Image Consultants and Vancouver Fashion

A pair’s passion for Fashion

Stay out of it

Wilkins and Churchill advise that individuals

looking to make a career out of image consulting

should be careful not to let their own styles

interfere with that of the clients.

“Each individual has their own style

and you need to focus on what works best

for each person,” said Wilkins.

Image consulting proves enjoyable career choice for stylistic duo

KRISTA MARTIN FOR METRO CANADA

July 24, 2008 07:44

If there is a dress for success then Lindsay Wilkins and Alicia Churchill know where to buy it.

Wilkins and Churchill work together as fashion and lifestyle image consultants for their Vancouver-based business Elite Image.

Theirs is a passion that involves changing the personal or professional outlook of their clients by changing their wardrobe.

Wilkins and Churchill schedule shopping days and conduct one-on-one coaching sessions, but their role is constantly changing with each client.

Churchill, 32, went into retail to become a buyer, but her passion for fashion and people drew her into this career.

“It was a natural transition into sharing this skill with others,” she said.

Wilkins, 27, moved to Vancouver six years ago to complete a visual merchandising diploma from Blanche Macdonald and a marketing diploma from Camsoun College.

“I have always dressed my friends and shopped for them. I thought it would be an exciting career to do this for a living,” she said.

Managing Elite Image, Churchill’s expertise is for those looking to excel in the young conservative and business world, while Wilkins’ is geared toward young and creative fashion.

While both say a career in fashion and image consulting is not an easy ticket, the rewards are found in helping clients establish a sense of self.

“I am fascinated by people’s styles,” explained Wilkins.

“It’s an opportunity for us to express our identity as individuals,” she said of fashion and why it is so important.

For more info and updates on EI,

you can visit our FACEBOOK page.

You can join our group at Elite Image.

Alicia

Fashion - Too many weddings, not enough dresses

Dressing for the occasion gets tricky when invitations outrun your fashion budget

Sarah Petrescu, Times Colonist

Published: Tuesday, July 08, 2008

This year I am gearing up for the mother of all summer missions: Seven wedding invitations.

Forget the gifts and travel plans, I need to figure out what to wear without going broke. The nuptial and reception settings range from gardens and Catholic churches to community halls and hotel ballrooms.

Wearing the same outfit is out of the question, since many of the guests are going to the same weddings. Plus, by the fourth time you’ve busted a move to YMCA in the same

I’m not the only one in a wedding-wear predicament this summer. Several friends and colleagues have gone off about their bumper year for weddings, asking, “What am I going to wear?”

Boutique owners guess “Need a cute wedding outfit?” when I walk through their doors.

Erin Weir, who runs Violette Veldor jewelry store on Government Street said women come in and say, “This is what my dress looks like, please help me.”

Even my yoga teacher, Wendy Crowther, mentioned the four weddings she’ll go to this summer. Her wardrobe plan is to work with what she’s got, she told me.

My plan is to diversify.

I’ll admit, I already wore the same $40 dotted retro swing dress from Bryan’s to two weddings in a row last month. But for the second event, I changed the buttons and added a metallic blue obi belt from Smoking Lily — a totally new look.

This leaves five weddings to go. No problem. On a recent trip to my mother’s house I foraged through the basement to find a box of long hippie dresses I wore in high school (conveniently back in style). Luckily, my grad dress — admittedly, a little bit ’90s with black lace layered over red satin — still fits.

I did splurge on getting one dress handmade. Tailor Megan Presnail at Cassin on Douglas Street turned a sentimental batik from Mozambique into a versatile halter dress for less than $200. I plan to get the most out of it by dressing it up — and down — with jewelry.

Using accessories to change a look — even if you don’t change dresses — is what fashion consultant Alicia Churchill recommends.

“The key to looking good at weddings is in how you accessorize,” said Churchill, from Elite Image Consulting in Vancouver. “Focus on shoes — we recommend a heel, even a small one. … The clutch is the new must-have day bag and the right jewelry can make something dressy or casual.”

Spending a lot of money on something you’ll wear once is a major wedding-wear no-no.

“The biggest misconception is that you have to buy this fancy dress you might never wear again,” Churchill said. “That is why we recommend investing in a nice wrap dress you can wear whenever. They are figure-flattering and very comfortable to wear all day.”

Churchill said that while weddings are not as formal these days (black is in vogue), there are some do’s and don’ts that stand firm.

Avoid the Jennifer Lopez plunging neck- lines and the Britney Spears short skirts.

“You never want to look like you’re going to a bar or a lounge. That could be very uncomfortable around certain relatives,” Churchill said. “A little bit of cleavage is OK if it’s hard to cover up, but you don’t want to be overexposed.”

Men can be the worst offenders for inappropriate wedding wear, especially when it comes to sloppy style.

“A lot of men think it is appropriate to wear a T-shirt, jeans and flip-flops to a wedding. It’s not,” Churchill said. “They should invest in a suit. If they already have one, they should try it on to make sure it still fits.”

I have one friend who is attending a wedding that makes the clothing choice clear and easy: Elvis costumes. When to wear it again will be the problem.