"After having three babies, I have gained fifty pounds and can’t figure out what goes with what anymore. Do these colors really match? Should I use more bright colors or pastels? Should I cut my hair and should I color it? My focuses aren’t on me as they used to be, and I feel out of balance most days with my fashion and confidence level. I need an image consultant!” Thirty-four-year-old Shannon Whelan said she needed help with her image and wanted a makeover so she could look polished like the people around her.

Shannon arrived for the session wearing one of her favorite outfits-a beautiful floral print with a navy blue background. Image Consultant's Tip: Large patterns of any kind tend to announce “large.” On the other hand, solid colors, especially when they are worn from head to toe, are very slimming. In the photo on the right, Shannon looks two sizes smaller, even though the photos were taken an hour apart.

Shannon’s long hair is beautiful and lustrous. However, when it is pulled back with a barrette, her face looks full. She looks better with her hair falling in natural part, and thanks to a well-placed cowlick, her new hairdo has a sophisticated look to it.

Image Consultant's Tip: Make the eyes the focal point. With the tiniest amount of eyeshadow in natural brown tones, strategically placed, her eyes suddenly became more important. Shannon has bright turquoise eyes, so they always won her compliments. Now they look even more radiant and eyecatching. Shannon's goal is to become a social worker, and her new image will enable her to look the part.

Image skills are powerful. They can enable you to look more sophisticated and even thinner!

Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect is an image consultant and professional speaker based in Virginia Beach, with 30 years of international and national experience helping individuals and Fortune 500 companies improve their image. She conducts customized Branding for People™ image workshops on a regular basis.
For more information, visit www.theimagearchitect.com or call 757/627-6669.

To view the original article in Tidewater Women, please visit here  

by Sandy Dumont, THE Image Architect © 2005
Originally published in Tidewater Women, April 2005