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Image Architect

My Favorites...

Book: The Power of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

Movie: The Devil Wears Prada

Song or Album: Any Janis Joplin song

Time of Day and why: Early morning from 5am to 9am – I’m more energetic and enthused then.

Guilty Pleasure: Chocolate! When I lived in Belgium I could not get enough!

Quote: “Fashion fades, style is eternal.” -Coco Chanel

When I was younger I wanted to be...… pretty when I grew up.

The thing I value most about my job is... …transforming the lives of clients. When they make powerful image changes, people treat them differently; they are accorded more respect and trust. That affects them to the core--they change on the inside and become empowered. As a result, they also love themselves more.

The one thing I have to do every day is…
… never let my brand down. As an Image Consultant, I have to look my best each and every day. I live by my own motto: “The way you look and dress announces the outcome other people can expect from you” and my clients expect the best from me.

The biggest fear I have conquered is...…after spending two years and a lot of money at a fashion school in Washington, DC, I froze up and dreaded going out on that first runway! Luckily, someone pushed me out. I realized that the fear was gone the moment I was out on the runway. Maybe it’s like that before you jump out of an airplane with your parachute!

More About Me
I began my foray into impression management as a Washington, DC high fashion runway model. In the early 1980s, I retired from modeling and moved to Europe. There, I formed a new kind of branding and image consulting business that challenged the “experts" and their paint-by-number methods. I dove into as many books as I could in the fields of art and psychology in order to expand on my own knowledge and experience about fashion and image. These crucial years of research led to my development of a logical, reliable system of powerful tools for image enhancement as well as personal leadership presence. I’ve worked with a number of politicians, celebrities, and Fortune 500 companies, showing them how to positively influence the impression others have of them. I work passionately with each client to help them convey a dynamic, distinctive and successful persona, to evoke credibility, trustworthiness and professionalism, and to boast a more commanding presence.

I am a monthly columnist for several newspapers and trade magazines and an author of five e-books on image. My school, Impression Strategies Institute in Norfolk, Virginia, provides an intense certification course for anyone interested in becoming an image consultant with a solid foundation and understanding of color. My work brings me all over the U.S. and Europe to for extensive lectures and coaching.