Elite Image offers gift of time and peace of mind with two new packages.

Vancouver, BC: If you hate to shop, are strapped for time or already stressed with all the holiday hustle – Elite Image (EI) is ready to help with two new packages.

Just in time for the holiday season, EI has created a new Gifted package that helps you minimize stress during the most stressful time of the year. With this new service, the enthusiastic and eagle-eyed EI shoppers navigate the bustling shopping centres on your behalf to find your loved one the perfect gift of the season.

“Gifted is a great time-saver that helps to make Christmas shopping stress-free – especially for those who don’t particularly like to shop,” says Alicia Churchill, an Elite Image Consultant. “As personal shoppers, we’re here to make our clients’ lives easier. And that’s just what Gifted does.”

With this service, clients simply give Elite Image an idea for a present, and EI takes on the task and stress of Christmas shopping to find the ideal gift.

If you’re stumped for ideas, Elite Image can help with that too.

“In our work, we’ve found that many men don’t really know what their girlfriends or wives would like or want – and that’s our specialty,” adds Lindsay Wilkins, an Elite Image Consultant. “We know what a woman wants, and we can make your life easier by sourcing the absolute perfect gift for her.”

Or, better yet, gift your special someone with EI’s Quick-Start package. This new service makes an ideal Christmas present – especially if your partner takes hours to get ready, or says she has nothing to wear despite an overflowing closet of clothes.

The Quick-Start package is the perfect solution to help take the stress out of getting dressed by converting a closet full of clothes into multiple outfits for any occasion.

As an added bonus, the package also includes a fun and efficient day of shopping to round out your wardrobe and/or get a whole season of shopping done in just one day!

The Gifted and Quick-Start packages complement Elite Image’s other personal consulting services – including wardrobe consultations and evaluations, personal image makeovers, shopping guidance and much more. The Elite Image team can also work with a range of budgets and needs, from great to small.

Women’s fall/winter 2008 is very understated with emphasis on neutrals. The key to make this collection ‘pop’ is adding the must have accessories of the season.

Please read below for EI’s top ten must haves.

#1 - Belts

#2 - Almond toe boots

#3 - Tuxedo blazer

#4 - Scarves

#5 - Double breasted coat

#6 - Trouser jean

#7 - Clutch

#8 - Chunky jewels

#9 - Opaque nylons

#10 - Defined collars

Men’s fall/winter 2008 collections promise to bring strong contrast in
styles. Mixing modern classic pieces with casual smart wear. Neutrals
will be set apart from the tame women’s collections by adding plaids and purples to the chilly season.
Please read below for EI’s top ten must haves.

#1 - Scarves

#2 - Plaid skinny tie

#3 - Tweed sports jacket

#4 - Anything purple

#5 - Plaid sports shirt

#6 - Military style boot

#7 - Three piece suit

#8 - Modern leather jacket

#9 - Narrow black denim

#10 - Chunky sweater

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.

you can visit our FACEBOOK page.

You can join our group at Elite Image.

Alicia

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.

The Shoes and the City shopping package complements Elite Image’s other personal consulting services – including wardrobe consultations and evaluations, personal image makeovers, shopping guidance and much more.  The Elite Image team can also work with a range of budgets and needs, from great to small.

Similar to other Elite Image services, the Shoes and the City package involves a personalized consultation and evaluation, as well as a thorough assessment of clients’ footwear needs, and personal shopping guidance at some of the city’s finest boutiques and stores.

“As fashion, image and lifestyle consultants, this new package is a perfect addition to our other services and to what we do,” adds Lindsay Wilkins, an Elite Image Consultant.  “Our goal is – and has always been – to help our clients develop a winning image and style that’s right for them, personally and professionally, from head to toe.”

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Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71

PARIS — Yves Saint Laurent, one of the most influential and enduring designers of the 20th century, will be remembered for empowering women through his fashion, a long-time friend and associate said.

Saint Laurent died Sunday at his Paris home after a yearlong battle with brain cancer, said Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent’s business partner for four decades. He was 71.

“Chanel gave women freedom” and Saint Laurent “gave them power,” Berge said on France-Info radio. Saint Laurent was a “true creator,” going beyond the aesthetic to make a social statement, Berge said.

“In this sense he was a libertarian, an anarchist and he threw bombs at the legs of society. That’s how he transformed society and that’s how he transformed women.”

In his own words, Saint Laurent once said he felt “fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves.”

Saint Laurent was widely considered the last of a generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and made Paris the fashion capital of the world, with the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, as its elegant headquarters.

From the first YSL tuxedo and his trim pantsuits to see-through blouses, safari jackets and glamorous gowns, Saint Laurent created instant classics that remain stylish decades later.

Designer Tomy Hilfiger said he was saddened by the loss of such a legendary talent.

“He was a creative genius who changed the world of fashion forever,” Hilfiger said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Saint Laurent was a pioneer and a visionary who “contributed to France’s influence” in the world.

“Mr. Saint Laurent revolutionized modern fashion with his understanding of youth, sophistication and relevance. His legacy will always be remembered,” said Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa.

Saint Laurent was born Aug. 1, 1936, in Oran, Algeria, where his father worked as a shipping executive. He first emerged as a promising designer at the age of 17, winning first prize in a contest sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat for a cocktail dress design.

A year later in 1954, he enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale school of haute couture, but student life lasted only three months. He was introduced to Christian Dior, then regarded as the greatest creator of his day, and Dior was so impressed with Saint Laurent’s talent that he hired him on the spot.

When Dior died suddenly in 1957, Saint Laurent was named head of the House of Dior at the age of 21.

He opened his own haute couture fashion house with Berge in 1962. The pair later started a chain of Rive Gauche ready-to-wear boutiques.

Saint Laurent’s simple navy blue pea coat over white pants, which the designer first showed in 1962, was one of his hallmarks. His “smoking,” or tuxedo jacket, of 1966 remade the tux as a high fashion statement for both sexes. It remained the designer’s trademark item and was updated yearly until he retired.

Also from the 60s came Beatnik chic — a black leather jacket and knit turtleneck with high boots — and sleek pantsuits that underlined Saint Laurent’s statement on equality of the sexes. He showed that women could wear “men’s clothes,” which when tailored to the female form became an emblem of elegant femininity.

Some of his revolutionary style was met with resistance. There are famous stories of women wearing Saint Laurent pantsuits who were turned away from hotels and restaurants in London and New York.

Saint Laurent’s rising star was eternalized in 1983, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted a show to his work, the first ever to a living designer. He was awarded the Legion d’Honneur in 1985.

But bouts of depression marked his career. Berge, who also was the designer’s former romantic partner, was quoted as saying that Saint Laurent was born with a nervous breakdown.

When Saint Laurent announced his retirement in 2002 at age 65 and the closure of the Paris-based haute couture house, it was mourned in the fashion world as the end of an era. His ready-to-wear label, Rive Gauche, which was sold to Gucci in 1999 for $70-million cash and royalties, still has boutiques around the world.

Saint Laurent had long been rumoured to be ill, and Berge said on RTL radio Monday that he had been afflicted with brain cancer for the past year.

“He no longer liked the world of today’s fashion … he said it didn’t understand him,” Berge said.

After retirement, Saint Laurent spoke of his battles with depression, drugs and loneliness, though he gave no indication that those problems were directly tied to his decision to stop working.

“I’ve known fear and terrible solitude,” he said. “Tranquilizers and drugs, those phony friends. The prison of depression and hospitals. I’ve emerged from all this, dazzled but sober.”

A funeral ceremony was scheduled for Friday at the Saint Roch Church in Paris, Berge said.