Press

Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me ( Lessons in Grace and Elegance)
by Lucia van der Post
John Murray (2007)

JO POOLE (aka The Dress Doctor, 07855032 705 and at www.thedressdoctor.co.uk) is a costumier at the National Theatre and also works for the BBC.  She runs a wonderful mobile fitting and alteration service.  She'll come, look at your wardrobe and tell you what's worth keeping and what's not.  Furthermore, she will alter and - get this - drastically remake something that you love but that no longer quite works.  She costs £240 for a day's worth of advice and my young colleague at The Times,  Alice Olins, swears by her.

Lucia van der Post has a weekly style advice column 'Ask Lucia' in  The Times.  She was the founding editor of the Financial Times's How to Spend It magazine and has also written for the New Statesman, Departures and many others.

The Times,  January 03, 2007

The Dress Doctor

By Alice Olins

There is a graveyard in every wardrobe; a place where badly fitting wrong buys live — or, rather, die. Mine was once densely populated and languished in the far left-hand corner of my cupboard. To be brutally honest, I had stopped venturing in that direction for fear of all my sartorial ghosts.

Today, though, my wardrobe is a happy, healthy place, thanks to the Dress Doctor. A costumier at the National Theatre, BBC and Shakespeare’s Globe, Jo Poole has healing fashion hands. And even better, she comes to your house.

The wardrobe resuscitation process started with a proper measure-up, followed by a lengthy discussion and try-on session. Together we assessed why I wasn’t wearing these clothes, whether they were worth rescuing and how she was going to save the good ones. Then the Dress Doctor got to work, sending me off for several hours — presumably to avoid any backseat sewing. In cosmetic surgery terms, I had only fillers and a shot of Botox: sleeve-lengthening, new buttons and a whole lot of hem-shortening. But the Dress Doctor can perform full facelifts. Take this plain New Look dress. A veritable blank canvas, it was nipped and tucked into something that puts many designer fancies to shame.

Poole’s process involves a certain degree of trust, but when you consider that she has hand-stitched Elizabethan costumes, you realise that your oversized Topshop sack dress is no more than a walk in the park. And her array of fabrics, finishings, ribbons and haberdashery paddings (for shoulder and bust) are as mind-boggling as her ideas. Somebody pass the scalpel.

The Independent, January 07, 2008

Detox Your Wardrobe

We may be on the brink of an exciting new fashion season, but before you rush out to snap up spring trends, take stock of your stuff- and have a style rethink with the help of this five-step guide.  By Carola Long.

2.  Have old clothes repaired and 'refashioned'

It's always satisfying- and so much more environmentally friendly - to mend your clothes rather than chucking them out at the first sign of wear and tear.  Not everyone's sewing skills extend beyond patching up the odd hole.  However, several companies will not only do basic mending but also sensitive alterations and "refashioning", ie turning something dated into something directional. 
The Dress Doctor, aka the seamstress Jo Poole, will come to your house and perform emergency surgery on items that need mending or revamping.  She can shorten hems, change buttons, take clothes in or drastically restyle them by dyeing or reshaping to suite you.  She can also provide styling advice whiles she works.  Her service starts at £250 a day, within the M25 and up the M11 corridor to Cambridge.  She will travel further afield if there are several clients interested in the service.  Call 07855 032 705.

The Times, December 08, 2007

6 presents for fashionable girls

by Lisa Armstrong

Tricky as it can be in this season of goodwill to maintain the pretence that you have retained your sense of humour and proportion, I am giving it a go. In this immensely positive spirit, I have come up with a solution for the wasteful excess of the season, one which does not involve buying a portable loo for Africa in your sister-in-law's name or having a gift amnesty, which is never quite as enjoyable on the day as you think it's going to be.

