately obsessed – rely on the myriad of magazines and up-to-the-minute fashion dailies to tell them what’s au courant in couture. So a personal fashion consultant is just the next step, a way to make it all, well, personal.

And convenient. For many clients of fashion consultants, looking good and dressing sharp are vital to their careers, but their jobs don’t allow them time to shop carefully and thoroughly. A fashion consultant can go to a client’s house, learn about her job, private life and personality, then head for the closet. The consultant will assess the wardrobe, noting any unnecessary items and crucial pieces the client may be lacking.

After a wardrobe analysis -depending on what a client feels brave enough to do – the fashion consultant begins searching for single items to augment a client’s wardrobe or often chooses complete ensembles that take the guesswork out of getting dressed in the morning. If a hostess is looking for the right dress for an upcoming cocktail party, her fashion consultant can find it. If the chairman of the board needs a new suit to match his company’s new image, his fashion consultant will be happy to put it together. And if Frieda Frumpy decides it’s time to shed her image once and for all – even if it means trashing her entire wardrobe and starting from scratch -her fashion consultant will be there with moral support and a very long shopping list.

Some consultants charge by the hour, others work for a flat fee and still others take commissions from their clients or from the stores where they shop. Some consultants charge as little as $20 per hour; others, as much as $70. Commission percentages range from 5 percent to 20 percent. A prospective client can expect to spend anywhere from $20 to more than $1,000 for expert fashion advice.



PATRICIA Corbett Elkins thinks of herself as an “exterior decorator.” She has been fashion consulting for more than seven years, but she has been in business for herself only during the past three. She gave up fashion management at Casual Corner and Lou Lattimore, along with various other fashion-oriented jobs, to take on full-time the career that makes her the happiest.

Although she has never advertised, she keeps a full appointment book of clients, taking on six to 10 a month. Elkins says that the amount of time and attention she gives each client leaves her little time to do anything else, although she does lecture and hold seminars.

Elkins’ process starts with an understanding of her client. “I begin,” she says, “by talking to the person I’m working with. I find out about their job, their lifestyle and their personality. I have to know who I’m working with before I can really get going.” Then, for $50 an hour, she weeds out her client’s closet, keeping in mind -above all else -flexibility. Not only does she concern herself with larger clothing items, she also checks jewelry, shoes, purses -even lingerie. She looks for gaps in the wardrobe as well as for items that can be supplemented and used in new ways. After she and her client compose a working list of possible purchases, the hard work begins.

Elkins then takes to the stores -at no fee- in search of items that will perfectly match her client. While Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman-Marcus and certain designer boutiques are frequent hunting grounds, she says she’s not above going to Target (which she jokingly pronounces “Tarjay,” as if it were French). “There are things to be found at all the stores,” she says. “I don’t limit myself. 1 look for what my clients need and want, and I try to find clothing that will best reflect the person inside.”

Finally, for a $600 fee, she takes her client on a four-hour shopping trip, visiting the stores where she has found suitable items. The client tries on the clothing, Elkins offers advice and the client purchases whatever she likes. If the spree requires more than four hours, Elkins’ rate drops back to $50 an hour. She gets no commission from the stores, nor does she take a commission from her clients on any item purchased.

Originally, Elkins’ clientele included only women, but she says that now about 50 percent of the people she counsels are men. Her clients also span age boundaries. She once worked on the wardrobe of a man she guessed to be about 75 years old, and she has counseled a 9-year-old girl. But she refuses to work with women who wear larger than a size 14. “After a size 14,” she says, “the clothing just isn’t interesting or exciting. It’s a waste of their money. Also, after a large woman buys new clothes, she has incentive to lose weight. If she loses the weight, then the new clothes don’t fit.” She often encourages a client to diet first, then come back to her.

Elkins considers her approach comprehensive, so she wastes no time in getting to the point. If something about a client seems detrimental to the person’s overall attractiveness, she says so. But she insists that “the client must be pampered” every step of the way.



SUSAN Kaminsky calls herself a wardrobe consultant, although her services are similar to those of Patricia Elkins. Kaminsky charges an hourly fee ($20), and the scope of her work depends on the client. After a consultation, she can shop with a client, for a client or both. She tries to “concentrate on making better use of the clothing that people already own and teach clients the styles that are best for them.” She believes in quality rather than quantity. “Many people,” she says, “have more clothes than they really need. I help them purchase individual items that will give them the most versatility and flexibility in their wardrobe. I believe in fewer but better clothes.”

The range of stores in which Kaminsky shops is wide, as is her range of clients. She has just completed her first year in business and is now starting to counsel men. Her first male client was an out-of-town television anchor man who flew to Dallas to be outfitted by her. Like Kaminsky, many of the established fashion consultants in town counsel local celebrities, but their names- like the names of all clients-are confidential.

Kaminsky has recently expanded her business. She is now giving corporate seminars that address men and women on how to improve their look at work. “Dallas,” she says, “is a dynamic city. Dallasites are goal-oriented working people who are concerned about their appearance.”



