Reinventing myself ... personal stylist / shopper

[Permission Granted]

Due to recent events in my life, I have decided that it is time I take my mid life crisis and do something productive. I am going to make some changes and basically reinvent myself.

I am again single, I have no family living in the same state as myself, and all my close friends are even farther away. I have drinking buddies, but nobody I can really trust with important decisions, so here goes, I'm reaching out to the Internet where I can take everything with a grain of salt.

I'm mid 40s, white, work in the telecommunications field with an office job. I was slightly overweight and pretty much, married, and became just a little fat and happy with myself. Things have changed. I'm at the gym, lost some weight, and I'm now height and weight proportionate. Next on my plate, my wardrobe, and a fancy new sports car. (Did I mention I was going through my mid life crisis?)

I have never been one with a great fashion sense. I am ready to upgrade my wardrobe, get some name brand fashion. I'm not feeling this alone. So, can anyone out there recommend that I hire a personal stylist or shopper to help me make myself over? How expensive are they and are they worth my time and investment?

Finally, for the ladies, or experienced gentlemen... New luxury sports car, plain old sports car, or plain old luxury? Looking at about 100 budget. So far, I have the new Jaguar F Type on the top of my list... Which would make the biggest splash for me to move into a better social class for myself?

[thebuffmantraples]

Originally Posted by Permission Granted

Due to recent events in my life, I have decided that it is time I take my mid life crisis and do something productive. I am going to make some changes and basically reinvent myself.

I am again single, I have no family living in the same state as myself, and all my close friends are even farther away. I have drinking buddies, but nobody I can really trust with important decisions, so here goes, I'm reaching out to the Internet where I can take everything with a grain of salt.

I'm mid 40s, white, work in the telecommunications field with an office job. I was slightly overweight and pretty much, married, and became just a little fat and happy with myself. Things have changed. I'm at the gym, lost some weight, and I'm now height and weight proportionate. Next on my plate, my wardrobe, and a fancy new sports car. (Did I mention I was going through my mid life crisis?)

I have never been one with a great fashion sense. I am ready to upgrade my wardrobe, get some name brand fashion. I'm not feeling this alone. So, can anyone out there recommend that I hire a personal stylist or shopper to help me make myself over? How expensive are they and are they worth my time and investment?

Finally, for the ladies, or experienced gentlemen... New luxury sports car, plain old sports car, or plain old luxury? Looking at about 100 budget. So far, I have the new Jaguar F Type on the top of my list... Which would make the biggest splash for me to move into a better social class for myself?

If this is you, really! Use only what your comfortable with now. Then go after the riches attractive to you piece of ass. Share your favorite activities with her.
Then if she buys you what ∆∆∆∆you suggest in searching for, its all fun baby.

If it doesn't go well but you enjoy the practice, do it again.
If you want to class up and that strategy didn't work? learn to make money doing something you enjoy while staying healthy and the rest will serve its self on a platter.

If your lonely and want something really special? Volunteer at a charity, volunteer physical labor is unmatched(guess where all our national parks came from), serving someone a warm meal with nothing in return in the proper setting......

By the way, I prefer classic in my style cars without the over value( its meaningless otherwise) cause some people are just plain tasteless.

[Gotyour6]

Huh?

[JessicaKnightly]

Originally Posted by Permission Granted

Due to recent events in my life, I have decided that it is time I take my mid life crisis and do something productive. I am going to make some changes and basically reinvent myself.

I am again single, I have no family living in the same state as myself, and all my close friends are even farther away. I have drinking buddies, but nobody I can really trust with important decisions, so here goes, I'm reaching out to the Internet where I can take everything with a grain of salt.

I'm mid 40s, white, work in the telecommunications field with an office job. I was slightly overweight and pretty much, married, and became just a little fat and happy with myself. Things have changed. I'm at the gym, lost some weight, and I'm now height and weight proportionate. Next on my plate, my wardrobe, and a fancy new sports car. (Did I mention I was going through my mid life crisis?)

I have never been one with a great fashion sense. I am ready to upgrade my wardrobe, get some name brand fashion. I'm not feeling this alone. So, can anyone out there recommend that I hire a personal stylist or shopper to help me make myself over? How expensive are they and are they worth my time and investment?

Finally, for the ladies, or experienced gentlemen... New luxury sports car, plain old sports car, or plain old luxury? Looking at about 100 budget. So far, I have the new Jaguar F Type on the top of my list... Which would make the biggest splash for me to move into a better social class for myself?

My best girlfriend is a personal stylist and so i'm lucky, she styles me for free. I love shopping with her, she is a magician turning my small budget into a closet full of clothes - accessories included. I don't believe she works with men, but I love having a stylist and recommend one.

As for the car, within your budget, I suggest test driving the Audi A6 Quattro twin turbo. I've borrowed one on several occasions and the acceleration with turbos is amazing. It just continues to plant my back to the seat and there's no slowing down this luxury sedan. I've also done a couple of road trips in it and it is one comfy chariot. With the options of adjusting the ridge from comfort to sports suspension it is a dream to drive. I've found myself cruising at 90 mph on the highway thinking I was only doing 60. It will cost you around $65k and in a Red pearl it makes me wet.

It's worth a test drive. Make sure it's the Quattro. I also test drove the Mercedes and Jag, but I like the feel of the Audi.

[Zhivago52]

Are you looking for a daily driver or something for weekend / occasional driving? That will help determine what you look at. If an occasional driver, the choices are wide open, including the exotics. Be wary of maintenance costs.

As for me, I'm partial to British marques, mainly for the more refined appointments and details.

[atlcomedy]

The better department stores (Nordstrom, Barney's, Saks, Bergdorf's, etc.) all have a personal shopper service in store and you just pay the cost of the clothes. They are paid on commission. That might be the easiest way for you to get started as opposed to trying to vet a bunch of independent stylists. Of course remember they are salespeople so they will be selling in addition to consulting. In your case since you have pretty much an empty closet (based on your post) of stuff the new you would wear that's not all bad because you need a bunch of stuff.

If you had a closet full of stuff where a stylist could really help you is to figure out how to put together what you have and and buy some additional pieces that will complement your existing stuff. Stylists are paid for their time (be careful some also get kickbacks from some stores/vendors they use so be wary of anyone promoting any source too much). Even though you pay a stylist directly, they may be the overall more cost efficient option because they will help use existing pieces into looks and you can be more explicit about pricing expectations like, "I want quality stuff but I want to get it on the cheap."

The downside to independent stylists finding a good one. The hooker business is about as organized. There is no professional credentialing or industry wide agreed on certifications. Anyone can hang out a shingle (or Facebook page) as a stylist.

As an aside I'll make one general suggestion: instead of buying a bunch of fancy designer labels consider finding a good tailor or made to measure house for your suits, shirting and formal attire Clothing that fits you beats designer looks any day. The pricing is comparable if not cheaper than off the rack designer stuff.