Can’t dress yourself? Call Kelli

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The style consultant can tell you ‘which goes with what.’

Kelli Collins is the best friend you wish you had.

She has a warm personality, an engaging smile and style to burn.You just know that if you ask her opinion about something you’re thinking of wearing, she’d be honest in the nicest way possible and any criticism would come with a viable alternative.

This makes Collins – an entrepreneur and former model – tailor-made for her role as an image consultant.

“The average woman wears 20 percent of her wardrobe 80 percent of the time,” Collins said. “They just need help weeding it out.”

How to dress “business casual” has proven to be a particular problem for women and men. They don’t know what to do with that gap, she said.

Collins discovered this fashion dilemma while working as an analyst for the San Diego Police Department. She launched her company, L’acquisto: An Image Consulting Service, in Tacoma, where she and her engineer husband, Jason, lived before moving to Bainbridge two months ago.

“I learned so much (in San Diego),” Collins said. “It was like here, only more beachy.”

Collins knows that women on Bainbridge have distinct fashion needs. Some are professionals who commute to work; some are newly pregnant and don’t know what to wear. Others want to be liberated from a wardrobe of jogging suits, but can’t figure out know how to do it.

Many want to know what colors look best on them and why they never seem to find anything to wear.

“I want to really get a feel for who she is and what she wants to do,” Collins said of her clientele.

To this end, clients fill out profile and questionnaire forms and are encouraged to rip pages from magazines and catalogs to show what they like. They discuss their selections with Collins, who notes patterns in choices, such as skirts, and conducts a thorough closet clean-out during which every piece of clothing is examined.

Collins decides which items are right for the client’s “particular body shape, size, coloring, lifestyle and desired image.” Clothing that doesn’t fit the bill is tossed into piles: charity, consignment, recycle or discard. Collins creates new ensembles from what’s left so clients can see how to put outfits together from a few pieces, advising which pieces can be updated with new buttons or alternations, and organizes the closet space.

“You don’t need this big closet ready to explode,” Collins said. “Maximize what you have, mix and match what you have to create this really diverse outfit.”

She designs a personalized spreadsheet – called a Fashion M.A.P., or “My Action Plan” – for every client. It provides a name for each article of clothing, states which piece goes with what and highlights what pieces to buy to complete an outfit. Included are photos, style tips and notes from previous discussions. Clients often hang their document in their closet for handy reference.

“It’s an ensemble design guide,” Collins said. “I say this jacket goes with this type of pants. I lay it out.”

For Collins, “fashion was always a passion.” But aside from choosing fashion merchandising as the subject of her eighth-grade project in her hometown of Colfax, Wash., she never dreamed it could be a career.

“My dad was a wheat farmer,” said Collins, who earned a degree in agribusiness from Washington State University. “I thought I’d marry a farmer and live on a farm. I did retail work and modeling for the local Nordstrom and little boutiques. From there my interest piqued.”

Collins has clients who have her pack their suitcases for trips so they won’t backslide and people who bring her along on shopping trips. She also counsels color-blind men.

Her system of tagging clothes with letters and numbers and arranging a wardrobe from light to dark colors keeps these men looking sharp and feeling confident.

In addition to clothing advice, Collins provides accessorizing help via a line of sterling silver jewelry called Silpada because her female clients always seem to ask, “What can I put with this? How can I accessorize this?”

The hand-crafted collection features adornments for hands, wrists, necks and ears. Some feature semi-precious stones. The top of the price range is $200.

“I’ve had a ball with this,” Collins said. “It’s all about having fun.”

Collins uses the jewelry pieces to show the type of accessories clients can be looking for to complete their outfit. Buying the jewelry is left completely up to them.

Collins follows up with her clients to see make sure they’re still put together, asking if the clothing they have is working for them. If they’re not wearing a piece they bought, perhaps it’s because that would be stepping out of the box.

“It’s a step you really should take,” Collins said. “And ignore the number on the tag. It’s a starting point.

“Don’t be afraid to go up in size,” she added. “It’s OK. It’s how the clothes fit.”

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Image sharpener

Kelli Collins offers individual, workshop and corporate help in achieving the right style for work and leisure time. Contact her at 853-7961 or www.lacquisto.com.