IF I HAD a pound for every time I heard a woman of a certain age complain that they’d lost their way with fashion, I’d be a Gucci gold card holder.

Juggling work, home and family is an exhausting business and often a woman’s wardrobe pays the price.

So York working mum-of-two Charlotte Baker will not be alone in her assessment of her fashion life as being in a black hole.

Her 12-year-old daughter, Holly, isn’t impressed with mum’s fashion efforts either.

“Holly is very honest,” says Charlotte. “If I try to be trendy, she says: ‘That looks dreadful’.

“I look at Holly and she looks dead trendy. I still want to look interested in fashion and be stylish, but I don’t want to look too young for my age.”

Carve out some “me time”, is the advice to 41-year-old Charlotte from personal shopper Alison Rockett.

Alison is based at York Designer Centre and is a veritable fairy godmother for anyone in a fashion flummox. She says: “Lots of my clients tell me that once they have kids they seem to lose their identities. They wonder: ‘Who am I; ‘what do I want to look like?’”

And she tells Charlotte: “You need to go shopping on your own, without your daughter, and concentrate on what you need and what looks good on you.”

If that sounds a daunting prospect for anyone wandering aimlessly in a style wilderness, then Alison’s job is to hold your hand and steer you in the right direction.

Many personal shoppers offer a free, no-obligation, service, so booking an appointment is a no-brainer.

Before Charlotte met Alison, she filled out a form online giving her colouring, vital statistics and sharing what she considered to be her “best bits” as well as noting down what she hoped to get out of the expedition.

Charlotte is quite clear about her goal. “I really struggle with the smart-casual look. When I am at work, I wear smart, office clothes, but come the weekend all I see in my wardrobe are the clothes I wear to work – and most of them are black.”

Alison’s first task is to encourage Charlotte to make the most of her work wardrobe, by extending its reach to after hours.

To prove her point, she transforms Charlotte’s office suit – a black shift dress with matching jacket – into a look more suitable for a night out, with the simple swap of a jacket (a cream waterfall style from Jaeger); some chunky, funky beads, and a pair of killer heels.

“It’s the classic desk to dinner situation,” says Alison. “Many people go straight out from work. I can show them how to be a savvy shopper and mix items together so they can have the perfect outfit for the office and for going out.”

Charlotte is impressed – and declares herself ready for an injection of colour.

Next up, Alison drapes Charlotte in a gorgeous lime-yellow summer dress from Ted Baker, which complements her warm skin tone and long strawberry-blonde hair. Charlotte loves to wear flats, but Alison coaxes her into a compromise – a pair of metallic wedges from Daniel Footwear.

“Not many people can get away with that colour, but Charlotte can because she has that Nicole Kidman colouring,” says Alison. More colour comes next, in the shape of a bang-on-trend maxi dress in deep purple, with bright green, red and teal tones.

“These are the sort of warm, bright colours you should be wearing,” says Alison.

The two hours are over quickly – but before Charlotte returns home, Alison gives her some more general guidelines to follow.

“Accessorize. Think about how accessories can transform an outfit. Invest in colour and print. People are scared of these, but as soon as you put them on you looked like a different person.

“Get more out of your wardrobe. Build a capsule wardrobe of separates in the right colours and know everything will work together.

“Make sure you inject colour into your work wear. Navy is a good substitute for black; it’s still fashionable and stylish, but sensible too. It looks great with cream, or with red and is an easy way to get some colour in there.”

• To book a consultation with Alison, visit yorkdesigneroutlet.com or phone 01904 682700.