Practical Princess Perfect Wardrobe E-Book

Elika Gibbs

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

In Practical Princess Perfect Wardrobe, organizational whizz and wardrobe expert Elika Gibbs shares the secrets of her unique three-step process, putting the luxury of a complete wardrobe makeover within everyone's reach.Elika starts with a wardrobe assessment that's designed to help you dress for the life you lead, and offers plenty of hand-holding as you clear out your closet. Once you've decided what to keep and what needs to go, the next step is to reorganize, rehang and colour coordinate your wardrobe. Finally, Elika focuses on savvy and successful shopping to fill the gaps. The result? A hard-working, streamlined wardrobe that makes it easy to get dressed and easy to feel confident about yourself. Elika Gibbs is a organizational whizz and wardrobe expert. She is every bit as glamorous as her celebrity clients, yet is also happy to get down on hands and knees to scrub out the bottom of a cupboard. Elika spent seven years running dress hire shop Bodie and Gibbs in Knightsbridge, where she transformed women of all shapes and sizes into a goddess for a night in the fabulous designer dresses and accessories that she hired out.'Elika is a practical genius...' Kate Moss

Leseprobe

Contents

Introduction

The practical princess story

Wardrobe assessment

does your wardrobe reflect your life?

trying on

the six-pile process

what to do with your edit pile

what to do with your unwanted clothes

storage

the cataloguing process

Organizing your wardrobe

adapting your space

cleaning your space

tools of the trade

hanging your clothes by type and color

template folding

lingerie

hosiery and socks

swimwear

shoes and boots

handbags

belts

costume jewellery

hats

the common clothes moth

identifying the gaps

Going shopping

looking good and feeling confident

what to take with you

where to go

inside the store

the dreaded changing room

your style

shopping for special occasions

packing

Acknowledgments

About the author

About the photographer

Credits

introduction

The following pages contain the tried-and-tested Practical Princess formula that I use at work every day. I work with a myriad of clients whose individual needs are many and varied, and so I tailor each job slightly to benefit them. Some clients will only require wardrobe organization, while others need to go through the full process of assessment, organization and shopping.

I do not claim to be a fashionista in any way, shape or form, but I have had the privilege to work with many fashion icons. My unique formula has worked for each and every one of them, as they have been able to get clarity in their vast wardrobes.

By following these steps, I hope that you too will achieve ‘closet clarity’ and enjoy getting dressed again.

the practical princess story

Practical Princess evolved and grew without me actually even knowing it. It didn’t begin in the conventional way that a lot of companies do. I didn’t have a vision, and certainly didn’t have a business plan, but this is the story of how it all started.

In my late twenties, I opened up a designer and couture evening dress hire shop in Knightsbridge, London, with my then business partner Arabella Bodie. Our aim was to have a shop where you could hire a beautiful long gown for the night without having to spend thousands of pounds buying a dress you might only wear once. We stocked gorgeous dresses from designers such as Bruce Oldfield, Amanda Wakeley, Jenny Packham and Vera Wang. Ladies could also hire jewellery, shoes, handbags and pashminas, making it a one-stop shop.

We also sold the original ‘Magic Knickers’. These had not yet hit the market – Arabella and I had sourced them from a European trade fair – and they became a great hit. They were so popular that at times we would sit up all night packing hundreds of pairs of knickers to send out worldwide.

After running the shop for a number of years, our lives started to change. Arabella got married and – whoops! – I got pregnant. Becoming a single mum and Arabella leaving Bodie & Gibbs had a dramatic effect upon my life. Financially, with a baby to support, I was finding it hard to survive on the salary that I drew. I had to find a way to earn more money.

Whether by luck, fate or perfect timing, I was asked by a successful and busy executive to help organize and restructure her household. I was hesitant about accepting the offer, as I had no training or qualifications in this field, but I was assured that I could do it and I really needed the extra cash. Although I was still running the shop, during the next couple of years I spent a day a week reorganizing every nook and cranny of her home, from kitchen cupboards to wardrobes. I also helped hire and train her staff, and shopped for anything from bed linens to new pairs of jeans. You name it, I did it!

At this point my main focus was still Bodie & Gibbs. Over the years, I had built some wonderful relationships with a number of clients who I would regularly dress for parties and events. I have always been one to push the boundaries, and I had encouraged many of them to move out of their comfort zone and try something different. I was flattered when they started to ask me to help them with their day-to-day look too, and this was how I started personal shopping.

Not all personal shoppers will look at a client’s wardrobe before they shop, but for me it was a logical step, so that I could see what clothes they had and what was missing. I was often shocked to discover the way in which these ladies kept their clothes. No wonder they couldn’t get dressed! I realized that these women were not the unstylish, hopeless cases that they thought. In fact, some had wonderful pieces lurking in the depths of their wardrobe but that were just not getting used.

I realized that I couldn’t help my clients or take them shopping until I could get ‘closet clarity’. And this is where my formula began to develop. I didn’t want to humiliate or embarrass anyone, but I needed them to try on their clothes so that we could establish what worked and what didn’t. By rehanging and reorganizing their closets, we were able to establish the gaps that needed to be filled when we went shopping.

I guess that this is when Practical Princess started to take form. It slowly evolved and grew by word of mouth, and bookings began to include household and office moves. Thankfully, all the knowledge and know-how I had obtained from running my shop, along with the new experiences gained from different clients’ needs, helped me to take on these new challenges. Fearful as I was to take the next step, as my livelihood and that of my little girl depended upon it, I decided to close the door on my dress shop and concentrate on making Practical Princess my full-time profession.

That was five years ago, and even though there have been trials and tribulations, tears and laughter, my business has expanded and I now have ‘princesses’ who run their own teams. I have developed my own product range and opened a storage centre for my clients to store off-season and archive clothes.

On reflection, I wonder whether I would have had the foresight and courage to start Practical Princess if I had not been in dire straits. I certainly felt the fear, but I didn’t have the time to think about the consequences if things went wrong, and for that I am grateful.

I now consider myself so lucky to love what I do for a living. The variety and challenges that face me day to day are never boring, and I have met some amazing people along the way who have been instrumental in supporting me. New opportunities and ventures are again being placed in front of me – this book being one. The fear came back, but it was a challenge I couldn’t resist!

does your wardrobe reflect your life?

The Practical Princess process always starts the same way, with a consultation to meet my client face to face in their own environment. This is to help me build a picture of the client, so that when I look through their wardrobe I can see whether their clothes reflect their lifestyle. I ask my clients to tell me a bit about themselves while I gently question them to get the answers I need. I want you to ask yourself the same questions:

• Do you work?

• How do you spend your days?

• What’s your marital status?

• Are you a parent?

• What’s your social life?

• Do you have any upcoming events?

• What are your interests?

• Do you travel?

• Are you happy with your weight and well-being?