Diane McCarthy has been Head of Personal Shopping at Barkers Department store for 3 years. She has worked in retailing all her working life and is a long-standing resident of West London.

"Personal shopping allows me to spend time with each customer, which I enjoy. When I was managing departments in the store, I felt that I was losing that nice bit of it … just talking to people.

"Whenever I go into a high street clothes shop I don't like to see shop assistants who just take the money and put the clothes in a bag. It makes me cringe. My job as a Personal Shopper is to give the customer 110% customer care.

"When I first started I spent 3 months working on the shop floor speaking to customers about personal shopping. I had to try to counter the perception that it's only for really wealthy people, because it really isn't. Some people are intimidated with the idea but once they meet me and find out about what it really is, they calm down.

"Its not my job to pressure customers to buy clothes, just to show people clothes that I think will suit them and to find them exactly what they want to buy and in the labels that will best suit them.

"Many of my customers are busy career people who don't want to waste time looking round the shop. I have a number of regular clients who come to see me each new season to choose outfits. They basically tell me what they are looking for and if they are regulars I will have been able to find outfits for them to try on before they come to see me. Most of my customers come through word of mouth which shows that I must be doing something right. People tell their friends, who then tell their daughters and so on.

"Sometimes I will suggest things to people that they wouldn't normally consider. I had one lady who would only wear black. When she came into the Personal Shopping Suite I had a rail of black clothes for her to try on, but I put one red jacket in the middle. She said 'I hope that's not for me', I said 'well it would suit you'. I walked out the room went away for ten minutes, came back and she had it on, and she bought it. So my job is to give an unbiased opinion but also to show people other clothes that I think will suit them.

"I never ask how much money people have to spend, because I would find that incredibly rude. When I started doing this I did some research and phoned up some other stores about their personal shopping service and they always asked me 'well what is your budget?', and I found that very off putting, so I never ask that. If you show someone something and they steer away from it I know that its above what they wanted to spend, so I don't need to ask them the question.

"Because I dress people of all ages, and people who are interested in the new seasons styles, I constantly have to keep abreast of what's going on in fashion. I not only have to have an in-depth knowledge of what's in stock in all the different departments in the store, I also have to attend fashion shows and keep a close eye on all the fashion magazines.

"All in all it's a very social job. I am constantly talking to people, either to people who work in Barkers or to my clients. There are not many jobs where you get thank-you letters, so it's very rewarding."

for consultations contact :
Diane McCarthy at Barkers : 020 7937 5432

on Kensington style:
"Max Mara and other leading brands are very popular. A lot of Kensington ladies do dress in Italian clothes because the cut is always good. It's an elegant classic look that will never go out of fashion."