Annie’s on-screen outfit:
Bright blue blouse (Chloé)
Purple and blue skirt (Whistles sale)
Purple platform pumps (Miu Miu, The Store discount days)
Total est. cost: £570
‘Oh, practical schmactical!’
Annie walked briskly, two-inch heels clacking, arm in arm with Cath through the shopping mall. Permission to film in the mall and most of the shops inside it had only just been granted twenty minutes ago after frantic phone calls to and from the director’s assistant.
Annie had a tight grip on Cath because she felt that the woman was going to need physical, as well as mental, support to get through this shopping ordeal. Hard enough to go shopping for yourself for the first time in years, but to have a camera crew watching your every move when you finally get out there? That was almost too much for anyone to bear.
Five years! Cath couldn’t remember hitting the shops for herself once since her son’s sixteenth birthday. It wasn’t that she didn’t have any money; Cath just felt she should be saving it rather than spending it on herself. Her entire wardrobe now was full of things passed on from her friends, or even her son.
‘I know you love him dearly,’ Annie had told Cath, ‘but do you not think wearing his old sweatshirts might be taking things a bit too far?
‘But they’re so practical,’ Cath objected.
‘Oh, practical schmactical!’ Annie protested, ‘There are so many lovely, comfortable, cosy and even waterproof ways of getting dressed without baggy sweatshirts and practical anoraks!’
Cath had several anoraks in both beige and pastel colours, that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a mountain. But for everyday London life they were lacklustre.
‘Look around you, let’s really try and enjoy the experience,’ Annie was encouraging her. ‘If you see a window display that appeals to you, let me know, we’ll stop and we’ll explore. There is absolutely no panic, no rush to buy, we’ve got the whole day,’ she soothed. ‘A whole day to buy one outfit is a luxury, believe me.’
‘The only rule,’ Annie went on, about to reveal her secret shopping weapon, ‘the one thing I’m insisting on, Cath, is that you only buy things that you love. Forget about, “I quite like it”, “this will do”, or “this is so practical”… we’re not going with any of that today. Today’s rule is: if you don’t love it… if it doesn’t make your heart beat faster, then we’re not going to bother. OK?’
And seeing the slightly stricken look on Cath’s face, Annie added: ‘How will you know if you love it? Don’t worry, you will know, or I will spot it. Now, how’s your son?’ she asked, hoping a little bit of cheerful chat would put Cath more at ease.
‘Fine. He keeps asking me when I’m going to get my party dress, as if I’m Cinderella or something…’ There was note of despondency here that Annie wanted to nip in the bud.
‘For today, you are Cinderella!’ Annie insisted, ‘and I’m your fairy godmother, so you better start believing in me or I’m going to disappear.’
Spotting one of the funky shoe shops she knew Lauren shopped in regularly, Annie steered Cath towards the entrance: ‘Now,’ she began, ‘first things first, every Cinderella has to have a fabulous shoe.’
Annie knew shoe shopping would be the best place to start with Cath, because shoes never let you down the way clothes often did. You never changed shoe size; shoes never made you look fat. They were a great place for insecure novice shoppers to start. And if Annie could persuade Cath into a dressier shoe, then she could build on that to get to the dressier outfit.
Inside the shoe shop, Cath was asked to look carefully around the shop, as both the camera and Annie looked out for her reactions.
‘Just don’t get so in her face!’ Annie whispered to Bob. ‘How will we get her to relax and begin to enjoy this if you’re shadowing her every move?’
‘I don’t want to miss anything,’ Bob defended himself.
‘You won’t. And if you do, I will personally bribe her to re-stage it,’ came Annie’s reply.
‘Ah, can’t do that!’ Bob wagged a finger at her. ‘It’s never as convincing as the first time.’
‘I bet you re-stage things all the time,’ she protested.
Annie turned her attention back to Cath, who was wandering through the shop, looking at the shoes in confusion. There was every kind of colour, shape, heel and design here. But maybe it was hard for Cath to go shoe shopping without pure practicality in mind.
