Fashion Fix
There’s always one sister who always looks like she’s got her own personal stylist at home. Maybe you see her on campus, in church or at the office, perfect from head to toe. Day after day after day.
Stop the hateration. You can look that good, too. Indigo Zuri can make it happen.
“I just want people to understand the importance of image,” says Indigo, founder and president of P2Style and Image Consulting (P2Styles), a Detroit-area image consulting business. “People, unfortunately, do judge us by the way we look.”
P2Styles isn’t about superficial good looks. It’s about learning to present your self in a way that commands attention. Indigo wants you to rock that interview. She wants your professional appearance to set you apart from your co-workers. She knows the confidence that comes with looking your best can propel you toward achieving your goals.
“I help my clients develop a look that will give them a presence that will peak other’s attention and cause them to want to know who they are and hear what they have to say,” she explains. “At P2Styles, we help our clients, through wardrobe enhancement and personal skills development, to create their own personal look. We don’t try to change them. We just bring out what’s in them and take it up a notch.”
Formerly a personal shopper at Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue at the Somerset Collection mall in Troy, Indigo launched Fashion T.I.P.S. in September 2004. She changed the name to P2Styles in 2006. But her life as a fashionista started long before those jobs.
Born and raised in New York, Indigo credits her father, who worked for a men’s clothier, and her mother, a seamstress, with peaking her interest in fashion at a young age. “I do have an eye for fashion and an ability to take different pieces and put them together in ways that aren’t conventional but [are] stylish, wear things in ways that most people wouldn’t think of wearing them,” says Indigo, who describes her style as eclectic, bohemian and not too trendy. She may love a classic suit, but she’ll always add a cutting-edge twist.
“Often times when I’m out shopping, people will stop me and ask for my opinion on certain outfits. It never fails.” During the Thanksgiving weekend, a woman peeped her style and followed her around a store to get advice on purses. Dressed down a pair of capri jeans and sneakers, Indigo had added a special touch. Instead of buying an all-the-rage shrug, she wore a simple cardigan sweater upside down to create a shrug look like no other.
“It is not about spending a whole lot of money,” she says. “It’s all about creativity.”
While lots of people are obsessed with designer labels, Indigo finds some of her best finds at Target. “No, I would not go to Target to buy a power suit. But I wouldn’t hesitate for one moment to find that funky hat or that really cool belt or top that costs maybe $9.99 to wear with my $600 suit,” she reveals.
Indigo doesn’t take her gift lightly. Instead, she works hard at enhancing it. Certified by the Association of Image Consultants International, and one of only three certified image consultants in Michigan, she maintains that status with continued training in her field every year, taking classes on a variety of topics. And she has to pass the organization’s certification test every three years.
Her commitment is paying off for her clients. Among them is a local television newscaster who has recently shifted from voice-only reports from helicopters to on-camera weather updates. Indigo orchestrated a total makeover, including a new haircut and wardrobe, polishing his image and boosting his confidence.
Indigo serves women and men, mostly professionals between ages 29 and 40. She also works with younger adults just starting their careers. She is available for a wardrobe consultation to clarify personal style, determine which colors are best for an individual’s skin tone and build a wardrobe. She provides face and hair consultations. She works with clients to enhance the clothing they already have with accessories the jewelry, scarves, ties, hats and even briefcases that will refine an already decent appearance. She’ll even make sure business travelers look their professional best while in transit by finding the luggage that blends with their overall look.
Beyond clothes, P2Styles personal skills development preps clients to navigate nuances too often overlooked. “Often times you are in a situation where you’re dining with colleagues or you’re at a networking event and you need to know how to be able to hold a conversation comfortably and effectively with people from all walks of life,” says Indigo. She not only trains people to master small talk and first impressions. In her most popular workshop, “Which Fork Do I Use,” she teaches adults and children about dining etiquette.
Everyone with career goals should consider making sure your image measures up to your ambition. “It’s really an investment. You’re investing in yourself. It’s something that will follow you for the rest of your life,” she says.
Aren’t you worth it?
“Let me go through your closet and get rid of those things that are just simply not working for you and then help you to fill in the gaps. And then getting up and getting dressed every day becomes effortless. You’ll know that whatever you’re wearing is working for you,” Indigo says. “What I do is just bring what’s already there deep inside of you out for the world to see.
