Image Consultants, Stylists & Personal Shoppers

D.C.-area image consultant Katrina Van Dopp called me today to pick my brain about a topic she was she was planning a short talk about. She wanted to discuss the difference between an image consultant, personal shopper, and stylist.

I thought that was a very interesting idea, and I encouraged her to choose one or the other – stylist or personal shopper to compare with the term "image consultant". In my rebranding efforts, I am focusing more on my work as a personal stylist. This is mainly due to “stylist” becoming a buzz word in the mainstream. People other than celebrities are now looking to stylists for personal style guidance.

I thought back to the article Roxanne Washington wrote about me in the Plain Dealer, when she said she thought of an image consultant as one of those people who looks like a cookie cutter image and uses the same mold for everyone. Almost like the Dress for Success books of the 1980’s. She was surprised when I came in looking hip and stylish in a decidedly non-corporate outfit.

These days, in my opinion at least, an image consultant and stylist both deal with the person as a whole entity. Each component of that person, inside and out, plays a vital role in shaping the outward image. Everyone should be treated as an individual.

A personal shopper, from what I have seen from personal shoppers I know, is paid to sell merchandise for their employer. With no training (or at least minimal training) in body line, color, and fashion personality, these shoppers are paid a commission to sell. The more they sell, the more they make. There may be a focus on trendy clothing, because once a trend has run its course, you will be left needing more clothes, and hence, they have a shopper for life. This is not the best way to build a wardrobe with quality and investment in mind.

Image consulting and personal styling are both service fields. Personal shopping, on the other hand, is sales-oriented and bottom line-driven. Image consultants and stylists are typically paid an hourly fee to use the power of impression management to help the client attain his or her goals, whatever they may be. We can and do shop anywhere, from high-end to low-end. A knowledgeable stylist can find great clothes that suit the client perfectly almost anywhere and with any budget.

From Bergdorf’s to boutiques to Target and almost anywhere in between.

Building a New Site

Yesterday was my niece Marissa's first birthday party. Just wanted to share a pic of us.

Very cute, huh? Check out our matching hairdos!

I am getting very excited as my website designer and I are working on the layout for my new site. It has been too long since I’ve had a site up, but I said that when I did it again, I wanted to make sure it was right. I do know that goes against what every single marketing expert in the world would say. I rely on my instincts a lot. Whether that is the smart thing to do or not. But now it finally feels right.

I don’t think there is much more time consuming and painstaking than getting a website up and ready. Just writing the content is tough enough. I mean, this is your business’s window to the outside world, right? Of course it should be perfect! Truly, I was happier just leaving a splash page up on there which said we were rebranding than put something up that I wasn’t happy with. Now I’m just delighted with how the site is looking and can’t wait till it goes live.

For a sneak peak, here is the banner:

Unintentional Insights

What an exciting weekend! As I mentioned, Saturday was my party at Sunset Lounge, which ended up moving to Nighttown in Cleveland Heights. I rolled in at 4am after breakfast. It was a fun night.

Then I had to leave home at 9:30am for my drive to Columbus. The weather was a little scary, but I arrived safely. A day and a half later, I still haven’t crashed like I believed I would. I think that’s a good sign.

The crash is probably coming though. And I have to be ready when it does.

I think the two main insights I got this weekend were:

1) Don’t drink a huge pink martini just because the bartender suggests it. I will get drunk regardless - even though I’m not trying to. And I won’t be able to let go of the wall for the salsa lesson with Coach Joelle.

2) From our speaker at my AICI meeting, corporate image consultant Linda Thomas. It wasn’t so much what she said and what she taught us, but what she made me realize about my own business.

I’ve realized I am working toward something that is greater than myself. I have my ideas about what that means, but I am not crystal clear about it yet. What I know for sure is that getting my message out to the world is paramount. I have something to say. A real void to fill. It’s all about being smart about we wear, taking the power away from those who try to devalue us, and using our appearance to get what we want out of life – whatever it may be.

I have many ideas but will keep them to myself for the time being. They need to continue to gestate.

Good to see all my friends this weekend! I promise we will do it again soon!!

In the meantime, beware of giant pink martinis!!!

Yay! A Makeover!!

While I was going through one of the worst times I have been sick in my life (or basically, all of 2007 so far), I got a fabulous opportunity to do a makeover for Inside Business magazine. They needed it for the February edition, so I had about two days to round everything up. I called on my trusty Style Team, makeup artist Wendy Fitos and assistant stylist Kelly Smith, as well as my standby, Aurora Farms Premium Outlets for clothes. I sent out an email to my readers and received about 30 responses. I chose someone I knew who would be easy to fit. When one has limited time, my belief is to take the path of least resistance! Especially when one is so under the weather.

Emily Honsa is a first year law student and works for the Cleveland Bar Association. I knew her from a networking group we were involved in and we had stayed in touch for the last year. I knew she would be easy to fit and easy to work with. She was even game to wear the “before” outfit I selected – a beige boxy jacket and blue floral skirt. I chose it because it was an outfit you would see walking around Downtown Cleveland on almost any day. Most women would wear it because it matches, has a jacket, and keeps them covered – so it conforms to their office dress code.

My goal was to update this look. I’m not for allowing any woman to look frumpy. You can honor your employer’s dress code and honor yourself at the same time by understanding your body and dressing it to show off its best points.

For Emily, proportion was key. We chose a mandarin-collar brown suede jacket that nipped in at the waist to build the outfit around. She is very fair – hair, skin, and eyes are all light. So we used the one strong brown piece and the rest of the outfit was more in keeping with her fair coloring. We selected a brown and lime green shell and ivory skirt. Accessories were all brown – tall boots, a two strand pendant, and faux snake tote. Intentionally controlled and conservative, but still feminine and fun.

Wendy did her makeup, and when she put on the brown jacket for the “after” outfit, it was amazing how her eyes stood out!

It’s always a mini-circus atmosphere when we get together to do these kinds of projects. It’s fun and exciting, and most importantly, we get to make someone look beautiful! What could be better than that?

Back to the Blog

I am finally back after a long blog hiatus. I guess the novelty (and smugness) of having a blog finally wore off. Well, I was looking at my friend Coach Joelle’s blog and it’s obvious she makes time for blogging her insights. I should get back to doing the same.

Since my last blog entry, I’ve been doing a lot of writing, coming up with ideas for ClevelandWomen.com, and doing the various things that make my job fun. This includes shopping and reading about shoes. What could be more fun than that? There has also been some buying of shoes as well. And clothes too, of course. What would I be without all my clothes and shoes??? One poorly dressed image consultant, I tell you!

The rebranding efforts have gone fabulously well. I am so excited. If anyone had told me when I started my company that eventually my colors would be plum and soft orange, I would have thought them crazy. But hey, look! My main logos are still plum, black, and white, but when I rebranded the Image Insider (my monthly newsletter) as styleLink, I changed things considerably.

You can register for my newsletter here.

I have a big weekend getting ready to start. I’m throwing a party tonight on W. 9th and have to head down to Columbus tomorrow for my bi-monthly AICI meeting. We’re flying a well-known image marketing consultant in from Dallas for a seminar, so this is exciting. Plus I get to see my friends from the chapter, especially the ethereal LisaMarie Luccioni, one of my dearest friends in the world.

We joke that with her hair down, she and I look like we are morphing into the same person. And that’s fine with us. We are a mutual admiration society!