Improvability Blog

Kirstie Armsworth is a hard-working, lateral-thinking and successful image consultant from Edinburgh.

A few weeks ago I sent her details of an opportunity for experienced image consultants to work with one of the UK’s best known department store chains in various cities around the country.

A couple of weeks ago Kirstie sent me this:

“Just to let you know that I took your email about (a department store) working with image consultants and presented something similar to (another department store).

As a result, I am now doing two fashion shows with them to celebrate the launch of Sex and the City 2. Fashion, fashion, fashion. I have chosen outfits for specific models to demonstrate a good colour and style fit - all with a view to helping those attending to choose the best outfits for THEM for this summer. It involves another company as well as doing a mini style makeover.

I took inspiration from your initial email and well, personalised it as you know I do! Just thought I’d let you know - you know me! Fingers crossed.” Kirstie

Kirstie trained with me 3 years ago in Colour Analysis and came back a year later for Ladies’ Style. Last week, I sent her the feature article ‘How a ‘proper’ Ladies’ Style consultation finally sorted me out!‘ and she emailed back:

“I’m inspired and can’t wait to do my next Style Personality workshop. I totally agree with you that personality is key to the future. I spend a fair bit of time on it and have done further reading to expand my knowledge base. I love this sort of thing. My clients so ‘get’ why it’s important.

image4impact also does personal styling for a shopping centre nearby and your definition of the difference between fashion stylist and image consultant / personal stylist is bang on. I’m sooooooooooooooo the latter! Thank you for being so inspirational!” Kirstie

Lateral thinking is the key

Sometimes all it takes a bit of lateral thinking and I have to say that this must be Kirstie’s middle name because, over the years, she has taken so many of the ideas that I’ve come up with and tweaked them here and there to create her own better and more successful version.

Several years ago I wrote an article called ‘Run a Purple Workshop’. Kirstie took one look and decided to run a ‘Pink’ one!

She emailed me for a list of every ‘pink’ drape available and even though I tried to talk her out of it, she ordered every single one so that she would be able to help all her clients individually with exactly the right shade for them.

Kirstie invited all her clients to wear pink (see left), she asked her Mum to park her pink car outside, all the cups, plates, serviettes and cakes were pink, and she spent ages creating mood boards showing a number of celebrities in varying shades of pink - the good, and the not so good.

It’s what you DO that counts

It’s easy to get inspired by something you read or hear. It’s what you do with that inspiration that counts. If you do nothing, you’ll get nothing. But if you’re like Kirstie, you’ll take it and run with it and you’ll get rewarded many times over for your labours.

What you give out, you always get back.

Right now, Kirstie’s working on adding on something that will bring a whole new dimension to her discussions and workshops. If I were you, I’d find out what she’s up to…

HOW TO CONTACT KIRSTIE ARMSWORTH - If you would like Kirstie to help you with your own colour, style and confidence, then email her at kirstie@image4impact.co.uk or telephone 07710 703 372.

You could use this latest ‘trend’ as a theme for a workshop to build your business, find new clients and generate more income. Plus, you’ll be helping your clients with another piece of their clothing jigsaw…

The current fad of ‘nude’ isn’t for everyone but some of your clients may be wondering if it could possibly work for them.

You should be the one they turn to, but would they even think to ask you?

Tell your clients how you can help

I doubt very much that your clients are mind readers so you need to tell them right now how you can help.

To help put things into perspective, read my article Nude neutrals - the latest Hollywood trend

Invite your existing clients to a ‘A Nude By Any Other Name’ morning, afternoon or evening event. 

You’re going to show them how to wear nude, camel, coffee, cream, buff, flax, beige, flesh, ecru, eggshell or whatever else you want to call it.

TIP: If you invite only clients you’ve already colour coded, diagnosed or analysed then you won’t be put on the spot by someone brand new who is probably hoping for a full colour consultation for the price of a workshop!

You know your clients already.  So you should have planned before they arrive exactly how you’re going to advise each individual lady.  You have kept your notes from their last visit, haven’t you?

If you sell a clothing range which features a selection of ‘nude’ colours, then use them madly.  If not, keep it simple and just use the drapes.

Give each client a handout with both text and images for them to show their friends later.  Make sure your contact details are on every bit of paper you ever give your clients!

TIP: To save you loads of time and effort, download our latest Fashion Trends Packs for Image Professionals. They contain client handouts which are ready to print out immediately, plus there’s over 200 photos taken straight from the catwalks for the Spring Summer 2010 season.

This is a great way to re-connect with your existing clients and shows them how in tune you are with what’s going on in the fashion world. Plus you’ll earn great money and, if you’ve got any sense, you’ll be booking these ladies in again for another service very soon (big hint: Autumn Winter trends for 2010?)

Let me know how you get on!  And if you’ve got any other names for ‘nude’, please let me know - but only if they’re printable!

What the Hollywood stars are wearing often ‘inspires’ (and I use that word extremely loosely!) your clients to want to copy them.  Sad, but true!

Most recently, ‘nude’ has been the talk of the town - and there’s been some absolute claptrap written about how we should ALL be wearing it. What a pile of poppycock!

