Having different hats to wear in life, from social events to business attire; business travel to holiday packing for hand luggage only, can become a wardrobe challenge. I often support my clients to develop flexible capsule wardrobes to work efficiently for them for a variety of lifestyles.
The fabulous JoJo Sutherland, Stand Up Comedian, Writer and Broadcaster found herself facing an increasing challenge having launched a corporate service which helps business leaders improve their pitch and presentation impact by using comedy techniques at the core. Very quickly she frequently found herself in corporate boardrooms. Her stage wardrobe wasn’t appropriate and she wanted some help fast to find her feet with something that was sill very much her, yet adapted to business meetings.
‘I have had the same wardrobe for all my adult life – if it’s black I will wear it!
Earlier last year I became more conscious of wanting to deliberately dress in different styles to reflect the variety in my work. By night I am a stand up comedian but by day I use those comedy techniques to run confidence training workshops for business, and I was introduced to Lindsay Kirkwood for advice.
I will admit to being initially skeptical about using the skills of an Image Consultant but that skepticism quickly vanished.
The whole process was not only good fun, but hugely informative. From the initial consultation that looked at my current wardrobe and make up routine, etc. we went quickly from there to a detailed examination of skin tones and colours that would suit me better. There were 5 main stages that have completely transformed the way I look and given me an education and understanding as to why certain colours and style of clothes and make-up work better than others. The experience of spending time with Lindsay was invaluable. She takes you through each stage with expert encouragement to try new things and ultimately changes you comfortably into a new you.’
(JoJo Sutherland)
How we did it…..
We decided together that we should work through the following process:-
1. Colour Analysis
2. Make-up Lesson
3. Style Consultation
4. Wardrobe Review
5. Personal Shopping
Balance and Harmony
Examining Jojo’s hair and eye colour as well as skin tone during the Colour Analysis, we decided to go for a palette of Light, Cool and Clear shades and tones which immediately brightened up her features giving a much more youthful and bright appearance.
Jojo has the most amazing dazzling blue eyes and infectious smile. With business and family taking up so much of her time, it was essential that we achieved a polished make-up look to really make the most of these features, whilst taking the minimum amount to time to apply. The Pink Shell lip gloss and an eye pencil in Brown looked incredible on her.
Styling
The Style Consultation immediately revealed how important ‘foundation garments’ are!!! That was therefore the first thing on our shopping list! We looked at her style personality as well as body shape and proportions to work out the styles of clothes that would work best.
Armed with her wallet of 42 colour swatches and Personal Style Workbook, we then had a look through her wardrobe. Jojo is a very strong, decisive individual and made it very clear from the outset that she was anxious to get rid of anything she no longer felt suited her. We ended up with 4 piles of clothes i.e. keep, donate, bin, repair/alter.
Gap Analysis
From there, we were able to see where the gaps were in terms of her stand up, corporate and day to day wardrobes, and compiled a shopping list from which we planned our trip. Princes Street was our chosen location given her style and budget.
It was an absolute pleasure getting to know Jojo, and having the opportunity to work with such an eager client was just fabulous! Thank you Jojo. Even better to enjoy seeing your glowing results at a recent corporate workshop and also on stage at The Edinburgh festival by night!
Also huge huge thanks to the wonderful and incredibly talented Trudy Stade who took all the brilliant photographs.
All pics copyright of Trudy Stade Photography.
