Frequently Asked Questions

Typically, a personal color analysis on its own can take between 3-4 hours. Each color analysis follows a preset framework but ultimately is unique to the person, and is best to avoid rushing through things to be certain of an accurate outcome.

An accurate color analysis lasts a lifetime, so a few extra minutes will be well worth it.

Additionally, Rachel will take the time that you need to make sure that you have your specific wardrobe, makeup, and overall style questions answered and that you fully understand why we came to the season outcome that we did.

The goal is to make sure you leave your color analysis feeling educated and empowered.

A personal color analysis costs $450* and includes everything below.

*Save $50 when combined with body line analysis

Included with every personal color analysis:

• An in-person session (3-4 hours)
• Personalized draping.
• Your own personalized 65-color palette ($85 value!)
• Your own personalized travel size palette ($25 value!)
• Training on how to use your palette going forward.
• Before & after photos (upon request)
• Extensive Q&A session.
• Makeup, hair color, and accessory consult according to your new palette.
• A lifetime of value and savings on no longer purchasing the wrong colors.

Optional Upgrades

• Online shopping together
• Follow-Up Consultation

All add-ons are offered only in addition to, or after, the above services, but not as stand-alone offerings. The rate is $110/hour.

Click here to schedule your session now.

A color season is simply a group of colors that all fall within a range of hue, value, and chroma parameters, so named for the poetic relationship between nature at that time of the year and the colors in each group.

A Twelve season system is the most commonly used in modern color analysis, as it seems to produce the best balance of specificity to allow clients to wear all the colors of their palette well and to easily find complimentary makeup and hair colors, while being broad enough to make wardrobe building practical and the analysis process definitive.

This Season system is divided into four primary seasonal color palettes: Winter, Spring, Summer & Autumn

You can learn more about the seasons, and the breakdown of each season, at this link. If you are interested in learning more about personal color analysis, click here.

Please wear whatever is comfortable for you! Given that, I do also request the following:

• Wear a neutral color top without a high neck.
• Wear small earrings or easily removable ones.
• Tying back long hair.
• Please do not wear any makeup during the analysis.
• Avoid wearing sunscreen that can cause flashback under the lights; stick to moisturizer only.

More Information

For an accurate Personal Color Analysis, certain factors need to be controlled. To ensure this, I provide clients with a neutral grey cape and headscarf to cover their clothing and hair.  

If you normally wear colored contacts, either wear clear ones or be prepared to remove them for the analysis. If you have glasses, wear the ones with the least visible frame, but any glasses will do. 

If you dye your eyebrows or use self-tanner, try to delay the re-dying or application until after the appointment. I can work with dyed eyebrows, but I have to disregard any color effects they may have.

Personal Color Analysis requires unknown variables to be controlled, which includes any kind of artificial hair coloring (permanent, semi-permanent, henna & natural dyes included). Given this, you may be asked to wear a neutral gray headscarf during the draping process.

Once we have established your color season, Rachel can advise you on how your hair color is working with your coloring and suggest options if you wish to adjust it. If your hair color is completely natural, it may be left uncovered but tied back.

Currently, we are unable to offer off-site appointments for color analysis. 

If you are not local to the Philadelphia metro area, please feel free to email me and I will try to connect you with a colleague in your area.

I accept credit card, Venmo,  or cash payments at the time of your appointment.

Great question – and that is ultimately up to you!

Typically, a body line analysis on its own can take between 1.5 – 2 hours. The range is because when you have one-on-one access to Rachel, you get to ask specific wardrobe, makeup, and overall style questions.

Our goal is to make sure you feel educated and empowered, so we want you to take the time you need.

We strongly recommend scheduling your body line analysis after – or in conjunction with – a personal color analysis (PCA). If you are having a PCA and BLA in one sitting, this typically lasts from 4.5 – 5 hours.

A body line analysis costs $350* and includes everything below.

*Save $50 when combined with personal color analysis.

