Personal shoppers, the stuff of dreams, celebrity lifestyles or at the very least, a luxury reserved for those with six-figure salaries? Not so, says reporter Liam Geraghty for The Business, who took it upon himself to sample a selection of the services available.
Liam first met with personal stylist Natalie Svikle who wants to make life easier for her clients and stop them wasting money on clothes they'll never wear.
"For women, in particular, the wardrobe is almost like a drain where you're throwing money and you're sort of shopping all your life and you still have nothing to wear. My approach is very much about making wardrobe practical and reliable, which is I think what most women are struggling with, and if you are putting money into something, it's about getting proper return on investment and not having meltdowns in the morning."
Liam had his wardrobe assessed by Natalie who says she is not there to judge, not even Liam's Mickey Mouse shirts! Liam also met with Mary Holmes who set up an imaging consulting service in 2006.
"I always wanted to run my own business… One day I happened to be out shopping with a friend and I was helping her and she said to me, this is what you should do, and I thought, how is that a business? I looked into it and I realised actually most people aren't terribly good at shopping."
Mary sees both male and female clients and gets many calls from men who are going through a divorce and want an image overhaul. She says she also had an opportunity to help a nun build a wardrobe after 26 years in a closed order and that she enjoys the opportunity to work with those from all walks of life.
Personal shoppers are not limited to just clothes either. Liam interviewed Mary Burnham who helps readers pick out the perfect book.
"Before I worked in a bookshop, I would go in and it was like being in a sweetshop and I didn't know what to choose. Invariably I would choose something that wasn't right for me and so I had this idea that if there was somebody there who could take me aside and say look, this is what you should read, if you like this, then you'll like that. That's how the idea developed."
Click here to listen to that report in full from The Business.