Personal styling appointment at John Lewis – review
I finally had my long-await personal styling appointment at John Lewis so thought I’d share an honest review and give you the low down on what to expect if you book one.
John Lewis provide a free personal styling appointment in store or a virtual online appointment and after having mine I would definitely recommend it.
This isn’t just for women there’s a menswear personal stylist option too.
I’d seen Gemma and Sam from This is Mothership rave about the free personal styling service at John Lewis and also saw a couple of videos on TikTok and with a flexi day booked, I thought sod it I’m having some much needed me time!
Booking a personal styling appointment at John Lewis
It’s really easy to book a personal styling appointment at John Lewis, you can do this in store, on the website or via the John Lewis app.
I booked my appointment via the John Lewis website. I wasn’t precious about which stylist but I had a set day in mind.
It’s a two hour slot and you can pick which stylist, time and day via the availability.
Cancelling or rescheduling your appointment is super easy too, I had to reschedule mine a few times and I did so via the reminder text message link and again this is free.
You also get a confirmation email too.
Once your appointment is booked in you then fill out a short form on the website (or the app) which asks you questions about your style and what you’re looking for in the appointment e.g. your dress size, the occasion, or perhaps you simply want the time for jeans, there’s also a text box to add in further comments too.
You also have the option to have a bra fitting as part of your appointment which I opted for.
My personal styling appointment at John Lewis
After having to reschedule a couple of times because Elsie was poorly and industrial action meaning I had to cancel some leave, I finally had my appointment.
You’re advised via your confirmation email to arrive for your appointment five minutes early and if you want you can bring with you any accessories or other clothing you’d like to style as part of your session.
My appointment was at John Lewis in Newcastle.
I asked a nice gentleman on menswear where I needed to go for a personal styling appointment and he told me to report to ladies’ wear upstairs to the styling hub in the centre.
After making my way upstairs through the lovely perfume department, I was warmly welcomed at the styling hub by Amber.
She checked me off the diary and took me over to the personal stylist fitting room area.
The fitting room is really big and there’s a large floor to ceiling curtain which divides the room in two, so you have privacy to change and your stylist can be present to chat with you once you’re ready.
I wanted to look for new work wear and I was desperate for new jeans.
Amber and I had a quick chat about what I was wanting from the appointment, what prints I like, what I do for work, what colours I usually like, if I prefer trousers skirts or dresses and bras.
This gave her a really good idea of what I was looking for.
I was offered a tea, coffee or water and I opted for a water.
Amber brought my bottle of water and a glass through and said to make myself comfortable while she pulled some clothes from the shop floor for me to look at and try on.
While Amber went to look for clothes I caught up on my socials and my book and enjoyed my water.
I’d recommend taking a book or magazine with you as she was gone about 20 minutes or so but came back with a huge rack of clothes for me to try.
Once she returned, she brought through a rail of work wear and a few pairs of jeans.
And first of all we did my bra fitting.
Since covid, they no longer use the traditional tape measure, rather they do your bra fitting by sight.
Amber checked my current bra which I was fitted for about 18 months ago and asked me about what styles I usually go for and then went to source nude and black t-shirt bras at my request.
She confirmed my size was the same which is what I suspected.
I tried on two styles and made my mind up on the classic t-shirt style a John Lewis own brand in nude which is £18.
Now it was time to try on clothes.
First up, I tried on jeans, Amber had brought through a variety of straight leg and different rises for me to try on.
I’m a millennial who has worn skinny jeans for a long time and haven’t worn a straight leg since university, so trying on straight leg jeans was really out of my comfort zone.
However, I fell in love with some Levi 724 high rise jeans but the length was too long but the rest of the fit was great.
I absolutely loved some Mint Velvet indigo jeans which were in the sale for only £39 and a lighter blue with a frayed hem on the leg for £89.
Mint Velvet is a brand I’ve heard of but never worn.
With jeans and bras in the bag it was time to try on some work wear.
She pulled some different black trousers for me to try, side fastenings are not my friend but a tie waist John Lewis pair were (£49).
I tried on a quite variety of tops and this confirmed that I definitely like blouses with a V-neck and sleeves.
Surprisingly a V-neck ribbed black Mint Velvet top really caught my eye and it’s not something I would have ever tried on now that I’m a lot bigger than I used to be!
However it was really lovely on.
I’m a big fan of dresses but nothing really took my fancy that day.
The two hours absolutely flew by.
Amber stayed with me in the fitting room for the majority of the appointment and we had a really good chin wag.
She wasn’t pushy at all and offered her professional advice and tips and really helped me gain some confidence.
What did I buy from my personal styling appointment at John Lewis?
I bought two t-shirt bras which were John Lewis own brand for £18 one nude and one black and my size has stayed the same.
Jeans wise, I went for the bargain Mint Velvet indigo pair for £39, they are a great length and I think can be dressed up or down and they suck in my mum tum.
Unfortunately, John Lewis didn’t have the Levi 724 jeans in my leg length but I did purchase them from the Levi’s store and used my Blue Light card for 30% off in a lighter classic blue and I love them.
I did buy the Mint Velvet black ribbed top but I’ll admit I misread the label and I felt £79 was just too much so I returned it sadly.
I’m on the hunt for something similar but more purse friendly.
Trousers wise, I bought the John Lewis black pair for £49, they have pockets and are a great length and feel comfortable and smart.
I can wear my leather loafers, heels or boots with these and I think they’ll go with a lot of tops I have in my wardrobe already.
All in all, my personal styling appointment was a great success and I bought exactly what I had wanted – new jeans and bras and some trousers for work.
My overall thoughts on my personal styling appointment at John Lewis
I absolutely loved my personal styling appointment at John Lewis and I highly recommend it.
It’s a dedicated two hour time slot that you can use to concentrate on a wardrobe refresh, a special occasion or maybe just for jeans – however you want to.
I tried on items I would never have tried on and I feel more confident with what works with my body and shape as it is now.
I’ve felt intimidated by jeans for a long time and overwhelmed with different styles but not anymore.
The fact that brands like Levi don’t do sizes like elsewhere (e.g. it’s 32, 28 etc rather than 14 or 8) confused me but now I know what size I am in the waist and the leg I felt confident to go into the Levi’s store and ask for what I wanted.
I know that size fastenings in trousers don’t work for me but high waisted and middle fastenings does.
The layout of the fitting room works well, there’s a chair for you to sit down and take a load off while you wait for your clothes to be wheeled in and your stylist can be in the room with you while you whizz between the different items.
Not having to go and traipse round the shop floor yourself and having items brought to you is such a game changer and actually saves so much time.
I also tried on loads of clothes but because the room isn’t too warm I didn’t feel too hot and bothered by the end and because they were all in my size I could try one after another really quickly.
The personal stylists can also offer you advice and styling tips and can nip out and get you a different size or colour of an item that you like while you can try on other items or have a sit down with a drink and a book.
There’s a till by the fitting room so you can purchase anything you’d like without having to join a big queue which is another plus!
I really felt that this took the stress out of shopping for me not only during the appointment but for the future too – I know my bra size, my jeans size and style that I like and what tops and trousers look and feel best.
I’m feeling more confident in myself but also in terms of knowing what to look for elsewhere either online or in store.
There’s no obligation to buy anything and the appointment itself is free so you really don’t have anything to lose.
I wouldn’t hesitate to book another personal styling appointment at John Lewis.
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