Not that there's anything wrong with sponsoring a condom or adopting a goat (although last year the miserablists had a go at suggesting it was all counter-productive). But on the grounds that Oxfam has done a thoroughly persuasive job of promoting this particular route, and that this is a column about fashion, I hereby offer a way of buying into luxury and fashion without actually buying any more stuff. We're talking about services and, since we're a service economy, how Zeitgeisty is that? My ideas may even eliminate the fashion horrors cluttering up your loved ones' lives and impeding their happiness. At this time of year, more altruistic than that it probably does not get.

Jo Poole, aka the Dress Doctor, comes to your house and transforms dated or unflattering buys with her trusty needle. The Times fashion department let her loose on a so-so high street dress and several additions later (pockets, collar and contrasting trim) it had acquired a whole new identity. Jo can take in trousers, resculpt dresses and generally give a wardrobe the kiss of life. Home visits within the M25 start at £250 including materials for the day, in which time she estimates she can do between 10 and 16 alterations (one garment may require several). Prices outside the M25 on application - a group of friends on the Isle of Wight have clubbed together to get her over for a fortnight (07855 032705; e-mail jo@thedressdoctor.co.uk ; www.thedressdoctor.co.uk).

Testimony

"I feel more relaxed and happy about the whole clothes issue than I have for at least 20 years, the day has really made a huge difference to my enjoyment of life in many diffrent ways.  I feel I can actually enjoy shopping and I feel altogether more in control and" happy in my skin." So thanks again Jo, it was very much worthwhile from my point of view, I think I shalll book in for a yearly visit ." Sue.

"I'm sure I will be using your skills again Jo, so until then happy sewing.  Thank you so much."  Tess.

"You're a real find. I shall be booking in for an annual appointment." " Many thanks indeed for the alterations you made tomy silk jacket. It fits so well, and looks great".  Liz

"My dress -I felt sooo sexy in it, from the moment I put it on, really confident
of my posture and the length was simply perfect - thank you so much! So many
of my colleagues commented upon it, saying how elegant I looked & were quite
surprised to see me in such a low-cut dress. You're right, it is a very
useful addition to my wardrobe.  Thank you so very much & I will certainly keep your details in case I need anything else so expertly altered in the future."  Stella

" I just want to say again how grateful I am for the day you spent taking me round the clothes shops of London. I came 5th in the election, not 13th as previously. I never thought I would come higher than 7th." David

"I have been enjoyingg the relined and repaired curtains so much during the week that I am taking the liberty of sending this thanks in celebration, and to show my appreciation of your expertise - the expedious way in which) the considerable work was carried out and with such good humour. Many Thanks." Bryan (aged 95)

"Impressed barely sums up how I felt after a day with the Dress Doctor. I initially thought I would have little for her to do and was anxious that my, perhaps, less adventurous nature would limit the use of her expertise.  However, I was astounded (and ashamed) at how many items of clothing live in my wardrobe relatively (or entirely!) untouched. There are things that I knew I bought because I liked but found that outside of the store changing room there were a few adjustments required to suit me. I just never get round to doing them.

For a day that I admittedly had thought might be a bit indulgent, I was relieved to find myself bragging to all my friends about what a bargain I had stumbled on.  It’s like a shopping trip in your own wardrobe with the opportunity to personalise your favourite clothes."   Anita.

"I was celebrating my 30th birthday and it was an Oscars party. Being the
belle of the ball, I wanted to do something different and go as Bjork in her
infamous "Swan dress". After searching on the internet for ages, it was
obvious that it would need to be made. So I spoke to 12 dress-makers who all
said it was impossible or too difficult or too complex to make or that they
would need 3 months to make it or it would cost at least £500. I was about
to give up when I heard about Jo. I phoned her and within minutes she said
it was a great idea and started thinking about how it could be made. She
sprung into action and made the dress in less than 48 hours. It was truly
remarkable. The dress was a total hit and I was photographed on Leicester
square and must have had 20 strangers compliment me on it. It was
beautifully made and the swan head is even better I think that Bjork's
original dress! Thanks Jo for making my birthday SO special." - Adele Muzik