Image Revolution Portfolio
Background Nancy Dearinger is a thoughtful, articulate, 53-year-old mother. She owns Chicago Wellness Center and practices chiropractic medicine. Nancy came to The Image Studios with an interest in strengthening her professional image. Nancy understood that she and her business would benefit if she consistently projected that she is a professional, approachable business owner in the Wellness Industry. Nancy is a free-spirited personality and is not visually oriented - so she didn t pay close attention to her visual elements of her image (wardrobe, hair, makeup.) For years, she focused on her family and the operation of her business, but not herself. Nancy quickly and inexpensively got by everyday but was beginning to feel like her personal presence was limiting her business growth opportunities. We began by clearly defining Nancy s Style Baseline ; then coached her through modifications that fit her busy lifestyle and limited budget.
Nancy s Style Baseline BUSINESS Professional Authoritative Approachable Healthy Intelligent PERSONAL Approachable Healthy Relaxed
Before We agreed that Nancy (in the photo to the left) was doing a good job projecting that she is health conscious and sporty however, the majority of her Business Style Baseline was unlikely to be an observer s visual first impression. Many would not assume that Ms. Dearinger was a successful business owner. She wore lots of turtlenecks, sweat pants and tennis shoes for comfort. This style was simple and fast. She preferred comfort & simplicity over style so Nancy wore very little structured clothing. She believed that her wardrobe suited her comfortable, casual lifestyle. Our Wardrobe Styling goals for Nancy were as follows: Teach her how to use her wardrobe to project her Style Baseline. Work within her time and budget constraints. Show Nancy that structured clothing can and should be tailored for a proper fit, so that it is comfortable to wear.
Before When given the opportunity to think critically about it, Nancy agreed that her burgundy hair color was not making the Professional & Authoritative statement she d hoped. She typically delegated her hair color and cut decisions to her long-time stylist. Nancy found it difficult to style her curly hair herself, so she requested that her hair stylist cut it long, allowing her the option to wear it up. Her makeup color selection and application techniques were accumulated from a variety of cosmetic counter makeovers over the years. Lipstick and foundation were her most-used enhancers. Nancy s morning grooming routine consisted of 15-minutes for hairstyling and makeup application. Our Hair and MakeUp Styling goals for Nancy were as follows: Show her how to use her hair and makeup to project her Style Baseline. Determine the best Hair and Makeup colors for Nancy, based on her skin tone & eye color. Teach Nancy how to maintain her look in 15 minutes or less each day.
The Revolution
Wardrobe Closet Assessment The closet assessment consisted of pruning Nancy s closet to include only the attire that flattered her body type and skin color. Items that were worn, out of date, or ill-fitting were given to charity or discarded. The remaining clothing formed the basis of her new wardrobe. After the closet assessment, Nancy knew what pieces of her existing wardrobe needed to be modified. She also knew what styles did not serve her well and what cuts to avoid.
Styles to Avoid Higher necklines are not flattering on Nancy. These pieces make her top half appear even larger. A lower more open neckline would look best to slim her bustline. Tapered leg pants in form-fitting materials are not flattering for Nancy. Too much attention is drawn to her mid-section and thigh area. A fuller straight leg pant would work better, camouflaging that area and making her appear taller and slimmer.
Wardrobe Tailoring Julio Alvarado, our favorite tailor, altered Nancy s clothing. Her jackets needed to be taken in at the waist to give a more hourglass silhouette. Her pants needed to be lengthened to give a longer-looking leg. Tailoring allowed Nancy s clothing to be comfortable AND reveal that she is Professional, Authoritative, and Health Conscious.
Wardrobe Personal Shopping In order to fill the gaps in her wardrobe, Nancy and our Wardrobe Stylist made a shopping list for the items that would complete her wardrobe. Her budget for clothing, shoes, and accessories was $750. With some creative shopping, we managed to find Nancy a new wardrobe all on sale! Armed with her color swatch booklet, we matched up styles in her personal color palette of True Winter to make sure we bought the most flattering pieces for her personal coloring. We then chose fabric cuts that worked best for her. The Key to successful shopping is to chose a color theme. This makes pulling outfits together a bit easier. We chose purple and black to build her wardrobe around.
We found these pieces to give Nancy a more professional look for work (notice structured jacket below) and also some dressier casual items for going out and weekend wear. This new pant leg is full and straight- which is the most flattering look for Nancy because a straight leg off the hip draws less attention to your thigh area and makes you appear taller and slimmer. The hemline on this pant is perfect because it s long enough to hit mid-heel. Each shoe shown works with this pant. The higher heel dresses the look up and elongates her silhouette.
Nancy creates her own jewelry, so we incorporated those pieces in with her new wardrobe. Nancy was also very concerned with having comfortable shoes for work because she is on her feet all day. So we chose footwear that had a tennis shoe feel but was dressier and more stylish. Brands such as Dansko, Ecco, and Aerosoles are quite suitable and more stylish these days.
Hair Consultation The most pressing need for Nancy on the hair front was to select a color that was flattering for her skin tone, exciting, and blended more easily with grey (so that she looked wellgroomed even when she was due for a color retouch.) Nancy also needed a lowmaintenance hairstyle that allowed her some versatility: enough so that she would not get bored with her look. The color we selected was a natural looking blend of neutral browns and blondes it will need to be retouched less often than her former color.
Hair Tutorial We selected a shorter cut which says In-charge. The shorter cut also had the benefits of less styling time and lifting the face! We coached Nancy on at-home styling techniques for both straight and curly versions of her new cut. She was very surprised that her natural curl was easy to manage and quite pretty when she used a couple of styling products appropriate for her hair texture. Curly is the quicker, easier look to do, but she can also straighten it for fun or for a more polished look.
Makeup Consultation & Tutorial Nancy avoided wearing makeup because she thought the application required more time than she was willing to spend. This consultation showed her how to create a polished look in under ten minutes. Nancy was concerned about looking overdone. She realized she could wear makeup and still look natural. To create a refreshed look, we taught her to apply a pale shade on the lid and keep eyeliner close to the lash line. Her lip color was kept light and neutral. The darker shade Nancy usually wore washed her out. The lesson was conducted using Nancy s own makeup. This minimized cost and allowed her to learn application techniques using the colors and brands with which she was already comfortable with.
and the results were powerful! Image Accomplished!
Credits Wardrobe: Kristi Kelley Hair: Kali Evans-Raoul, Vanessa Vargas Makeup: Nicole Bond, Vanessa Vargas Investment The Image Studios services: $2155.00 Hair Products: $35.00 Shopping: $700.00