On Friday, a friend called asking me for some fashion help… for his girlfriend!

I’ll call him D. and her A., since I haven’t asked permission to spread their story all over the web.

D. told me that he and A. are going to a wedding this week and he was worried about what she was going to wear.

They’re a sartorially mismatched couple, so I knew immediately why he was worried.

D. is a very stylish young man. He always looks pulled-together, has an innate sense of what’s appropriate in different settings and works a long white scarf better than anyone else I know. I’ve seen him in casual wear, business attire and formal wear and he always looks great. In fact, he’s attended more school dances than a teen lothario, because all his female friends know he’s guaranteed to look great and be pleasant, gentlemanly company on the night.

I completely understand why he’s with A.: she’s smart, funny, insightful and about the least self-absorbed person I know — but I also understand why he was worried about what she would wear to a wedding.

I’ve seen A. wear a dress exactly once. She paired it with combat boots, footy socks and hairy legs. It’s a look that sends a strong political message, but someone else’s wedding is rarely the right occasion to make a political statement!

The rest of the time, A. wears jeans, a black t-shirt and either combat boots or Converse sneakers. If it’s cold, she adds a coat she’s stolen from D. She’s far less clothes-obsessed than I am, and that’s almost certainly a good thing!

While I’m used to being asked fashion advice, this was the first time anyone has asked me to makeover their partner.

My feelings about it were a bit mixed.

On the one hand, I love a good makeover. I would happily turn all my friends and family members into my own personal Barbie dolls, if they’d let me. I like making people look good, and A.’s got good raw material for me to work with — pretty face, curvy body and most importantly, a great personality.

On the other hand, I’ve learnt the hard way that frankness about sartorial matters can lead to abrupt terminations of friendships. I’d like to stay friends with both D. and A., so I knew I’d need to be a bit delicate.

I told D. I’d call A. and organise something with her directly. I really didn’t want to turn up at her place and say “Hi A., I’m here to show you how to dress better. D. sent me.”

This is how the call to A. went:

BQ: “Hi A., it’s Sara here, how are you?”

A: “I’m good, how are you?”

BQ: “I’m pretty good too. Have I caught you at an OK time? Are you at work now?”

(A. works shifts so I’m never quite sure when she’s free.)

A: “I am at work, but I can duck outside for a minute. [pause] OK, I can talk now.”

BQ: “Er, I just got off the phone with D. He said you’re going to a wedding in a few days and you don’t have anything to wear. He asked me to go shopping with you and help you pick something out… do you actually want some shopping help, or was he completely out of line calling me?”

A: “No, it’s OK. I would like some help picking something out.”

BQ: “Cool. I’ve got some free time tomorrow if you’d like to go then? I’ll come over to your place first and we can take a look at what you’ve already got that you might be able to wear.”

A: “I can do tomorrow but I really don’t think I own anything suitable. What time?”

BQ: “Let’s make it fairly early, the shopping centre I want to go to gets really crowded in the afternoon.”

A: “I can be ready at 9 if you want?”

BQ: “Ugh, not quite that early! 9:30?”

A: “Done”

BQ: “OK, I’ll see you then.”

…and that’s how I ended up spending Saturday playing Trinny and Susannah, minus the bitchy comments!

Since this has already turned into a very, very long post, I’ll tell you how it went tomorrow (which also gives me some time to see whether A. will let me take some before and after pics).

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