Kim Delamere needed to reinvent herself.It had been a while since the teacher and married mother of two girls, ages four and two, had invested in herself.
"My wardrobe was full of maternity clothes. I would buy things that fit, that were practical," she said.
On a lark, Delamere enlisted the help of Wendy Woods, a personal style coach, whom she had met through a friend at a dinner party.
"I mostly thought it would be fun," said Delamere in an interview at her Runnymede Road and Annette Street area home. "I was at a place where I could benefit from an education. And, she gave me an education."
Woods, a High Park area resident, is the founder of The Refinery, a creative image consulting company whose mission is to help "real women" dress and accessorize to suit their personality and lifestyle. Woods aims to empower women with the skills they need to feel confident, elegant and chic every day. Woods said she likes to ask her clients a lot of questions to find out what prompted them to seek out her services in the first place and to get a feel for what they need.
"I want to make people feel comfortable, I want you to feel awesome," said Woods, 28.
Being a busy working mom, Delamere needed simplicity in her wardrobe, Woods said. With Woods' expertise, Delamere learned through a colour analysis, which determined what colours complimented her skin tone, that she looks best in autumn colours.
She said she was surprised by all the lighter colours that didn't look good on her.
"Some swatches you put on make you look like you have to go to the hospital," Delamere said.
Next came the wardrobe audit, during which Woods helped Delamere figure out what clothes in her closet to keep, which ones to alter, which ones to donate and what to throw out.
"In my case, it didn't take too long," Delamere said laughing. "Then, we went shopping. It was like having a really objective friend, a shopping helper."
Delamere has nothing, but glowing praise for Woods.
"She's very personable. It's a very comfortable experience. She's so friendly, so kind," she said. "I get tons of compliments now. My wardrobe hasn't changed dramatically, but the outfits I wear to work are that much more put together."
Woods was working for IBM after university and was three months into a two-year contract when she decided she was ready to do some more learning. Surfing the web, she discovered the image consulting course at George Brown College. She attended classes two nights a week and said she found it extremely interesting.
"There's this stigma that women should innately know how to dress," said Woods. "I think of it as more of an art."
She furthered her training after George Brown at the International Image Institute in Richmond Hill.
"You're learning how to take into account people's lifestyles. Everyone has a different budget," she said.
In the summer of 2007, Woods decided to take the plunge and establish herself as a personal style coach or image consultant full time.
"I really just want to help people. I want them to feel good, that's my motivation," she said. "I want people to realize it's not just a celebrity who can have a stylist."
Woods will be participating in a clothing swap this Saturday, May 9, at Wise Daughters Craft Market in support of the Redwood Shelter, a safe haven for women and children in the community, between 4 and 6 p.m. She'll be offering a complimentary body type analysis to participants.
Visit www.therefinery.ca