Topshop, you're on to something.

I think I've found my dream job.


At the new Topshop on Broadway in New York City that opened on April 2nd, the masses have lined up and signed up to be a part of the latest retail phenomenon. The NYC Topshop location is offering a handful of what they call "style advisers" to their customers. The advisers are young, trendy, confident and of course charismatic enough to make sales of at least several hundred dollars per transaction. Most of the advisers are students or recent graduates trying to get their foot in the door in the fashion industry. To seek the counsel of these personal stylists, customers have to make an appointment in advance, and they usually last two hours.

This is an amazing thing that Topshop is doing. I realize they are not the first; Neiman Marcus has been doing following a similiar system for years, but Topshop is offering personal assistance with the most trendy merchandise out there. Their clothing is more affordable, more fun, and caters to the most experimental target market there is. They're smart to add something to their retail recipe that makes them stand out against the rest. I hope they can keep this going and continue using style advisers in the rest of the stores they (hopefully!) open across the United States.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/fashion/09TOPSHOP.html