What Do You Do? podcast
Elise Hughes | Personal Stylist | House of Colour
Thanks to films and TV, when we picture personal stylists, we picture judgy dismissive types, suggesting expensive one-time outfits, and only available to the rich and famous. But what if instead, working with a personal stylist could make you feel empowered, and help you get the most value out of your clothes?
“When you know what suits you, you can feel confident buying something more expensive, rather than something on sale, because you know it will last for years and you will get the value out of it.”
Key Takeaways
- Colour analysis and understanding your proportions empower you to make confident, informed clothing choices.
- A curated wardrobe with versatile pieces and clothes in your ‘wow colour’ is better for confidence and saving money than a wardrobe full of ‘strangers’ that you never wear.
- Fashion is about following fleeting trends, but style is knowing what works for you and feeling confident to wear it.
The Role of a Personal Stylist
Elise’s Approach
There are several things that Elise does that can help you identify your personal style.
The first thing is colour analysis. Colour analysis is based on optical principles, such as contrast, undertones, and how colours interact with your skin. Wearing a colour that clashes with your undertone can make you look washed out or tired; wearing one that harmonises can make you look more vibrant and healthy. Identifying which colours harmonise with your skin requires an in-person session with Elise, and has to be undertaken in natural light. It’s not a magic trick, it’s science.
The next stage is the style analysis. Rather than classify people into unflattering profiles such as pears, and hourglasses, Elise uses geometric shapes, which are instead based on our skeletal structure. Weight isn’t a factor, as it can come and go, but our skeletal proporations rarely change. Unlike the suggestions of fashion magazines, style is not affected by age, and Elise never asks a client how old they are. Part of this is also a questionnaire that gets a deeper understanding of how a client thinks and feels.
With an idea of your colours and personal style, Elise also offers a wardrobe edit, where every item of clothing is removed from a client’s wardrobe, and only clothes that match your style go back in.
The Result of Working with a Personal Stylist
Elise’s approach is for you to have less clothes that you ultimately wear more, and get more value out of. Knowing your colours and style enables you to shop with intention, only buying clothes that will really suit you, rather than a large wardrobe of clothes that you never wear.
Elise’s ultimate goal is that her customers are able to easily pick clothes to wear in the morning. Everything in your wardrobe should be something that suits you, fits you and fills you with confidence to put on. When shopping, you should select items that you know will fill you with joy. After all, this’ll do – won’t do.
What Do We Do?
We founded the What Do You Do? podcast to hear from people like Elise, whose job many people may see a certain way. When films and TV present your role in a certain way, it can be difficult to set the record straight.
Videos, like the one above, are a great way to communicate to people exactly what it is that you do – find out how we can do it here.
written by
Videographer and video producer with over 15 years experience in both B2B and B2C video marketing. He writes about everything he learned delivering over 1200 video projects across the engineering, education, charity and tech sectors.
