Meet the New Certified Personal Shopper Graduates from Sterling Style Academy San Francisco and Dubai

The Sterling Style Academy attracts aspiring personal shoppers from around the globe and a variety of backgrounds. We’re very excited to watch the most recent graduates of the Sterling Style Academy San Francisco and Dubai launch and grow their businesses in 2011! These Certified Personal Shoppers and Stylists are from Brazil, Peru, Saudi Arabia, India, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Philippines and come from backgrounds including publishing, makeup and beauty, event planning, diplomacy, and full-time motherhood.  Read below to learn first hand the goals of these Certified Personal Shoppers and why they enrolled in the Sterling Style Academy.

Career Goals of our Personal Stylist and Personal Shopper Graduates from the Sterling Style Academy:

• To learn and polish my own personal image and style and take it to a professional level so I can teach other’s how to look and feel good about themselves.
• I hope to fully understand the colors that suit different skin tones particularly the Asian brown skin. I want to learn how to bring out the best in the Filipino skin and make them proud that they look good by being tanned or brown.
• I want to help people change their lives, especially women, by helping them buy the right clothes, use the right make up and accessories and project the right image without spending lots of money.
• I want to learn age appropriate clothes and make up for men and women.
• I am a working mother and I want to have the choice to live and work with flexibility and freedom wherever my family goes.
• My long term goal will be that in a few years I would like to go back to the Philippines and establish my own Image Consulting Company . I would like to conduct trainings to corporate clients, Institutions, schools, Sales people , women who have a sudden lifestyle change through mixed marriages and even overseas workers to prepare them to the social challenges of the outside world.
• I can see that the career opportunities of an Image Consultant are plenty and that you can take the job wherever you go.
• Ultimate goal is – I want to continue to earn a good income doing what I love to do- in style – become an Image Consultant.
• Work with men and women who desire to improve their personal image both in appearance as well as social skills.
• Provide products and services that will help clients to look and feel fantastic.
• Provide solutions to your personal image dilemmas.
• Fine tune your personal appearance and social skills so that you appear self assured, polished, refined and professional in the eyes of your clients, fellow co-workers, business associates and personal friends.
• Help to project a confident, powerful, and favorable first impression.
• Help to reflect a scrupulous and credible reputation that precedes and follows you in all business and social encounters.
• Create a personal image that instills trust and respect and also produces the desired competitive edge.
• Respond to a growing interest in the practical benefits of being well-dressed (as evidenced by TV shows such as “What Not to Wear”)
• Learn basic knowledge of style and image components in both the business and fashion industry
• Learn theoretical knowledge of Image Consulting so that I can apply for international certification (AICI)
• Get practical educational experiences in this field through case study requirements
• Identify and accurately assess body types.
• Describe the relationship between image and personal development.
• Perform a detailed assessment, develop tools and skills for personal development, and show basic proficiency in grooming, wellness, self-esteem and personal presentation.
• Identify the optimal colors for wardrobe, hair and make-up based on complexion assessment.
• Develop wardrobe and shopping management strategies for efficiency and impact.

Achieving these specific goals are the reasons our latest graduates enrolled in the Sterling Style Academy.  Do you have career and personal shopping training goals similar to those of our graduates? If so, then the Sterling Style Academy could be the right personal stylist training program for you – learn more about each of our personal shopper training courses in 2011.

Read more about where our graduates are from and what various backgrounds they have:

Marcela Fontenoy, Certified Image Consultant and Personal Shopper from the San Francisco course is from Peru and comes from an acclaimed background in publishing and fashion editorial.  She launched two fashion and lifestyle publications in Peru which were later bought by Editorial Televisa in Mexico.  She was chosen by the Hearst Corporation to lead the newly launched Cosmopolitan edition for Peru and soon after relocated to Spain where she worked with the Peruvian Embassy in diplomatic relations and charitable projects.   Her experience as an editor in chief, her protocol and public relations performance as a diplomat, and her Business Administration degree leads Ms. Fontenoy to share her experiences and knowledge as an image consultant with people who need such advice in her country.

“I am sure that with my editorial and diplomatic experience added to the technical knowledge that I expect to achieve in this course, I will be able to start an image consulting business for people that need help to improve their personal an professional image.”

Alia Al Idrissi, Certified Personal Stylist and Personal Shopper from the Dubai course is originally from Saudi Arabia and has lived in Canada, Egypt and Dubai.  “Living in different environments has helped me immensely to develop a sensitive eye to fashion and culture.”  She studied beauty therapy and later switched careers to event management, where she worked with the Dubai International Financial Center, “where I used my skills and cultural awareness of the market to gulf people and corporate clients operating globally.”

“My first love for fashion and makeup was born at the tender age of four when I first discovered my mom’s closet and a huge Dior makeup bag…  Just like many of us, I got distracted from my true passion somewhere along the way, maybe due to my parents wanting me to be an interior designer, banker or other careers that they found suitable for me.  So, I tried all those things and, believe me, I did my best but the shoe would just not fit, as I kept feeling empty.”

“One day, I had an epiphany. I had finally awakened and was able to see that my true purpose in life was to share my passion by helping people express them through clothing & makeup. That when my journey as a successful and fulfilled image consultant began.”

“I’m extremely grateful to have a career that I truly love and enjoy that also allows me to help numerous clients realize their potential, gain confidence and improve the quality of their life; the best part of being an image consultant is seeing the transformation of my clients, as their true potential shine through.  Luckily, I realize that clothes makeup are not everything. Communication and etiquette are the extras required for leadership and success. I can help with that too.”

Nidhi Singh, Certified Image Consultant and Personal Shopper from the Dubai Course is from New Delhi, India.  Ms. Singh has the goal to launch Fashionablers.  “Fashionablers is a premium fashion styling consultancy where it is our mission to enable the inner fashionista in you to come out in its full splendor. We show you how to dress according to your own unique body structure , personality and life goals.  Our services will help you turn heads and feel great while at the same time saving tons of money on clothes.”

“So no more “I don’t have anything to wear” and being stuck in the same style rut for ages.  We are here to put an end to all the frustrations , worry and disappointments in your fashion choices with fashionable services!”

Fashionablers will offers services including:  Wardrobe Audit and Makeover, Special Occasion Styling, Personal Shopping and Styling, Color Analysis, Total Image Makeover, Trend Update, Style Update.

“My goal for taking up this course is to arm myself with all the technical knowledge required for this industry.”

“Dubai is a shoppers paradise with the biggest and the grandest malls all stocked with the best of brands which cater to all the different economic strata of of the society. Being based in dubai which has two shopping festivals in a year and a thriving tourism industry I see a lot of scope and potential for this business of image consultancy and personal shopping.”

About the Sterling Style Academy 

The Sterling Style Academy trains and certifies prospective and aspiring image consultants, personal stylists, and personal shoppers to pursue the career of their dreams.  With 10 annual training courses held throughout the year in New York, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Miami, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, as well as Online Training, Teleclasses, and Short eCourses, the Sterling Style Academy prepares you to become a top notch pioneer in the image consulting, personal shopping, and personal styling industry.  Master the art of image, fashion and style to become a fashion styling expert.  Contact the Sterling Style Academy today to learn how we can help you start a career you are passionate about – shopping and styling!