A couple of weeks ago I was asked by Ralph Lauren to do some styling work in London. During an evening for high-net-worth individuals in the Bond Street store, I presented a short talk about separates, materials and formality, using pieces from the collection on a model. 

It was an enjoyable and rather interesting experience, and got me thinking about time in particular. 

All the people I spoke to at the event knew Ralph Lauren, but several had never been into the store. Not having the time was the most common reason they gave, but a few said they just shopped very little. 

When we’re younger, we’re usually time-rich and cash-poor. That balance gradually switches as we get older (with the randomiser of children thrown in at some point) and our priorities change.

That dynamic is part of the reason a younger guy might be baffled by someone buying clothes they don’t think are worth it – effectively paying for an expensive shop, expensive staff, expensive marketing.

But if you’re someone with very little time, informed and stylish staff are incredibly valuable. More valuable, even, than the clothes themselves, because without them you may well buy the wrong thing, the wrong size, or not find how to wear it and so not enjoy doing so. How well the clothes were made is barely relevant.

To an extent that goes for marketing too. Lookbooks and social media can be helpful in suggesting ways for customers to put outfits together – using the particular clothes they already own or like. We all know how much we learn about style by trying and trying, experimenting and experimenting. Not everyone has that time. 

I’ve spoken to a few personal shoppers and stylists recently, and they all said they’d seen an uptick in interest, often because people aren’t getting the advice they used to from shops. 

This is something that’s come up in the consultancy I do with readers too – so even those that read Permanent Style find the same thing. 

I think in the next few years we’ll see more brands move in this direction – a little like Saman Amel have done with their service. Brands are seeing that customers are willing to pay for more personalised treatment, as good service in general gets rarer. 

Aside from these musings, I really enjoyed working with the Ralph team and the current collections. There’s nothing like seeing a brand from the inside to make you appreciate the clothes differently. 

For example, as a consumer I usually focus on individual items, rather than seeing the collection as a whole. Partly this is because most brands I know don’t do big collections, but also because I’m more focused on whether a particular piece works for me. 

Seeing the way the RL collections are presented internally made me appreciate the way the themes for each collection are put together, particularly around colour.

The Purple Label Pre-Spring collection we were mostly working with, for example, was divided into two main sections: a brown and grey story, followed by navy and champagne. 

The brown and grey made sense for coming out of winter, with a lot of cashmere, suede and flannel (above). 

Navy and champagne (below) was equally tonal, but what I found interesting here was the tones used – always similar ones with quite a lot of yellowness (‘champagne’) rather than anything brighter or browner. 

Seeing the looks all lined up also made me realise how much the impact of Purple Label is built around severely restricting the colour range, with either the jacket and knit, or knit and trouser, often being the same colour. 

Those two themes transitioned into a smaller ‘sage’ one at the end, where that distinctive Ralph shade of green was mixed with purer white, and burgundy added as an accent.

It really made you consider the thought that goes into each mini-collection – and I say mini, because a couple of weeks later Pre-Spring has been supplemented by Spring proper, which is a whole other colour story. 

My highlight there is the different ways RL mixes beige with black – for eveningwear, with leather jackets and with overshirts (below). 

Thank you to everyone that attended the event, and to Violet, Jonathan, Matthew and everyone else at RL for putting it together.