I met with Vicky Wood, a Cookham-based stylist and colour consultant to talk about what she does. Vicky is always dressed so stylishly, but also effortlessly. I caught up with her to learn how she became a personal stylist and hopefully some of her secrets to always looking so good! Below is an transcript from only part of our conversation. If you want to hear the full interview, you will find the links below, plus how to contact Vicky if you live in the Thames Valley area and would like to hire her as a colour consultant or personal stylist.
Andrea: Hi, this is Andrea MacLeod, On the job. Today, I'm here with Vicky wood Vicky. Tell me who are you?
Vicky: Hi, Andrea. It's lovely to see you. I'm a personal stylist who specializes in colour.
Andrea: Oh, okay. So what does that mean?
Vicky: So basically I style my clients and I specialize in colour. And how colour has a positive influence on their lives.
Andrea: Okay. What took you to this kind of profession then?
Vicky: Previously I was a buyer for a well known high street retailer, Jane Norman. And then I went on to have my boutique in Marlow, locally to us here. And then I had my three lovely children and decided that I would like to retrain as a personal stylist so that I could base my love of fashion and work around having a young family.
Andrea: Yeah. It's probably a little hard to run a boutique when you have three kids to look after at the same time.
Vicky: Yes, definitely. Yes. Images of me trying to. Breastfeed in the stock room was challenging at times. For sure.
Andrea: Yeah I bet. What happens when a client comes to you? We're sitting here in your lovely studio, it's airy, you got lots of different colours around what happens when somebody comes to see you then for a colour analysis or for a styling session?
Vicky: Okay. So they come in and we have a little chat and I hopefully put them at ease and we talk about their style journey. We talk about their body shape, what clothes will suit them. And then we go onto the colour analysis part, which is quite in-depth.
Andrea: And what do people feel when they finish? Like, what did they tell you? What difference have you made by changing the colours? Cause I'm sure some listeners are, “it doesn't matter whether I wear green or brown and like what's the difference”?
Vicky: Yeah. They're often just completely amazed by how colour has such a major influence on our lives and how we feel. And I'm really passionate about the whole holistic approach of colour as well because the psychological benefits are just unbelievable and it can really change how you feel. And it's about confidence as well. So the way I style my clients is to give them confidence. The reassurance that what they're doing is right. And it's right for them, for their body shape for their lifestyle.
Andrea: Sounds wonderful. I'm sure a lot of people can appreciate that after. Okay. So tell me more about what you do when a client comes to see you?
Vicky: So when a client comes in to see me, as I said, we have a little general chit chat, and then I go on to ask them a few questions about their lifestyle. I look at their sizing. The reason I do that is to that. An idea of that body shape. And then they stand in front of a mirror. It's not a 360 mirror, and I sort of have a look at them in front of the mirror and we work out what their body shape is.
It's body mapping. Basically.
Then we go on to discuss colour and I talk about our subliminal approach to colour and our subconscious approach to colour. We talk about how they feel about colour, their subconscious opinion about colour, and we discuss their personalities cause that's linked. And also I look at their eyes. I look into that Iris pattern because that also gives me an indication of their, of their season. And if they have a secondary influence because seasonal colour analysis is based on the four seasons.
Andrea: Interesting. Now you said something about what their subconscious opinion of colour is. So if it's their subconscious, how can they give you their opinion then?
Vicky: , Basically when we look at our view of colour, sometimes we might be naturally drawn to colours without realizing that that actually could have a really good effect on how we're feeling. So we could already, we could already be drawn to, for example, greens, and then green might actually be a really good colour for us to wear as well. So you could actually be drawn to a colour and then it actually be the right colour for you.
Andrea: Do you find a lot of people don't really realise that they like a colour, but it will also look good on them?
Vicky: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely! They can be drawn to colours, but they might feel nervous to wear those colours because perhaps they're quite bright or they're quite out there. And what I say to my clients is introduce it as a colour pop. You just, it doesn't have to be, you don't have to wear a bright yellow dress, or a bright pink hat or something, but use it as just an asset. So whether it's in a belt or a piece of jewelry or some shoes, a statement shoe is a really good way of introducing some colour pop to an outfit. So it's getting more confidence, comfortable. Absolutely. Definitely. To take things slowly.
Andrea: What do you say to people who kind of blow it off your profession? In terms of like, well, people can dress themselves. It's no big deal.
Vicky:. Oh, I think that's a really interesting question because I think people do sometimes think that do I really need a personal stylist or they feel guilty for perhaps spending money on a personal stylist, but longterm, it saves you money.
Andrea: How does it save you money?
Vicky: Well, think of all those unwanted purchases you might have in your wardrobe that you haven't worn or things that you've bought on a whim. Because you've seen something in a shop on a mannequin, you thought that's great. I'll get that. And then you've not bought the skirt to go with or the jacket to go with.
So what a stylist does is they, especially with a wardrobe addict, for example, is I would come into your house and show you how to wear outfits, combinations, mix and match. Um, I often say to people that it's very beneficial to be able to wear three things out of one garment, can you wear three outfits out of that one garment?
Then it's then it saves you money! Quality, not quantity, really thinking about what you're purchasing, which I think is really important in a sustainable society as well.
Andrea: Definitely. That makes a lot of sense. Okay, good. So are we going to take a look around your, your studio and see what I can learn to do the job?
Vicky: Absolutely, I'd love to show you!
Our interview continued, with me learning about the different tones to colours, how certain ones suit different skin tones, depending on if they are warm or cool. I then had a go at trying to get the right colours for Vicky - but you will need to listen in to hear if I got it right!
You can listen by going to here on the River Radio website: https://river.radio/on-the-job and finding the date of the show, 2021-06-22. If you are an Apple podcast user, you can listen directly here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-job-aired-on-2021-06-22/id1573131577?i=1000526396553
If you want to know more about Vicky, you can visit her website: https://www.vickywoodstyle.com/, follow her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vickywoodstyle or email her at vickywoodstyle@gmail.com. She covers Maidenhead, Berkshire and the surrounding area.
Thank you Vicky once again, for being a fabulous guest!
Photos above: 1. A mannequin in Vicky's studio, near Maidenhead, showing both colour and how certain pieces can be timeless and styled. 2. Myself, about to have a crash course in colours and seasons. 3. Vicky explaining how certain shades can better suit someone's skin tone. 4. Me wanting to try all the wrong colours for myself at once. Vicky in the background, a bit unsure of this experiment, hahaha! 5. Some the books and accessories in Vicky's styling studio. 6. Vicky at her desk, with some of the items she uses as a colour consultant and stylist on the desk with her. 7. Vicky, looking radiant!