Having the SA pick, is the nature of my retail relationship.My SAs also know that I’ll try anything on that they propose, and I’m open to their suggestion. If I didn’t respect their taste, i wouldn’t shop with them. I mainly buy RTW, mainly chanel, dior, Hermes, brunello. i hate looking at the look book, amd I prefer not to do reserves. I need to see something in person and fall in love, like
@haute okole . Almost all of my RTW SAs have offered to curate my closet; have seen pics of what I have; and, have seen what I wear. They’ve also all seen my bags at one point or other. At any given time I have between 23-30 in my closet, (I do loan some out to my mom and friends), mainly neutral colors, majority BK, but I also love other styles. To me, a bag is an accompaniment to RTW, not the main attraction. They also know I love textiles, mixed media, and don’t generally do exotic. If I consider exotic, it’s matte and sometimes metallic. I’m not in a rush to have any bag.
This year, I was fortunate enough to start a relationship with an FSH SA (Mainly bc she likes talking to my DH lol). Ive seen her twice. Last month, she asked what RTW I had bought in NY so she wouldnt duplicate RTW selections. I showed her my toile leather jacket and leather skirt. I didn’t ask for any bag, but she offered a 28K quadrille and a navy cargo picotin pm bc she thought they would go really well with the jacket. In February, the first time I met her, she did ask for my bag preferences bc she had just met me. I requested a dark neutral 25K, maybe charcoal gray. She didn’t find one, but she did pick my 25K bleu orage based on what I was wearing that day. I almost refused it bc of ghw, but DH got my NY SA on the phone to change my mind. It’s not quite a typical neutral, but it works with a surprising amount of stuff. I should note that I had no prespend before my first offer, and still have very little, bc she didn’t have much in my size, and she and the FSH tailor advised me not to compromise on a favorite runway jacket that could not be altered.
When I started shopping with my main SA at Madison in 2021, I thought that I was on a hiatus from bags, but he thought I could use a lighter cool toned neutral so eventually offered a 30B etoupe ( at that point, my favorite size). He was also convinced that I should try a 25B ( a TPF friend of mine also suggested to him that 25B sellier would be great for me to try), so he offered a gold one to me when it came in, in 2022. By that time, i had continued to shop so I was at roughly 5X prespend, but I have honestly stopped counting. The one bag i specifically asked him for was a mini Della cavalleria as I happened to see a runway pic. But, when they came in, my SA absolutely didn’t want me to get the dark neutral black one that I wanted. He insisted that I would love the craie. And I am glad I followed his advice. Both Madison and FSH independently came up with the idea that a cargo 25B in a light or dark neutral (I dislike sesame) would be a perfect next bag for me if they can ever get one. I would prefer a regular toile B25, but that’s not their vision.
I also tend to shop with my DH, and between my SA and him, they usually have a better sense of my style than I do. DH walked into Madison and picked the toile jacket and the leather mini, and insisted I try it, before my SA and I even had a chance to look around Lol. Sometimes such a strong SA opinion can hinder shopping, for example, my SA won’t show me certain sweaters or shoes, but for the most part, they do really know what works with my style.
Apologies for the long post
ETA: for the Madison store opening appt, I didn’t ask for anything. I’m still not sure what my next bag, if any, will be.
My SAs know and respect my price point
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