Included with every Body Line Analysis:

• Head-to-toe style consult and training.
• Facial and body shape analysis.
• Assessment of your Image Archetype.
• Guidance on how to identify your best style of pants, tops, skirts, accessories, etc.
• Training on how to choose fabrics, patterns, design details, etc.
• Identify your style and brand.
• Extensive Q&A to answer all your questions.
• Lifetime access to my online guides for future reference. 

Optional Upgrades

• Online shopping together
• Follow-Up Consultation

All add-ons are offered only in addition to, or after, the above services, but not as stand-alone offerings. The rate is $110/hour.

Absolutely! In fact, we encourage scheduling both together, if you have not yet had your personal color analysis. And you will save $50!

Please wear an outfit that clearly shows your body shape, such as a tank top and yoga pants or leggings/jeggings. Avoid wearing baggy or bulky clothes that can’t be removed, as it may make things difficult. Please avoid wearing heavy or excessive makeup.

If you have a smartphone with a recording app or another recording device, you may want to bring that. Alternatively, you can bring a notebook and pen to jot down our discussion.

If you have pictures of yourself at different ages and weights, these can be helpful, but it’s not required. Current pictures of outfits you like or wear frequently can also be useful for advice and suggestions. 

If you would like to show me garments or accessories in person, you can bring a couple of items or wear them over your fitting clothing.If you have a lot of items you’d like feedback on, Rachel is available hourly to review them at a later time.

In addition to everything required for in-person Body Line Analysis (see above question), you will need to submit a few photos to  Rachel prior to your appointment.

This will include photos of your body from head to toe in form-fitting clothing as well as photos showing your face at various angles and a few miscellaneous other photos you likely already have on your phone. A comprehensive list of what images are required will be emailed to you in preparation for your appointment.

Essentially, it’s a combination of shape, line, scale, and proportion that creates a conceptual style.

To give you an idea of what I mean, imagine that you are tasked with decorating a log cabin. What kinds of furnishings would you look for? I’m guessing that you would probably choose something rustic and organic looking with a
casual and cozy vibe, regardless of your preferences in interior décor. On the other hand, I doubt you will have chosen hyper-modern furnishings made of metal and molded plastic fit for a black tie affair. Possibly there’s an interior decorator somewhere who could make that look fabulous, but the easiest and most logical choice would be to furnish a log cabin like…a log cabin. Not only does this create an incredibly harmonious and attractive end result with minimal training and effort required, it also allows us to capitalize off of the best elements of the log cabin that are already there without having to create some new appeal from scratch.

The log cabin in need of the right décor is a metaphor for a person in need of the right clothing.

The quickest, easiest, most effective way to dress a person is to dress them to look like themselves. So just as we have styles such as Mid-Century Modern or Colonial in architecture, in fashion we have Image Archetypes.

Many people around the world are familiar with this idea through the work of David Kibbe and others before him, and through my work as a stylist, I have updated and streamlined the concepts to work for today’s fashion landscape.

We have an amazing library of images explaining all of the image archetypes on our Body Line Analysis Page.

The ten Image Archetypes are as follows:

The Queen (sometimes known as a Dramatic)

The Goddess (sometimes known as a Soft Dramatic)

The Muse (Sometimes known as a Flamboyant Natural)

The Enchantress (sometimes known as a Soft Natural)

The Sophisticate (sometimes known as a Dramatic Classic)

The Princess (sometimes known as a Soft Classic)

The Pixie (sometimes known as a Flamboyant Gamine)

The Spitfire (sometimes known as a Soft Gamine)

The Femme Fatale (sometimes known as a Theatrical Romantic)

The Bombshell (sometimes known as a Romantic)

I accept credit card, Venmo,  or cash payments at the time of your appointment.

If having your service via Zoom, payment can be made online via Venmo, Paypal, or credit card invoice prior to service.

The Signature Style Makeover is specifically tailored for women who find themselves at a breaking point in their wardrobe and personal presentation.

It is ideal for…

• Those who face challenges such as body changes.
• Transitioning to a more visible role at work.
• Relocating to a new city.
• Embarking on a new phase of life that demands a wardrobe upgrade. 
• Anyone woman ready for a complete style makeover.