Annie came and put a friendly arm around Cath’s shoulder: ‘Keep looking,’ she urged, ‘I’m sure there will be something here that you like. Just let me know if anything catches your eye, because then we can get a clue as to what kind of things you’re into. It’s all about building up your love muscle,’ Annie added, ‘It’s obviously not had nearly enough exercise lately.’
Three-quarters of the way through Cath’s third tour of the shop, Cath finally reached up to one of the displays and brought down a pair of cherry-red, patent leather loafers. Annie watched Cath turn the loafers over with a pleased look on her face.
Quickly, Annie turned to the shop assistant hovering by her side, and instructed, ‘I need the red loafers in a size six and everything else you’ve got in red, pink or bright patent in that size.’
After only a little arm-twisting, Annie had Cath striding up and down the shop in the loafers, with a look of satisfaction on her face.
‘OK, we’re taking them,’ Annie told her.
‘No!’ Cath protested, ‘I’ve got nothing to wear with them.’
‘Then we’ll go out there and find you a snazzy little red jacket and maybe a shiny red, waterproof, non-anorak coat. Don’t you love them?’ Annie had to ask.
‘Yes,’ Cath confessed shyly.
‘Well then, you’re having them. That’s final.’ It was funny, but Annie had long ago forgotten all about the camera pointing in their faces. She felt absolutely at home, doing just what she knew she did best. ‘Anyway, they’re a whole lot nicer than those ones…’ she pointed to the bashed-up, black slip-ons Cath had worn for the shopping session. Imitating Svetlana’s fruity accent, Annie intoned: ‘Bin bag!’
And Cath laughed in agreement.
‘Now my darlin’, you obviously have an unexpressed urge for the red and the shiny, so what do we think of these?’
Annie carefully unboxed and unwrapped a gorgeous little pair of patent red Mary Janes. She knew there would be no persuading Cath into a pair of high heels, but she hoped that this dressy little pair might stand something of a chance.
‘Oh! Well…’ Cath looked at the shoes with surprise, and an expression that seemed to suggest she couldn’t possibly consider something so pretty.
‘Just try them,’ Annie wheedled.
And before Cath could protest, her black socks were off, pop socks were on and she was showing off her delicately boned ankles in the dainty shoes.
‘And a little walk around,’ Annie suggested.
Bob knelt down with his camera to capture Cath’s uncertain steps.
‘Don’t even try telling me you don’t like them,’ Annie said, ‘How do they fit?’
‘Really well.’
‘They will go with trousers, jeans, skirts, dresses,’ Annie wheedled, ‘and they’re on us, remember. You don’t need to think about how you could be saving the money instead.’
Cath looked at her feet in the mirror for a good long minute.
‘Repeat after me,’ Annie began, ‘I love them.’
Bob’s camera zoomed in on Cath’s face, but she still managed to repeat shyly: ‘I love them.’
‘And once again, with feeling,’ Annie teased.
‘I love them!’ Cath said, shooting Annie a smile, then colouring up.
‘Stop feeling so guilty! Everyone has to wear shoes,’ Annie reminded her. ‘Might as well wear nice ones and, babes – they only cost £45!’
Annie did find this sobering. She’d stopped buying shoes on the high street some time ago and now felt the urge to confess, ‘Do you have any idea how much I blew on these?’ pointing down at her lavish boots: ‘a large chunk of my kids’ inheritance.’
The red loafers and the shiny Mary Janes were wrapped and rung up, then Annie paid from the envelope with the £250 in cash she’d been given by Finn this morning.
‘Cash?’ she’d asked in surprise, ‘no company credit card?’
‘You think I’d let you loose with a company credit card?’ he’d replied. ‘We’ll still be paying off the bill my wife racked up when she came to visit you in The Store in five years’ time.’
