Plus-size clients boost their self-image with help of Traci McBride Fashion Articles

Plus-size clients boost their self-image with help of Traci McBride

Posted by Jorja Rowlandson on August 26, 2010 Leave a comment (0) Go to comments

Special to The Plain Dealer Follow Share this story Story tools Traci McBride, owner of TeeMcBee Image Consulting, urges her clients to see their best assets and celebrate them “just as they are today, not with some future goal of how you WILL look someday.” This matter-of-fact acceptance of her own weight has endeared her to clients, many of whom struggle with their body image. She also puts an emphasis on buying secondhand clothing as a money-saver. Photographed at Designer Consignor in Lakewood. 0
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LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Traci McBride was a stay-at-home mom in her 30s. She loved her two sons, her husband and their home in Avon Lake, but even with all her blessings, felt something was missing.

“That was where I lost myself,” she says now, a bright, confident woman “knocking on 50. ”

“I gained weight. The more I gained, the less confidence I had. I didn’t want to leave the house. I avoided social situations because I didn’t have anything to wear, and because I didn’t want to go anywhere the ‘perfect moms’ would be.”

McBride has a frank, steady gaze that makes this hard to believe, but her sincerity is never in doubt. A desire to help other women in similar situations is at the root of her business, TeeMcBee Image Consulting.

“I came to realize that this body may not be perfect, but it had delivered two sons and it had gotten me through so many wonderful milestones; it should be appreciated, not despised, for working so hard,” she says. “I thought, ‘I can sit at home and beat myself up, or I can get out there and live a fuller life.’ ”

While her business may on the surface concern wardrobe consultations and personalized shopping services, she finds that helping women love themselves is at the core of her client relationships.

“Women are so hard on themselves, and they often put themselves in little boxes about how they can dress or who they can be,” she says. “I tell them that we’re going to develop who they want to be, not who they were 10 years ago.”

DETAILS What: TeeMcBee Image Consulting, a person alized wardrobe consulting service that specializes in plus-size needs as well as in corporate clients.

Contact: 440-670-0440.

While McBride does specialize in plus-size clients, she works with people of all sizes and ages. Her services, which are $60 per hour with a four-hour minimum for the first consultation, are often purchased at the time of a particular milestone in life, be it a significant birthday, a divorce, a family wedding or reunion.

“Women are so busy taking care of other people that they often stop taking care of themselves,” McBride says. “It’s not self-indulgence to want to present her best self to the world, because if a woman is happier, she makes everyone around her happier, too.”

McBride meets with a new client to do a “closet audit,” to evaluate a client’s core wardrobe. She assesses the fit, the color and the modernity of each item the client owns, and they make a few piles along the way — items to keep, items to alter and items for charity.

“I always bring a full-length mirror, because it’s amazing how many women don’t have one,” she laughs. “And I always ask a woman to name her favorite body part. It’s a little heartbreaking because so many of them say, ‘I can’t think of one,’ but they can rattle off a laundry list of the body parts they don’t like.”

McBride says the consultations usually work best if she positions the mirror so that women can’t see their face, only their bodies.

“If they can see their face, they get caught up in how their hair looks, or the bags under their eyes — it ‘s a way of avoiding the image reflected back at them, I think,” she says softly. “We communicate so much without saying a word when it comes to the garments we choose.”

McBride says it is common for women to keep rarely worn clothing for years.

“It’s a constant reminder of where we think we failed,” she says. “Just get rid of it! If 10 years ago, you spent $1,200 that hasn’t fit in eight years, just chalk it up to experience and let it go.”

McBride also urges her clients to avoid words like “fat,” urging them instead to substitute a happier word such as “fluffy” or “bountiful.”

“I ask them to use less hurtful words. I’m not asking them to lie to themselves, but to be gentler with themselves.”

From the initial audit, McBride re-creates outfits from what’s already in the closet. She suggest different pairings of tops and bottoms, and combs through accessories and shoes to make a complete new look. She then provides pictures of the new outfit suggestions.

She follows up extensively, providing clients with a list of core items that are missing from their wardrobes, as well as e-mailed pictures and links on where the clothing can be purchased. She will also accompany clients to shop — or just do it herself, which she frequently finds easier.

“I find that women can sometimes make shopping too complicated, that they go to stores and get overwhelmed and discouraged, so they just buy what is comfortable and familiar to them,” she says. “It’s really beneficial to have an outside opinion, for at least the first shopping trip.”

Having learned her craft through “webinars,” seminars and lots of business reading, McBride also works with corporate companies that want to elevate their image to appeal to potential clients. Companies are provided with a detailed report with her recommended improvements to achieve measurable results.

“I call these Business Image Critiques, as I experience a business just as an outside client would,” she says. “I evaluate the physical space, staff image and body language, assessing their website and print marketing materials, etc.”

But she admits she gets most excited about helping women who were just like her younger self, be it physically or emotionally.

“Some clients may have body-image issues, some may not, but most of them get stuck,” she says. “They have to get to know themselves again.”