This example is by Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz. 

Purely my opinion but the model desperately needs a swipe of bright red lipstick…  or maybe she just needs a few good hot dinners?

A ‘Nude’ By Any Other Name

The current fad of ‘nude’ has also been called camel, coffee, cream, buff, flax, beige, flesh, ecru, eggshell.  I’ve even heard it referred to as pale peach!

‘Bright’ clients need more than this!

I sincerely hope you’ll be giving your Bright-er clients a good smack round the ear if they insist on wearing this particular look from head to toe, especially if they’re also intending to follow moronic make-up advice like, “A golden glow will ensure your ‘nude’ clothes don’t wash out your complexion.” 

• A ‘golden glow’ for a cool lady will make her look like a satsuma - end of subject
• A neutral look from head to foot accompanied by a ‘golden glow’ for a Bright warm lady who needs colour contrast is going to make her look like a hospital case

Of course your Bright-er clients can wear neutrals but they need to build in some colour contrast or they’re going to look like death warmed up.

A bright lipstick will go quite a long way to redress the balance while you try to talk her out of potential style suicide.

This is Marcia Cross wearing an embroidered tulle gown by Elie Saab. Notice how she’s gone for a more obvious make-up than just a ‘golden glow’ to keep her looking alive.

Which neutrals do you use with your clients? 

Is it time for a recap and maybe a bit of an update?  Read more

They’re hidden within this article so you’ll have to search for all three

I know the shops in the northern hemisphere have only just changed their winter stock for the latest spring items, but if you want to use fashion trends to advantage in your professional colour and image business then you need to understand how the fashion industry works.

Late February and early March each year, the major fashion houses from around the world present their Autumn Winter pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear) collections on the catwalks of New York, London, Milan and Paris.

The thousands of photographers and fashion journalists who flock to these shows year after year shoot and write about everything and everybody in sight so that they can report back to their magazine, website or TV show with all the latest news.

Finding your own fashion trends information

Back in the days when it was little ol’ me that created the fashion trends resources, just getting to grips with the maniacal amount of information out there used to drive me completely potty.

Now I’ll be honest:

• I’m not overly interested in who’s wearing what
• I couldn’t care two monkeys what’s ‘in fashion’
• I have absolutely no desire whatsover to look like anyone else on the planet

BUT

I thoroughly understand that a large proportion of my clients absolutely DO.

And so, as a professional, I have to provide what my clients want (reason #1). Or they’ll go somewhere else!

So I used to spend hours trawling the internet, leafing through glossy magazines, and forcing myself to watch TV shows about fashion just to be able to produce enough information to talk knowledgeably about the latest colours, styles and features to and with my clients.

I don’t actually mind talking about whether Ermentrude will look good in a blue and silver lame jumpsuit or whether she should stick to her bottom-hugging bright pink hotpants with stars on them.

But what I DO mind is all the work and time I had to invest beforehand trying to find a ruddy picture of these dreadful concoctions to be able to talk about them at all!

Life is just too short

For me, life is far too short to spend on tasks like this. Because it takes ages and forever.

Not only do you have to find the darned images from somewhere, then you have to spend even more time making them the right size for your handouts. Then you need some meaningful text to go with them, and then you have to put it all together in a document with proper headings, etc. Quite frankly, when I used to have to do this every 6 months or so, I’d rather have eaten coal…

I’ve since learnt that it’s always much better to delegate the jobs you hate doing yourself so that you can spend the majority of your time on the bits of your business that you’re really good at. So, when a top fashion journalist offered her services to produce professional fashion trends for me, I almost bit her hand off.

Autumn Winter 2010 Fashion Trends now available

You could introduce yourself to a brand-new market with a presentation on current fashion trends that inspires your audience to book a colour or image service directly with you (reason #2).

In our Fashion Trends Packs, we provide PowerPoint slides that would be perfect for such a presentation or talk. You wouldn’t have to do much else but press ‘Enter’ every so often and read out the accompanying notes that are included in the Pack.

This season’s 10 key themes include Femme Fatale, Drop the Waist and Leather Me Up. The red outift on the left is from Oscar de la Renta’s ‘Stepford Wife’ collection.

You could also write an article for a local newspaper or magazine to promote your services (reason #3). You have access to insider information straight from the catwalks, and the information in the new Autumn Winter 2010 Pack will not be publicly available for a good few months yet.  You could establish your credentials as an expoert with insider information way ahead of your competition.

There are plenty of other reasons why you should be using fashion trends information in your colour and image business but these three should at least get you thinking (and that is my aim here!).

And if you don’t want the hassle of creating your own, we’ve done the hard work for you.

• Order the brand-new hot-off-the-presses Autumn Winter 2010 Fashion Trends Pack now
• Print the handouts TODAY
• Earn back your investment TOMORROW from a fashion trends update, talk or consultation

You don’t have to be a fashion buff…

… to be able to use fashion trends in your business. When an expert has already put the photos and the information together for you, it’s an absolute doddle. Just print them off, read the notes, and let the conversation flow.

Easy as pie.

But I swear, if I hear or read that hideously pretentious twaddle ‘on trend’ one more time, I shall strangle something…