In June 2015, I realized my good friend Marla Tomazin has been an image consultant for 25 years. In many cases, milestones like this aren\u2019t acknowledged, much less celebrated (and celebrating others is actually one of Marla\u2019s strongest attributes).<\/p>\n
Twenty-five years in business is a huge accomplishment, particularly given how competitive the NYC fashion industry is. It got me thinking: How did Marla not only survive, but thrive, in a tough market and through several tough economies?<\/em> As one of Marla\u2019s clients from the beginning (and for many years now, her good friend as well), I\u2019ve been privileged to observe what makes her stand out\u2014and what keeps a steady stream of clients requesting her services.<\/p>\n Here are some of the secrets to Marla\u2019s success:<\/p>\n Marla makes \u201cbeing stylish\u201d simple and doable.<\/strong> For those of us who aren\u2019t in the fashion industry, \u201cstyle\u201d can sometimes seem like a foreign language that we don\u2019t completely understand. But Marla makes it simple and doable. Instead of giving clients a long list of fashion rules and creating interesting but complicated outfits, she teaches clear, easy-to-apply strategies, like column dressing and making sure all of your clothing is well tailored. There is no greater satisfaction than wearing an outfit you put together yourself and having several people admiringly compliment you on the way you look. When you listen to Marla\u2019s suggestions, you get these kinds of compliments all the time.<\/p>\n She\u2019s good at giving advice.<\/strong> When you hire Marla, you know that your image needs some improvement\u2014but that doesn\u2019t mean you want to be criticized. Luckily, Marla is a master at giving advice, suggesting changes, and even disagreeing in a way that doesn\u2019t make you feel bad. Instead, you walk away feeling like you\u2019ve learned a lot and like you\u2019ve been collaborating with a close friend. She is an expert communicator. She delivers compliments and constructive criticism in an even tone with back-up and substance. You really listen to her \u201cmust-haves\u201d and \u201cdon\u2019t-dos.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s hands-on.<\/strong> No matter what aspect of your image you hire Marla to help with, she really gets in the trenches with you. She\u2019ll dive into a dirty closet, help you pick out frames at the optician\u2019s, and look through the racks of clothes at a boutique. Marla doesn\u2019t just tell<\/em> you what works; she shows you\u2014and makes sure you understand how to replicate that success.<\/p>\n She\u2019s interested in you as a person, not just as a client.<\/strong> Marla doesn\u2019t just take your physical appearance into account when you hire her as an image consultant. She also takes the time to get to know you: your preferences, your likes and dislikes, your lifestyle, your goals for the future, etc. That\u2019s what makes her great at choosing pieces that flatter your body, reflect your personality, and<\/em> make you feel confident\u2014or as Marla says, \u201cthe best version of the true you.\u201d<\/p>\n To Marla, \u201cimage\u201d is about a lot more than the clothes in your closet.<\/strong> I would venture to say that most people hire Marla because they want to refine and improve their wardrobes. But they get so much more. Marla understands that a positive image is built through finding mind-body-spirit balance, so her clients also benefit from her insight on topics ranging from mindfulness to principles of effective communication to how to rejuvenate yourself when you\u2019re feeling stressed. When you work with Marla, expect for her to make your life better!<\/p>\n She isn\u2019t stingy with best practices.<\/strong> Marla freely shares her best practices with clients and non-clients alike. She genuinely wants to help and doesn\u2019t treat her tips and advice as proprietary information. (Just look through this blog for free fashion advice, information on closet organization, packing tips and tricks, recipes, product recommendations, and more!)<\/p>\n She goes to the \u201cmat\u201d with you.<\/strong> We have often shopped together to find something special for a big event, trade show, wedding, etc., and these occasions can often be emotionally charged, time sensitive, and with zero margin for error. Recently, Marla made sure a certain designer dress, which came in the wrong size, was exchanged. She was consistent in her follow-up with the manufacturer to make sure it was right. She was unfailing in her analysis of the problem, and she creatively worked through the \u201cfix.\u201d The ultimate success of this transaction was due to Marla\u2019s solution-driven approach and not taking no for an answer. I am very happy with the end result.<\/p>\n Once you work with Marla, you\u2019re a friend for life.<\/strong> I\u2019m definitely not Marla\u2019s only client who has made the transition to \u201cfriend.\u201d There are many of us who now plan lunch dates with Marla, shop with her (for fun!), and receive birthday cards and calls from her.<\/p>\n For many years, I have always been excited on the days we would go out together and look at wholesale showrooms for new fashions. I now have a wardrobe of long-standing, classic, well- made, and interesting clothes made with quality fabrics. Over time, this collection of easily wearable, but architecturally distinctive outfits has helped create \u201cmy brand.\u201d I am happy to say that Marla has curated my investments in good clothing to a point where I now feel deep satisfaction when I open the closet door. This says it all.<\/p>\n All of these things explain why Marla gets so much repeat business and so many referrals, and why her business continues to thrive. While it\u2019s nice to live in a world of department stores and two-day shipping, we still crave personalized attention, consideration, and validation. And that\u2019s what Marla Tomazin does best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In June 2015, I realized my good friend Marla Tomazin has been an image consultant for 25 years. In many cases, milestones like this aren\u2019t acknowledged, much less celebrated (and celebrating others is actually one of Marla\u2019s strongest attributes). Twenty-five years in business is a huge accomplishment, particularly given how competitive the NYC fashion industry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[124],"class_list":["post-350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-post","tag-guest-post","wpbf-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=350"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":352,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions\/352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}