She’s tired of harsh cubicle lighting, standing in her socks with wobbly bits on show and unhelpful staff… Could a service that brings the changing room to your home cure AMANDA PLATELL’S shopping phobia?

• Amanda Platell, 66, put the Harper Concierge shopping service to the test
• READ MORE: Christmas dress shopping? I’m a celebrity stylist who has worked with Little Mix and these are the 7 fashion crimes you must AVOID when picking the perfect festive outfit for your party

To say I hate clothes shopping is the understatement of the century — particularly at this time of year. 

I almost always return home feeling fat, old and miserable, wondering if I can lose a stone before Christmas and if it’s not too late to book some festive Botox. Oh, and almost always empty-handed.

Yes, there’s the stress of traipsing up and down the High Street, jostling with other shoppers, never being able to find my size… but my real nemesis is the changing room. Especially with millions of us panic-buying for party season; there are long queues to contend with before you even reach cubicle hell.

Then there’s the torture of getting undressed and dressed again in different stores: boots off, jeans off, jumper off, to bare all those wobbly bits, standing in socks with a forlorn expression as the trousers won’t do up. 

Then trying desperately to find an assistant to fetch you another size before having to perform the same rigmarole all over again.

Amanda rejected the first item she tried on – a cascading blue sequinned Temperley mermaid-like dress (pictured)

The entire experience is so soul-sucking, I usually give up after about an hour, treat myself to a black cab home (as I haven’t spent anything), then scour my wardrobe for something that still fits while sipping a large glass of Chablis.

Surely online shopping is the answer then? But that has its own pitfalls. Sizing can differ so much you have no idea whether a garment will fit, meaning you either have to cough up for at least two sizes, or risk disappointment by only going for one. 

And the returns process, however much they try to make it easier with pre-paid labels and couriers, is always such a faff.

So I was beyond excited to learn of Harper Concierge, which offers ‘the convenience of shopping online with the experience of shopping in store’. 

You select clothes online in the normal way then Harper brings them to your house, waits while you try them on, before taking unwanted items away again.

Harper has collaborated with 13 brands to offer its service, including Jigsaw, Me+Em, LK Bennett and Rixo. There are also eye-wateringly expensive designer brands such as Victoria Beckham. You don’t pay for the clothes until you’ve chosen which ones to keep — if any.

Apparently, as a nation, we return half of all the clothes and shoes we buy. A Barclaycard survey suggests we Brits are so addicted to fast fashion that we’ve become serial returners, sending back items worth around £7 billion every year. 

But I’ve lost count of the clothes I’ve bought online only to forget to send them back on time, forfeiting the money entirely.

Amanda loved the colouring of a pale gold Rixo sequined halter-neck dress (pictured), which brought out the highlights in her hair and flattered her skin tone 

Harper confronts this nightmare head-on by returning clothes to the warehouse for you. There’s no need to download a particular app: you simply shop at the list of selected brand sites. 

When you get to the checkout choose the ‘Try Before You Buy’ option rather than paying, enter your address and then choose your preferred day and time slot.

There’s no faffing around with creating an account and entering in all your card details. If you’re shopping from different websites, use the same email address for each order and the Harper system works out it’s the same person and collates your items in one big order.

The appointments are 40 minutes long. The Harper stylist arrives at your door with your clothes, you try them on and decide which of them you’d like to keep — if required they offer their expert advice on what looks best.

Your clothing ‘concierge’ will then take payment on the spot and leave with whichever items you don’t want. 

There’s no limit to how many items you can order, but it’s worth being realistic about how long it will take to try things on, as the appointment can’t run over.

I invited a girlfriend over to help me choose a knockout party dress, a festive outfit to take me from church to a Christmas lunch, comfy soft trousers, a glam shirt and perhaps a work suit. 

Sitting in my kitchen with a cuppa and my laptop, we scrolled through online stores and chose 14 items, in several sizes.

Jigsaw’s oversized red polo jumper with long sleeves and a pair of the brand’s fitted red trousers (pictured) were both a hit with Amanda 

If I had to pay upfront, the cost would have been prohibitive.

The cost for delivery varies — for example Rixo and Me+Em charge £14.95 for the service — but if you order from several brands at once, you will be charged the lowest delivery fee and Harper can bring it to you as soon as the following day. 

This is the only additional fee you have to pay, as Harper makes its money from commission of up to 15 per cent on any clothes you go on to purchase.