‘Ah yes.’ How could Annie forget the day when Kelly-Anne had put herself in the hands of the personal shopping suite and come out several thousand pounds lighter. And then there was her hair. There had been a sort of hair accident and Kelly-Anne’s locks had to be chopped by about twenty-four inches. It had all turned out fine though, Annie reminded herself… more than fine. She wouldn’t be here without the hair accident.
Shopping for Cath’s dress was never going to be easy. Annie was at the mercy of the high street with an insecure, highly body conscious client and a grand budget now down to £155. If she’d been back at The Store and had limitless money to spend, she would have known exactly how to solve this problem: with the Italian labels that swathed the more curvaceous in carefully cut taffeta with boning, structure and a beautiful palette of colours.
After the shoe success, there followed a very dispiriting session in the changing room of one chain store. Cath, in front of the mirror, was mentally listing her defects, Annie could tell. She had seen that look on so many faces before. It began at the top with: ‘I hate my hair, I hate my saggy eyes, I hate my neck, shoulders and cleavage,’ and it carried all the way down to: ‘I hate my knobbly knees, bony ankles and hideous toes.’
In the next shop, it was even worse, and Annie could see Bob deleting the footage. His brief was: happy woman, made-over, breathless with astonishment at how amazing she now looks. And he was not getting this.
Then Finn phoned.
‘Hi, how’s it going?’ he asked Annie. ‘Have you turned our pumpkin into a princess yet?’
Annie frowned at the remark before answering, ‘Well… yes, I think we’re getting there,’ as cheerfully as she could, while she watched Cath turn around in front of the mirror in a totally hopeless dress, which really would be put to better use decorating a table or something.
‘I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with!’ Finn said excitedly. ‘OK, we’ll meet you in the café on the lower mall at 3 p.m. for a catch-up and a quick look through the footage.’
‘I thought we had all day,’ Annie said, glancing at her watch and seeing it was already 1.50 p.m.
‘All day filming,’ Finn told her, ‘not all day shopping. There’s a bit of a difference, Annie!’
As soon as the call was over, Annie knew she would have to take action fast. ‘OK, Cath, let’s get out of that,’ she commanded briskly. ‘Don’t blame yourself, love, blame that sorry sack of a dress. I need to do some research. And quickly.’
A moment later and Annie was texting her former right-hand woman, Paula. Yes, Paula was six-foot-something and built like a pole vaulter on a diet, but she had a sister, Jamilia. As curvaceous as she was vivacious, Jamilia was also a very fashionable woman on a small budget.
It took only a few more minutes for Jamilia herself to text back the reply to Annie’s frantic question:
Where buy hot dresses sz 16 on hi street?
Here on her phone screen were the magical words back from Jamilia:
I love Mango.
‘All right, we’re off,’ Annie instructed and tucked Cath’s arm firmly under hers once again.
Cath wasn’t allowed to wander round Dorothy Perkins because time was now seriously limited. Instead, she was planted in the changing room with the curtains pulled shut against the camera lens.
Then Annie scoured the shop floor: every rack and every dress, like the true professional she was.
Finally, she pulled out something with serious potential. It was structured and black with three-quarter-length lace sleeves, so Cath wouldn’t feel too exposed.
Annie didn’t personally love black, because it was too much of a fail-safe and a bit boring. But Cath wore so much wishy-washy pastel and beige that Annie couldn’t help feeling black would be a dramatic change for her. Plus, black was always good with red patent.
‘OK, girl, I think we could have a serious contender here,’ Annie said passing the dress into the cubicle. ‘Put it on while I go in search of accessories.’
‘Oh!’ was the surprised comment from the other side of the curtain. But Annie didn’t stop to listen, just buzzed over to the accessories section.
The glitzy, the chunky, the unusual – all the necklaces she could have wanted were here for just the sort of money she was looking to spend.
She headed back to the changing room with a selection of beads, bags and bracelets, eager to see how the dress was working.
‘C’mon,’ she said to Bob, ‘fire that camera up! I have a good feeling about this one.’
