WORDS��AMY�GRIER���PHOTOGRAPHY��GEMMA�DAY��REX�FEATURES���HAIR�AND�MAKE-UP��ROSIE�VON�SPRECKLESEN�AT�CAROL�HAYES�MANAGEMENT
12
WORK
LIF E
9 3
A�ONE-DAY�DIARY��
FROM�MORNING�LATTE
TO�LIGHTS�OUT
Jessica Wright,
personal
shopper
Jessica Wright, 28, is a personal
shopper at Topshop. She lives in
Wimbledon, London, with her
boyfriend Dominic Kidney, 32
Fashion’s in my blood. My mum had a
boutique on the Fulham Road and my
sister and I would go there after school
and try everything on. It was the
ultimate dressing-up box; costume
jewellery from Butler & Wilson, Nicole
Farhi dresses, antique brooches… and
now I get to dress people for a living!
I need an hour to get ready so I’m up
and in the shower at 6.30am. I have a
cup of tea and head to my walk-in
dressing room. It’s got all my clothes and
shoes and all my make-up as well, plus
one of those dressing tables with bulbs
around the mirror – Hollywood glam! My
clothes are all arranged in order with my
shoes laid out underneath, except for
the special ones – like my gold snakeskin
ankle boots, which I keep in clear
containers in my wardrobe.
My favourite piece is a leopard-print
maxi dress I bought in a flea market in
New York last year. That or an amazing
6
JESSICA WOULD LOVE
TO DO THE MAKE-UP FOR
FILMS OR FASHION WEEK
silk-fringed black jacket which I got in
Portobello Road 10 years ago. I have to
look good for work. You wouldn’t trust
a hairdresser who had bad hair, and you
wouldn’t trust a stylist with no style!
I have a bowl of homemade granola
with fruit and yoghurt before I leave the
house. My mum makes it herself and
gives me and my sister a bag every
week. Healthy food is my biggest
passion after clothes, the idea of
anything fried or greasy makes me sick.
I get into work around 9am and go
straight into a planning meeting with my
AS A PERSONAL SHOPPER FOR
TOPSHOP, JESSICA WRIGHT HELPS
CLIENTS FIND THEIR STYLE
assistant, Lucy. We go through the diary
together and start grabbing stuff off
the shop floor for each person. My
clients range from 17-year-old girls to
65-year-old women. There are eight
different kinds of appointments you can
book (all of them free), from the
30-minute ‘in and out’ slot, to ‘newer
“It’s easy to be inspired
when your job is your
hobby. Every morning
my style changes”
PLAN�B��MAKE-UP�ARTIST
than now’ which is when I pull together
the latest pieces… some of which haven’t
even hit the shop floor yet.
I’ve shopped for lots of celebrities
– Alexa Chung, Debbie Harry, the Olsen
twins… But one of my most memorable
appointments was with a woman who
came to see me after the death of her
husband. She was in her early 30s and
consumed by grief. She wanted to get
out of T-shirts and jeans. She wrote me
an incredible letter later, thanking me for
giving her a confidence boost during
such a hard time. I’ve still got it.
I eat a salad from home in between
appointments but I always find time for
my vanilla soy latte. The rest of my day
is taken up with appointments. The
personal shopping suites are beautiful,
white with rails all around the room so
we can showcase each outfit. I talk the
client through each look, why I chose it,
why it would work for them and show
them how to accessorise it.
Last week I had every personal
shopper’s worst nightmare: a client who
said ‘no’ to everything. People come with
preconceived ideas about what they can
and can’t wear. That’s why, ultimately,
my job is all about trust. I try to get
everyone to try a maxi-skirt, it’s one of
my favourite pieces to take us into
autumn/winter and Topshop is doing
some amazing sheer ones. They‘re great
for all ages and sizes, too.
I try to finish at 6pm and will either
have dinner with my boyfriend, Dominic,
or go to my sister’s house to cook dinner
with her and watch Brothers And Sisters.
I’m usually in bed by 11pm. I don’t see
much of Dominic in the week so holidays
are particularly important to us. We’re
off to LA for a wedding soon and then
Sri Lanka in January. I can’t wait.
It’s easy to be inspired when your
job is your hobby. I read fashion
magazines religiously and am obsessed
with the wheredidyougetthat.com blog.
My style changes every morning, often
depending on what’s on my iPod;
feminine and floral like Stevie Nicks or
rock chick like Led Zeppelin. Fashion
isn’t something which comes from the
outside, it’s got a history too.
To book an appointment with a Topshop
personal shopper, email personalshopping
@topshop.com or phone 0845-243 5544
I’m obsessed with make-up. I’m always the one my friends go to when they want their make-up done on a night
out. I’d love to do the make-up on films or at Fashion Week, or even just at weddings and parties. I’ve got the
biggest collection of cosmetics you’ve ever seen, yet I only ever use the same signature products for myself:
Mac lipstick in a really bold colour if I’m not doing ‘eyes’ that day, or their Lipglass Gloss if I’m going for big smoky
eyes. I can’t live without Bare Escentuals’ mineral powder, Mac’s kohl eyeliner and Nars’ blusher. My nails are
always painted, usually a dark cherry colour or black and I love doing other people’s too.I’ve always got my eye
on the finished image when I’m putting together a look. Every detail counts.
WWW�STYLIST�CO�UK����
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.