22 Jul 5 Wardrobe Challenges and How an Image Consultant Can Help
What if you had a powerful ally at work? Someone who always touted your strengths, cheered for your success, and pushed you to do better? Imagine how your professional path would be shaped!
In a small way, your wardrobe is just that kind of ally. We all know the adage “dress for success,” and that command could not hold more truth whether you’re a busy attorney or a stay-at-home mom, two positions I’ve proudly held.
However, several years ago, I decided to tap into my dominant creative brain and become an image consultant in Newport Beach, California, helping other women find their footing and self-confidence while navigating their professional path.
What Is an Image Consultant?
An image consultant helps you create an edited view of style that focuses on image, but also on all things surrounding that image to inform your personal brand. This includes your image, signature looks, and business style, including logo design and website.
An image consultant can help you understand how to build your own capsule wardrobe that is stylized for your life, how to build your dream closet, and how to shop. Or, they can even shop for you!
Here in Newport Beach, I’ve styled my clients for business, everyday life, video shoots, photoshoots, including company executives in local magazines, and for the Grammy Awards.
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However, an image consultant does more than dress you in nice clothes. I like to say I’m my client’s fairy godmother! I not only help you look your best, but I help you feel your best with curated pieces designed to help you exude the inner confidence that springs from knowing you’re appearing as your best self.
But can’t you do that on your own? It’s true, some women seem to have a gift, either innate or learned, for confidently styling themselves. However, many women face serious obstacles to creating their own custom style or wardrobe.
What about you? What are your wardrobe and image challenges? Let’s see if any of these resonate with you.
5 Wardrobe Challenges and How an Image Consultant Can Help
Let’s see if any of these challenges seem familiar and then we’ll dive into how you can overcome them with the help of an image consultant.
1. You Don’t Have Time to Shop
I cannot tell you how common this challenge is! It’s not that you don’t appreciate the need for a polished wardrobe. But when you scrape up a little bit of time to go shopping, either in person or online, you end up choosing things you like, but perhaps don’t create a cohesive look.
How an image consultant can help: An image consultant like myself can literally show you how to shave hours off your shopping time. This is because I teach you how to shop efficiently and how to create a customized wardrobe. Or, you can have me do all your shopping for you!
2. The Choices Are Overwhelming
With the advent of online shopping services, subscription boxes, and more, knowing where to start can be overwhelming. The problem with many of these services is that they’re not customized to you, to your lifestyle, aspirations, and career. So you may receive recommendations that look good on paper, but that aren’t really tailored to your lifestyle.
And they typically still require more ongoing hands-on time than most busy professionals have available.
How an image consultant can help: When styling a client, an image consultant takes into consideration your current lifestyle, time constraints, fashion and comfort preferences, and even where you’re headed professionally. Then customized wardrobe and styling recommendations are made, helping you to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
3. You Have a Large Wardrobe, but Nothing to Wear
I can’t tell you often I hear this! You know what you like, so when you go shopping, you buy what reflects your personal style. Maybe it’s a top that makes you feel confident or a pair of hard-to-find trousers that fit just right. You leave the store feeling satisfied that you’ve found an item that perfectly reflects your style.
The problem? You have a whole closet full of “that perfect item,” but nothing matches! Your wardrobe is not cohesive.
How an image consultant can help: I help you maximize your wardrobe investment by building in the basics so your wardrobe is flexible and can mix and match to offer you the maximum number of outfits. I always say, “A wardrobe that has no basics is like an alphabet that has no vowels. You can’t pull your outfit together without basics.”
Your dream closet should have both purpose and function.
4. You Don’t Already Have a Defined Style
So maybe you just don’t know where to start. Or maybe you haven’t had the time to really think about your style, how you “vibe.” It’s OK to start from a blank slate. However, it is important to define your style. It’s a great way to stand out from the rest and really elevate your professional status.
Think about brands you love. For example, Apple has a very definite style. It’s modern, sleek, and minimalist, but beautiful at the same time. However, a brand like Smeg is sleek but gives off a very retro vibe.
For both companies, everything from the font used on the website to the actual product itself, speaks to their branding.
When you understand what your personal brand looks like, it will make crafting your wardrobe much easier.
How an image consultant can help: When I’m styling you, I get to know you personally. I learn about what you do, what your hobbies are, what your favorite color is, and what your lifestyle is like. I take inventory of these ingredients and then use them to create your perfect wardrobe.
5. You’re Not Good at Nurturing Yourself
This is such a challenge! But not one that can’t be overcome with a little help.
Many women, I dare say most women, have a difficult time carving out time to care for their own needs. We’re often great nurturers, but when it comes to caring for our basic well-being, such as dress and grooming, women often sideline themselves.
Before I was an image consultant, I was an attorney, an engineer, and then a stay-at-home mom. During the 10 years that I was at home with the kids, I witnessed many women who neglected themselves in the name of being a mom. And I was going through it myself! It was a challenge to maintain my own self-care.
However, I was determined to reverse this idea that as women, it’s OK to neglect ourselves in the name of our family responsibilities.
But it’s not just stay-at-home moms who face this challenge. Busy executives, entrepreneurs, and really, most women have difficulty prioritizing self-care.
This often translates into a wardrobe that’s outdated, mismatched, or designed solely for ease and comfort, but doesn’t make you feel like your best self.
How an image consultant can help: My goal when I work with you is not just to “makeover” your wardrobe, but to become a resource for elevating your self-image so you can not only nurture those you love but feel good about yourself while doing it.
I’ve worked with many cancer patients and others who have navigated challenging health and life-changing events, and let me tell you, a wardrobe is not simply about clothes! A properly curated, customized wardrobe can help you recover the inner strength that may have been buried by trauma or simply worn away by the daily grind.
Take a look at what Kris, a former cancer patient, has to say about how her wardrobe changed her mindset:
How to Work with An Image Consultant
If you need help overcoming your own wardrobe challenges, I want to be your fairy godmother! My image consultant business, jade. for all seasons, operates out of Newport Beach, California. However, I work with clients all over the world, even as far as Egypt!
To learn more about my services and how to elevate your look for success, click here. Or, if you’d like to schedule a consultation, you can get in touch here.