‘So, Cath, are you ready?’ Annie asked from outside the changing-room curtain.
‘Yes… I think so,’ came the reply.
At that Annie pulled aside the curtain with Bob right beside her, camera on.
‘Oh yes!’ Annie declared immediately. ‘Yes, yes, yes!! Put the shoes on, my darling, we have to have the full effect.’
For a few moments, Annie stepped in to make adjustments. The red patent Mary Janes went on, then a necklace of silver and black leaves and Annie popped a glittery silver clutch into Cath’s hand.
‘Well?’ she asked as Cath turned this way and that, coyly looking at her reflection.
The dress fitted well; Annie just pulled in the back a little to show Cath how a minor alteration would make it waist-enhancing and perfect. Cath herself looked different. Finally, they had found a dress that seemed to pull her up, lift and lengthen her. Her shoulders were back for the first time today, her head was up, and she looked sleeker. The lace brought her delicate, pale skin into focus. The skirt draped beautifully.
‘What I want to do next…’ Annie began, coming up behind her so they could look in the mirror together, ‘is put you in the hands of a very nice hairdresser I know, to straighten and darken your hair. We need to help you be a little more bold.’
She unfurled one of Cath’s blonde-grey curls, ‘Time to bring you bang up to date and bring out your inner artist,’ Annie added. ‘Darker hair will look amazing with your pale skin. And you know what? I don’t love this bag, or the necklace,’ Annie decided.
‘You know what I love with red? Violet. Stay right there, take a long look at your lovely, luscious self and I will be right back with violet.’
Clipping on vibrant violet beads, which made the blue in Cath’s eyes sparkle, and pressing a sassy little violet bag into Cath’s hand, Annie couldn’t help uttering a ‘da-nah!’ of triumph. ‘What do you think?’ she asked Cath, really hoping she was going to hear positive news.
‘I think… I think the dress is really pretty,’ Cath confided. There was a smile threatening to break across her face. ‘But I don’t feel at home in it.’
She wriggled her shoulders uncomfortably and smoothed the dress with her hands.
‘At home? No, I suppose not… but maybe that’s no bad thing, to feel a little bit, you know, beyond the comfort zone.’ Annie said, ‘You’ve been at home for too long, Cath. We want to get you out there in the world once again.’
‘But I don’t want to go out,’ Cath admitted.
‘Babes, I have been there,’ Annie sympathised and although she wasn’t going to go in to her own sad past experiences here in front of the camera, she thought it might be helpful to add: ‘most people have had difficult times. You have lost a lot, babes, and you’re probably thinking about your boy growing up and nothing but the same old routine and the dreaded ageing process ahead. And there’s only one cure, my love, you have to find new to replace the old… new friends, new loves, new hobbies, new interests, new destinations, new habits and yes, for goodness’ sake, let’s also add some new clothes to that list.
‘I think you should say yes to the dress. Because, now, if you’re invited to a party, you can say yes because you’ve got something you’ll enjoy wearing. And sometimes, positive wardrobe changes are a great place to begin all the other positive changes you want to make. And you can trust me, I am speaking from long experience here.’
Annie gave Cath a long and reassuring hug and that seemed to be the final push of encouragement she needed.
The dress, the bag and the necklace were bought. Grand total: £102.97. Annie was now itching to take Cath off to buy a nice red jacket and maybe some lip gloss or red nail varnish with the remaining money. But it was time to meet up with the rest of the team at the café.
Ahead of her, Cath still had a sit-down dating lesson with Svetlana and a career advice session with Marlise. Annie had some concern about how Cath was going to come through these two ordeals.
Then just as Starbucks came into view, with Bob ahead of them and his cameras most definitely off, Cath clung to Annie’s arm and let out a wounded wail.
‘I don’t want to wear the dress, Annie!’ she cried, ‘I don’t want to go to a singles party! They can’t make me. Not on television. What will people think?! I’m sorry, but I can’t go.’