Image Consultant Offer Fashion Advice for Real Women

About Diana Pemberton-Sikes

Welcome and thanks for stopping by.

Like many of you, my love affair with clothing began in high school. I started modeling at age 15, and began learning about color, texture, and proportion from my mother, Dorothy, an award-winning interior designer.

Diana and son

By my early twenties, I was a self-proclaimed clothes horse. As a single woman still living at home, I had very few expenses...and a $500 a month clothes habit. When I got engaged and learned that we'd be honeymooning in Grand Cayman, I packed seven swimsuits for the week long trip. After all, heaven forbid, people I didn't know should see me in the same thing twice!

Looking back, I have to laugh at my own silliness. My world was very small then--no mortgage, utilities, or groceries to worry about, no one to concern myself with but me. Marriage has a way of changing your priorities, and it certainly did for me. While an endless stream of new clothes was no longer in the budget, looking pulled together never stopped being a priority. Taking cues from other fashion-lovers in my life, I began to hone my shopping skills by learning things like how and where to shop on consignment, what mailing lists to get on, how to find a great hairstylist, who to see for what, etc.

In 1994, I had the opportunity to attend a color and image training course provided by the Crowning Touch™ organization. My initial intention was to go simply for my own information, but I learned so much that I just couldn't keep my mouth shut. I took additional training courses and soon had a fun and profitable part-time image consulting business.

After the birth of my first child in 1997, I scaled way back on speaking engagements and one-on-one consultations. In response to the inquiries I continued to receive, I began searching for an Internet resource where I could direct women to for more information. I couldn't find one.

So I created one.

Focusing on the women who wear clothes rather than the people who design them, FashionForRealWomen.com has grown by leaps and bounds since its November 2000 launch.

I've been interviewed for several print magazines, including Prevention, Women's World, Weight Watchers, The American Bar Association, and Nurses World, and online by ContentBiz.com. My articles have also been published in numerous fashion and beauty ezines all over the web.

You can also find my "words of wisdom" in Priscilla Y. Huff's, The Self-Employed Woman's Guide to Launching a Home-Based Business and The FabJob Guide To Become a Fashion Designer.

We've come a long way and have all sorts of things planned for the future that will help you look your best so you can reach your goals more quickly.

Warmly,

Diana