They say what is meant to be won’t pass you by. So when Wendy Dooley got a phone call whilst on top of a mountain in Snowdonia, zip line impending, to style a 1:1 Cambridge Diet photoshoot, she wasn’t about to pass up on the opportunity.
House of Colour Consultant Wendy, who is based in Olney, near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, knows a thing or two about colour and style. So after being approached by a photography studio in Milton Keynes to style the photoshoot for the 1:1 Spring/Summer marketing campaign, she was immediately on board. And, when asked to recommend a hairstylist and make-up artist, she knew to name drop Paul Herrington, who has 30 years’ worth of experience and teaches makeup masterclasses for House of Colour.
The challenge: to style 2 dieters, one man and one woman. Cathy, the maintainer, who lost more than 4 stone in 8 months over 4 years ago and Rick, who said goodbye to 4.5 stone in 5 months.
Armed with a solid brief of light summery clothes and smart casual looks that showed off their bodies (with rules including no patterns, no white or yellow, no jeans), to say Wendy was in for her biggest styling challenge to date was somewhat an understatement. “I have to be honest; I did go into a bit of a tailspin, especially as there were originally supposed to be 5 dieters. So I called upon a bit of support from some of my lovely colleagues who helped me brainstorm how I was going to tackle everything.”
Meeting the dieters via Zoom, meant Wendy had to do her best guesswork on what would suit them based on what she saw on the screen and various photos. This was no mean feat considering House of Colour Consultants only analyse in person for the absolute accuracy of our science-based process. But, thankfully, this wasn’t a typical colour session and a best guess was good enough as she also had to choose colours that would show up well on the photoshoot backdrop.
“It was really important for me to get to know them as people and I used some of the tried and trusted methods used by House of Colour.” Adopting personality Q+As like those we use in our Style Analysis sessions and various questionnaires, Wendy was able to find out more about them and how they wanted to be perceived. “I also asked them to show me items of clothing that they felt great in and got compliments in. Cathy sent me lots of photographs of her in dresses she loved which was a big help and Rick gave me a virtual tour of his wardrobe”.
From there, Wendy assessed everything she’d gathered, including measurements, and with 7-8 outfits needed for both, she shopped until she dropped online and in-store. She also used our MyHocLookBook wardrobe tool to pull ideas together, “I'm sure I will be banned from using Next Directory,” she joked. Fast forward to the day of the shoot. “It was pretty nerve-wracking as I hadn't had the opportunity to try anything on them,” Wendy notes. "What if nothing fitted; what if they hated the clothes.”
However, proving the amazing stylist she is, Wendy’s worries were unfounded, and Cathy absolutely loved the sexy bodycon dresses chosen for her in Jewel Winter colours. “She was so keen to show off her new body (and quite rightly) that she came alive in front of the camera and enjoyed every minute of it. She looked and felt amazing,” Wendy remembers. And what about Rick? He was also keen to show off his new body and loved the “TOWIE look” of really skinny chinos Wendy dressed him in. Falling in love with his outfits, he immediately bought one of the jackets she had chosen from the rack alongside two pairs of skinny chinos, saying “I know what I'm wearing on Saturday night!” Wendy added that “he absolutely rocked his look too and worked the camera brilliantly."
Shoot done, clothes (albeit Rick’s new pieces) packed up and Wendy could finally reflect on the amazing experience. “I couldn't have asked for things to go any better. It was wonderful to see the 2 dieters loving their looks. To say I was proud of what I achieved with them is an understatement. My nerves were rebutted. It was a joy to treat the dieters to a wonderful make-over after all of their hard work and it was an absolute pleasure to work with Paul. The 1:1 Diet were delighted with the results too!”
Wendy loves helping people, giving them confidence and making them feel amazing, which is why she loves being a Consultant. And, on the day, she had to trust her knowledge and the House of Colour process. “Was I out of my comfort zone? Yes! Did I pull it off? Definitely! Would I do it again? Hell yeah!”
Love what you've heard and want to book in with Wendy? Click here to book a Colour, Style or Makeup session with her.
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