PERHAPS the services of Valerie Sokolosky can be called supercomprehen-sive. As head of Valerie and Co., she works as a fashion and color consultant with emphasis on color. For $65, she will give clients a color consultation that will tell them about their hair, facial and eye coloring and show them which clothing colors look best on them.

Sokolosky subscribes to a scientific system devised by a color company (one of many) called Beauty for All Seasons. Working with various color charts and umpteen fabric swatches, she shows her clients which colors light up their faces and which colors leave them washed-out. At the end of a session, she gives her clients a color pack of 25 swatches – the 25 colors that most flatter the person. The pack is a flexible guide to be used when shopping. Sokolosky believes that no fashion consultation can be helpful without a color consultation first. Therefore, when she does a wardrobe consultation, she recommends that her clients learn first about their own colors. “To get full benefit from the fashion wardrobe,” she says, “and to know you are looking your best, you must begin with color.”

As fashion consultants, Elkins, Kamin-sky and Sokolosky believe that a wardrobe should be more functional than extravagant. When asked about fashion “basics” that should be included in any wardrobe, all three women favor classic styles. “A workable wardrobe should start with the classics,” Sokolosky says. “That includes a smart suit or dress and jacket with a basic shoe, purse and classic accessories.” Ka-minsky says that for the professional woman “a couple of basic suits per season, classic pumps and a wide variety of blouses are necessities.” Elkins notes that by changing accessories “a day suit can become a night suit, and any outfit can be very flexible.” For men, Elkins recommends three basic suits: navy blue, gray and tan; although she believes that all fashion choices depend on the individual’s career and personality. “Lawyers, for example,” Elkins says, “shouldn’t wear clothing or accessories that are distracting.”

The amount of money a person spends on clothing under the guidance of a consultant is, of course, up to the individual. A client might simply have a $20 consultation and use the advice on future shopping occasions; another might spend $6,000 in an afternoon. “A client’s spending range,” Sokolosky says, “depends on how much of their wardrobe is already coordinated.” It also depends on the client’s financial limitations. Elkins says that many of her clients are not wealthy and that “even people who have a lot of money love a good sale.”

“If I can take a client shopping,” Sokolosky says, “and put together one complete workable outfit, I feel that’s a good accomplishment.”

Fashion consultants get varying receptions from department store and boutique salespeople. Kaminsky insists that “people in department stores are wonderful; they’re very helpful.” But some retailers become uneasy at the thought of clothing being chosen without the client present. “As a retailer,” says Shelley Jacobs Baget, owner of the Gazebo, “ideally, you’d prefer that the client be in the store.” And most of the personal shoppers who come in, she says, don’t bring their clients. A common complaint among retailers is that fashion consultants simply don’t know a store’s stock as well as the people working in the store.

Other retailers point to the glut of alleged fashion consultants operating at no one’s discretion but their own. Says one Dallas boutique manager: “There are lots of people out there who pretend to be fashion consultants. They’re preying on other people’s weaknesses at the expense of the client and the store at which they’re shopping.” Baget says she once asked a consultant not to return to the Gazebo because the woman was taking out so much clothing and selling so little. “However,” she says, “with many [consultants] there’s a return rate of less than 2 percent.”

Many Dallas stores, including Neiman-Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, have their own fashion consulting services; the better Dallas stores consider their salespeople qualified to “consult” customers. Fashion consultants have been available to Nei-man-Marcus’ female customers for about six years. Presently, four staff consultants are at the downtown store, and each sees one or two clients a day. Like the independent consultants, a Neiman’s consultant will go to a client’s home to determine her lifestyle and fashion needs, then take clothing from the store and bring it back to a fitting room where the client can try things on and make decisions in private. Neiman’s won’t work officially with private fashion consultants, and most of the ones who go into the store don’t identify themselves as such.

Saks offers similar services, also at no charge, through the Fifth Avenue Club. Both department stores consider their own representatives qualified consultants who give the best advice available. Frank Ball, senior vice president and store manager of Neiman-Marcus downtown, says his sales-people “know their customers, know their customers’ needs and know the merchandise thoroughly.”

Still, individual consultants insist that their services are more thorough and more personal. And, they say, more satisfying to the client. “The greatest joy I receive,” Sokolosky says, “is seeing someone become more self-confident and feel better about themselves from the inside as well as from the outside.” “It’s exciting,” Kaminsky says, “to see people change right in front of you.” Apparently, the changes make people happy, and all three consultants believe that’s the name of the game. Says Elkins: “People should be taught to enjoy the way they look.”

Baget believes that personal fashion consultants “have been around longer than anyone thinks.” She sees their work as part of the trend in fashion and retailing that is moving back toward service. Frank Ball describes the Dallas shopper as “a very fashion-conscious, quality-oriented customer who requires a great deal of quality and service.” For some, that service has become utterly personal.

Without a doubt, Dallas will continueto see more and more individual fashionconsultants as well as more personal consulting services in the stores. And Dallasis the obvious place for such a boomingbusiness because it is so diligently a business town and so instinctively fashionable. It’s a town filled with men andwomen who believe that being fashionable isn’t a luxury any longer but a necessity. They have to look good -whateverthe cost.