Depictions of work as a personal shopper

July 24, 2022 1:03 PM

Anyone know of fiction or nonfiction about what it's like to be a personal shopper at a fancy department store? Recent is best, but any era is ok.
posted by nebulawindphone to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

Best answer: Rachel from Friends has a storyline where she works as a personal shopper (in season 4), this is set in the 90s.
posted by Erinaceus europaeus at 1:07 PM on July 24, 2022

Best answer: Fashion journalist Amy Odell has been doing a series of interviews on her Substack with retail workers at ultra high-end stores, including a personal shopper from Harrods. I believe there are others - search for "retail confessions"
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:48 PM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Not sure if the Kristen Stewart movie Personal Shopper will scratch your itch.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:04 PM on July 24, 2022

Best answer: In the Confessions of a Shopaholic series, she becomes a personal shopper in the second book which continues into the third book (and perhaps further, I can’t remember). These are from the early aughts.
posted by acidic at 2:47 PM on July 24, 2022

Best answer: The series Katy Keene involved personal shoppers and a fancy department store.
posted by champers at 3:00 PM on July 24, 2022

Best answer: Nthing Personal Shopper!

BlahLaLa beat me to the punch, as I was coming to recommend it.

It's probably not exactly true to life (for a myriad reasons) but it's definitely eerie and compelling.
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 4:16 PM on July 24, 2022

(While I love the movie, Personal Shopper is about someone who's a personal shopper for a wealthy person, not in a department store. In case that saves you any disappointment in watching it.)
posted by fabius at 5:27 AM on July 25, 2022