Meet the fashion experts helping high-flying women dress for success

The Quarterly Edit works in several ways. The premium offering, and their most popular, is a quarterly subscription service, priced at $3000 a quarter.

In the first meeting, in the client’s home or office, or via Skype or FaceTime, the pair will discover the client’s needs – whether it’s a capsule wardrobe that works for both office and home, appropriate outfits for presenting at international conferences or gowns for a black tie gala – and rifle through their wardrobes to see what they’re dealing with, spotting any gaps to be filled and working with the client on what needs to go.

Their clients, sourced mostly via word of mouth, tend to be high-flying corporate women (though Killeen and Shehata also offer a service for men).

Some women, says Shehata, need advice on appropriate outfits for a life that might take them from presenting on stage to leading a boardroom meeting followed by Friday drinks. Some don’t have a clue about fashion and brands. Others need to update a style that hasn’t changed for years. All of them want to save time.

“A lot of our clients are CEOs, their schedules are pretty intense,” says Shehata. “We wanted to create something where clients didn’t have to worry about looking good. It’s showing them how to bring together a nice, versatile wardrobe.”

Killeen and Shehata don’t believe in complete image “overhauls”, or that a stylist’s job is to tell people to throw out all of their clothes. Instead, they advocate a thoughtful approach to shopping and culling.

To make sure they never buy the same thing twice, the stylists keep an image database of each piece they’ve purchased.

“It takes a lot of time to get a quality wardrobe and have pieces in there that you can wear and wear and wear, and that’s what we’re about,” Shehata says.

After the initial meeting with a client, Killeen and Shehata go shopping in boutiques and online for pieces they believe will suit that person (and their budget). The pair deliver the first clothes drop-off themselves and do a fitting and then send new pieces via courier to the client on a monthly or as-needed basis. They don’t earn commission on the pieces a client chooses to buy.

Killeen and Shehata are also available 24/7 via text message for styling advice. To make sure they never buy the same thing twice, the stylists keep an image database of each piece they’ve purchased.

Personal styling is nothing new, of course, but Shehata and Killeen believe they’ve carved a niche with their door-to-door, always-on approach.

“That support and guidance is there all the time, whenever you need it,” says Killeen, adding that it’s not just about one shopping spree or a “makeover” session. They also offer add-ons, such as a travel service in which they will shop for and pack according to a client’s itinerary. “We’re kind of like a fashion personal assistant,” says Shehata.

Personal shopping has certainly moved on in recent years from dusty perceptions of someone “doing your colours” and bossy TV shows like What Not to Wear.

Most big department stores around the world have dedicated personal shopping teams. At London’s Selfridges, for example, a member of the personal shopping team might hand deliver an item to a top client lounging by a beach in Asia, say, or skiing in the Alps.

Online retailers have offline personal shopping options too. The likes of luxury retailers Net-a-Porter and Matchesfashion.com have teams dedicated to catering to their top customers, as well as hosting them at exclusive events. At the Australian luxury department store Harrolds, stylists present customers with a curated selection after a consultation process and conduct the styling service in the client’s home or office.

It just made sense to offer brides a way to pack for their honeymoon as part of the service.

— Sarah-Jane Clarke, Chelsea Gardens

Fashion editors are in on the game too. Former British Vogue fashion editor and rumoured architect of the Duchess of Cambridge’s recent style makeover, Virginia Chadwyck-Healey, has a personal shopping and styling business, as does Sydney-based fashion stylist Nicole Bonython-Hines, who works with publications including Harper’s Bazaar and Stellar magazines.

And fashion designers too, have heeded the call, including Sarah-Jane Clarke, formerly of sass and bide. She is now styling honeymoon wardrobes for Chelsea Gardens, a new one-stop wedding service. In addition to planning your wedding (and honeymoon, too, should you want), the company will enlist Clarke to curate a wardrobe based on your destination.

“We found that brides are very time-poor in the lead-up to their weddings,” says Clarke. “And it just made sense to offer them a way to pack for their honeymoon as part of the service.”

Like Shehata and Killeen, Clarke meets clients at their home and discusses their needs – where they are travelling, what they are likely to do while away (an adventure-heavy trip necessitates a different wardrobe to one based on chasing Michelin-starred restaurants) and what they already own. The only thing left to do is pack the suitcase, which Clarke says is possible “for a price”.

And if you really are too busy to find a stylist, there’s always artificial intelligence.

Websites such as Stitch Fix in the US - currently valued at $US2.7 billion ($4.5 billion) - combine data-crunching with the personal touch to source suitable clothing for customers. Simply sign up and fill in an extensive questionnaire for a fee, and a team of stylists behind the scenes selects and sends out a box of clothes and accessories based on your data. You’ll be billed for the items you decide to keep. However, Stitch Fix is not yet available in Australia.

Whatever your choice of service, the appeal of a personalised approach to shopping comes down to being able to make smarter, more considered, and more flattering wardrobe choices.

Back to my own wardrobe: Killeen and Shehata quickly nail my dilemma. I have plenty of office-appropriate dresses and statement blouses, but I’m less prepared for weekends or life events such as weddings or children’s birthday parties. When I do shop for those occasions, I tend to go off-piste and buy things that aren’t me – vegan leather shorts, say, or floral prairie dresses.

“It’s a little... confused,” says Shehata tactfully, when she opens my wardrobe door.

They also note my affinity for wearing everything oversized. You’ve got a great figure, they flatter, and I pledge to consider more shapely pieces and to buy a belt. (It must be said that stylists always seem to recommend a belt. They’re trending now, but Killeen is of the firm belief they should be a wardrobe staple because they add the “finishing touch” to an outfit and can change a silhouette.)

The clothes and accessories they bring the following week for our second session include a great blazer – and a belt – that I can see would make my wardrobe more cohesive. Ultimately, what Killeen and Shehata do is give me styling tips and ideas to make the most of what I already have.

Later in the week, Killeen texts me a photo of a Camilla and Marc blouse she saw earlier that day and thought I’d love.

I do. It has a belt.

NEED TO KNOW
The Quarterly Edit quarterly subscription is $3000 for three months. One-off consultations are $1290. For more, see thequarterlyedit.com.au

The Quarterly Edit's top five tips

1. Declutter
Eliminate what no longer serves a purpose.
2. Find a reliable tailor
There is a lot to be said about resurrecting the old, especially at a time where we are more eco-conscious than ever. Fit is everything.
3. Invest in quality key pieces that complement each other
These pieces become the staples that make up your core wardrobe.
4. Take it up a notch - add a belt
This addition is a quick and easy way to transform an outfit.
5. Identify your own style
Make sure you love every piece in your wardrobe. If you don't love it, get rid of it.