Shopped

Book excerpt: A funny and engaging story about the pursuit of style. 'I headed alone for Knightsbridge - a strange choice for a skint teenager - and it was there that I fell in love for the first time. The dress was little, black and slightly frou-frou, and I knew on sight that it was the one.' Ever wondered why you have three versions of the same top but want to buy another? Or why some shop mirrors are more flattering than others? And whether we really only wear 20 per cent of our wardrobe 80 per cent of the time? Emily Stott is passionate about high street fashion. Her Saturday morning shopping trips as a child led to jobs both on the shop floor and in the offices of upmarket stores. But it was while writing about fashion brands for magazines and simultaneously spying as a mystery shopper that she gained a whole new insight into fashion retail. Now a stylist, Emily Stott writes with warmth and wit on the pleasures of dressing up, the trials of growing up and learning how to shop for yourself. Full of insider knowledge, Shopped is a wonderfully entertaining memoir about a life of clothes. You'll never shop in the same way again.