Think of it as Deliveroo for fashion. Currently, Rixo has the service available nationwide, while the other brands are available in all 32 London boroughs, with plans to expand.

The brand was founded by University of Manchester graduate Liam Young in 2017, who came up with the idea after a package he’d ordered from a luxury brand was left by a delivery driver in what they’d deemed to be a safe place: a bin.

Two days after I place my clothing order, at the agreed time of 10am, Harper stylist Natasha arrived with my selection, packaged in posh black fabric clothing bags on wooden hangers — not shrouded in plastic wrappers. What a joy to unpack and hang them all over the room, a riot of colour and soft fabrics.

I was like a child in a sweetshop sifting through the outfits, some more gorgeous and adventurous than I’d have chosen normally, others in shapes I wouldn’t usually contemplate. And no drab black and grey for me this year.

That’s the thing about not having to pay upfront — you can afford to be more daring, to see which works best. 

Delivering clothes you’ve chosen online to try on in the comfort of your own home, Harper Concierge offers ‘the convenience of shopping online with the experience of shopping in store’

I changed in the comfort of my own bedroom, no ghastly neon lights, then wandered into the living room wearing my own shoes to check my reflection in the full-length mirror.

Plus, I could combine the outfits with my own accessories, earrings, necklaces and handbags. And I had all my ‘fat pants’ and ‘sucky-in tights’ to hand, too.

You choose between through-the-door (a stylist comes in and is on hand to advise you) or to-the-door delivery (they go away and return after 40 minutes to collect unwanted items). 

I went for the first option as I wanted Natasha’s expert advice. She was honest, pointing out which were more flattering and which less, regardless of the price tag.

The 40-minute appointment was plenty of time as I can tell almost immediately if an outfit is not me. All I had to do was select the items I wanted and pay by card (or in my case cheque as the mobile network in North London is so bad).

Harper also deliver to your office, a godsend for busy working women, or even a hotel for a last-minute sartorial panic.

The first item I tried was a cascading blue sequinned Temperley mermaid-like dress. It fitted like a glove and I adored it but thought it was so magnificently over the top I’d look like a show-off. So it was rejected on grounds of practicality.

Next up was a pale gold Rixo sequined halter-necked dress. The colouring was so kind and gentle, bringing out the highlights in my hair and flattering older skin, the neckline simple with exposed shoulders. 

Amanda chose 14 items in several sizes and tried them all on in comfort, wearing her own shoes, during the 40 minute appointment 

We all have our vanities and mine are my shoulders thanks to 15 years of boxing. (It’s not just great cardio, it really firms and shapes your arms and shoulders — no bingo wings for me at 66!).

For something more casual, I pulled on an oversized red polo jumper with sleeves down to my fingertips and matching fitted red trousers from Jigsaw.

The trousers were neat and slimming and a slightly shorter cut, which to my surprise paired well with boots or sparkly shoes and were incredibly flattering. A perfect look to team with my Santa hat. 

I wasn’t keen on a Jigsaw silver trouser-suit, though. Its boxy fit made me feel like Graham Norton in drag. It also drained all colour from my face; I realised silver is not my friend. I was very relieved to be able to simply hand it back to Natasha.

I specifically wanted something smart and playful for Christmas dinner this year and was drawn to the Me+Em cream pleat-sleeved blouse. I’m not familiar with the brand but the cut is soft and flattering, the neckline high and elegant — no scraggy turkey neck on show. And those lovely long sleeves! No chance of being called into the kitchen to toss the goose fat-drenched roast potatoes in that getup.

I tried the blouse with a pair of soft emerald green velvet trousers from Samantha Cameron’s Cefinn. Long and floppy, they moved beautifully, a clever bit of elastic concealed on the back of the waistband to allow for festive excess.

She wasn’t keen on a Jigsaw silver trouser-suit (pictured), finding that the boxy fit didn’t work for her and the shade of silver drained the colour from her face

I’m thinking of wearing this outfit with a long strand of my mother’s deep green rosary beads to dress it up and a pair of chunky 1980s multi-jewelled earrings.

Natasha said that on average women buy three outfits but there’s no pressure to buy at all.

In the end I did buy three outfits: the delightful floor-length halter-neck gold sequined dress, the red Jigsaw ensemble and the velvet trousers and cream pleat-sleeved top. I could have bought more but was working to a budget.

Now I’m all set for a stylish Christmas — and it appears I’ve cured my shopping phobia too!

• Go to harperconcierge.com

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