A new nurse

CASUALTY sister Jane Vaughan was quite confident in the diagnosis of her image problem. Jane, 46, who works at York District Hospital, said: "Since I turned 40, I turned frumpy. I'm not so keen on clothes, but mainly because they don't fit properly. I don't devote as much time to myself and I don't have anything exciting in my wardrobe... everything's a bit bland at the moment."

While her short, plain hairstyle, no-fuss make-up and regulation blue uniform might be appropriate for hectic shifts in the hospital's Accident and Emergency department, Jane felt she was a bit at sea when it came to looking good in her leisure time.

"I tend to wear cream trousers and a dark jumper or checked or coloured blouses. If I'm going out, I've got some velvet trousers and twinkly tops and an Indian cotton dress I love, but I'd like some new ideas," said Jane, who lives at Upper Poppleton and has two grown-up sons.

It was clear that Jane was in need of some image therapy, so we sent her off to fashion expert Sally Hanley for some treatment. She was in safe hands. Sally has been running her business, First Impressions, since 1993 and works with individuals to help them improve their image and make the most of their natural assets.

She offers colour analysis and style consultation, wardrobe assessment, business image management as well as a personal shopping service.

Her first task was to find out which colours best suited Jane, so she could pick make-up and clothes that enhanced her natural colouring.

Sally deduced that the colours Jane should be wearing were light colours with some warmth such as peach, beige, caramel, cinnamon, apricot and a lighter version of warmer colours such as jade, lilac and blue.

With this prescription in hand, Jane was despatched to York hair and beauty salon Sota Hairdressing in Micklegate for a new hair-do and makeover.

Salon owner Giovanni Di Capua set about creating a warmer, softer look for Jane. He said: "Her hair was a bit nondescript before. The highlights were a bit harsh for her skin tone and made her look older than she was. I've given her a lot more colour but it's created a more natural and a softer effect."

Jane wanted to grow her hair, so Giovanni restyled it by taking some weight out of the back, and ditching the centre parting. He created a low-maintenance look and passed on a few styling tips to help Jane dress up the look for a night out.

Beauty therapist Naomi Britton used peachy colours to enhance the natural warm tones in Jane's skin. She advised Jane to go for a lighter foundation and add colour by using blusher. And Jane's bright pink lipstick was banished, in favour of a warm rusty-brown.

A top tip was using an eyebrow pencil to help define the eyes and to use a brown eye pencil rather than a blue one.

After a couple of hours at the salon, Jane was beginning to look and feel like a different woman. But to complete her revamp she needed to sort out her wardrobe, which called for a personal shopping trip with Sally.

The pair met at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet, off the A19/A64 junction in York, with the aim of finding the right styles, shapes and shades of clothes for Jane.

Sally began by asking Jane to reveal her best and worst features. Jane confessed she liked her complexion, eyes and smile, but wasn't so happy with her figure. At 5ft 2in and a size 16, Jane said she struggled to find clothes which were the right fit and which flattered her.

Sally had the solution: Jane needed to draw attention towards the top half of her body. The trick was to wear darker clothes on the bottom and lighter ones on top.

Sally explained: "Every outfit has a focal point - the lightest, brightest part of your outfit. That's what you want people to look at. So if you want people to look at your face you should put your light, bright colours near there."

Already, Sally's advice was making sense to Jane. "I tend to wear lots of cream coloured trousers and dark tops," she said. "Really, it should be the other way round."

Another tip was for Jane to avoid clothes which cut her in half, choosing items which made her look taller and slimmer. It was important also to pick the right length of jacket and skirt. Sally said by dressing in such a way, Jane could appear two stones lighter.

Sally said: "Pick one colour top to toe to give the illusion of height and ring in the changes with a co-ordinating coloured top. Or you can have a dark top and bottom, but something brighter by your face, such as a scarf."

With these guidelines in mind, Sally led Jane through the collections at McArthurGlen, picking out a selection of outfits which were just what the doctor ordered.

Favourites included a peach dress and jacket from Windsmoor.

"This works because she has top-to-toe colour and the skirt is the right length. The vertical detailing on the jacket is also flattering," said Sally.

The next discovery was a light green leather jacket from Proudfoot. Jane put it on over her black trousers and white T-shirt and immediately looked a lot more trendy.

"One piece can make all the difference," said Sally.

Another winning combination was a blue skirt and jacket from Cerruti, which again followed the top to toe colour tip.

A consultation with Sally starts at £50 an hour, and she says many clients say it is money well spent as it stops them making expensive mistakes when they buy clothes.

"If you know what suits you, you are less likely to waste money buying clothes you will never wear," said Sally. "It also makes shopping easier as you just focus on the things you know will suit you."

And Jane's verdict on her new image?

"I am thrilled. My hair has a much softer look and is more feminine."

And she said she would be putting Sally's advice into practice. "I'll be paying more attention to detail such as the shape of the pockets, the length of skirt and the proportion of the clothes - none of which had ever entered my mind before. And I'll be covering up my bottom half and making the most of the bits I like."

- Sally Hanley First Impressions UK, telephone: 01904 702734

- SOTA hairdressing, 142 Micklegate, York, telephone: 01904 628553.

Updated: 09:04 Tuesday, March 19, 2002