How odd, I thought, as I chanced upon a vocation that I had never before heard of. The smartly dressed young woman at the adjacent business fair stand explained her mission in life.

If I required her services, she would accompany me to the city’s department stores. During our shop till you drop excursion my plastic would be used to fill my wardrobe.

“But why would I need you, Leonora,” I asked. “I’ve been doing that all of my life and a soul-destroying pursuit it is,” I added.

The young woman then asked me if my wardrobe and drawers were filled with clothes. Assuring her that this was so she then asked how many of my suits, jackets, jumpers, shirts and trousers did I habitually wear?

Sensing an ambush but unable to avoid it I conceded that I had one or two favourite outfits. I never considered wearing much of what was on hangers and stuffed in drawers; some outfits had only been worn once or twice.

The trap was due to be sprung: the next leading question was how much my stuffed wardrobe and drawers had cost me. Coyly, I underestimated and suggested it might in total add up to two or three grand ~ at least.

“So, she smiled,” you have spent probably £3,000 for a couple of suits, a jacket and a pair of shoes.”

Having not thought of it that way I was all ears as Leonora explained that most people, especially men, are clueless as to how to dress in a way that expresses breeding, elegance and an eye for fashion. People like me clearly lack the assistance of an aide experienced in haute couture.

The leading questions continued and I was asked my favourite colour to wear. I told her I preferred shades of brown mainly because I was impressed at how good my brother looked in brown.

“But I look awful in brown,” I said whimsically.

To her then question I explained that my brother was of a darker complexion, he had brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was lanky whilst I was stockier. We were hardly twins.

From there on I learned that skin tone, hair and eye colour is directly related to one’s choice of attire. My colouring was opposed to brown but much better suited to dark colours such as blue.

My friend went on to explain that her clients were constantly pleased with everything they had purchased so nothing in their closets was unworn.

Leonora smiled: “My modest fee was not only recovered several times over, but my clients always make an impression and are pleased with their appearance. What the young woman said made sense, dress sense. Another lesson in life was learnt. MICHAEL WALSH.

THE DOVETAILS HOTEL Michael Walsh. A romantic comedy that dares to discover the pleasures of a ménage a trois. Britain’s Most Challenging Novelist explores the amorous bond of Gareth and his two attractive lady friends who are happy to share more than just friendship with the debonair novelist.  LINK TO BOOK https://tinyurl.com/t4bfj754

THE ENIGMA OF TIFFANY Michael Walsh Award-Winning Writer. The elegant and glamorous Tiffany is a rich widow with a shady and shocking past when she meets Gareth, Leonara and Felicity holidaying on the Spanish Riviera. But who is Tiffany and Pegasus her gay partner? A romantic comedy with an ending that has you reaching for your Kleenex.   A reader writes, ‘I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ There is girl talk, excitement, revelations, dilemmas, compromises, romance, and at times pathos. LINK TO BOOK    https://tinyurl.com/52nmpnjz