As an expert in the field of personal presentation, Rachel understands the overwhelming nature of starting from scratch and offers one-on-one guidance throughout the entire process.

The makeover provides one-on-one dedicated time and attention, ensuring that you are carefully walked through each step of a comprehensive wardrobe reinvention.

If this sounds like too much for now, consider enrolling in my online style club called The Society of Extraordinary Style. A lot of the same resources are available but with a more at-your-own-pace type of service. 

A Signature Style Makeover is $2,750* and includes the ALL of following:

• 12 weeks of wardrobe guidance, education, and support.
• Real-time responsive feedback from Rachel
• Lifetime access to my signature style development videos.
• A Personal Color Analysis ($450 value!)
• A Body Line Analysis ($350 value!)
• One-on-One sessions for defining your unique Signature Style
• A complete wardrobe edit, including accessories and makeup.
• Shopping for key wardrobe pieces
• Create a lock & load catalog of winning outfits for the current season.

*Discounts are available if you’ve already had a PCA in the last 5 years with a color season palette in hand.

The Signature Style Makeover takes place over the course of three months and includes two phases:

• Planning
• Implementation.

Planning Phase
Rachel guides the client through the discovery of their color season and image archetype, as well as the evaluation of their personal taste and lifestyle requirements, culminating in the synthesis of all of these factors into a clear and cohesive plan for their Signature Style.

Implementation Phase
Once the plan has been established, the implementation phase can begin with a complete wardrobe edit, followed by shopping and outfit creation for the current season. 

Practically speaking, the process will be completed over the course of eight hour-long sessions via Zoom, plus unlimited text and email support, as well as a day in the studio with Rachel.* 

*If the client does not live in the metro Philadelphia area, Rachel will coordinate with a local PCA professional in your local area to complete your Personal Color Analysis.

Yes!

The Signature Style Makeover is typically done predominantly online, with the exclusion of the color analysis, which must be completed in person. If you are not local to the Philadelphia metro area, Rachel will refer you to a color analyst in her global network for you to use (at no additional cost.)

For local clients, an in-person wardrobe edit can be accommodated, if desired.

Yep, the Society of Extraordinary Style is offered month-to-month. So whether you decide it’s not for you or just want to take the summer off, you can leave when you like, with the freedom to come back later.

The only exception is for those that choose to sign up for the full year, in which case you’re under no obligation for the following year. 

Absolutely there are! Signing up for the annual membership will provide you with the following over a monthly membership:

• 3, 30-minute private sessions with Rachel, annually.
• a 25% discount on a personal color analysis
• A Body Line Analysis ($350 value!!)
• Time to work through my library of online-style classes
  • A great way to re-do your wardrobe at a self-guided pace.

Yes!

We get it, life happens, and sometimes you can't make the weekly live video workshops. This is why all workshops are recorded and made available to members after the fact. 

For most women, a year is a good benchmark. 

This allows you to take the time to purchase only the right things if and when you find them, and to test out wearing what you have through all the seasons of the year and see how it’s working and troubleshoot (with my help) if needed. 

But there’s more to it than that. Learning the skill of building a wardrobe takes time, but if you do it now, you will always know how to do it. So when you get older, move to another state, change jobs, have changes to your body, etc. you will know how to curate a wardrobe that works for you not just now, but when things inevitably change.

 I’m constantly coming up with new ideas to help you create your ideal wardrobe and learn how to be your own master stylist for the rest of your life. 

The most exciting thing to me is that the society gives me a baseline of students. Society members are the front line. They get to try out new things and they are my priority when I offer those new things.

Not only will new things be added, but you’ll also help me figure out what new things we need.

The Society of Extraordinary Style is for any woman anywhere in the world, who wants to play an active role in learning about their body type and developing their own individual style at an affordable entry point.

Whether you have had a personal color analysis, attended a style workshop, read one of my books, or never worked on your style ever. The society is for all of you. And it works together to lift one another up and build confidence in your wardrobe and style.

Absolutely.

The methods I use involve using the principles of art and design to determine what’s in harmony with your natural self. No matter what you look like, this methodology will help you find what works effortlessly on you.