| Description | Dimensions |
|---|---|
| Standard drape | 28 x 48 cm (11 x 19 inches) |
| Large drape | 48 x 56 cm (19 x 22 inches) |
Our seasonal and tonal fabric drape sizes are ‘standard’ and ‘large’ (exact dimensions above) and each drape is labelled with both Tonal and Seasonal directions. The men’s drapes are only available in the ‘standard’ size.
A full list of drapes is available; you can choose individual drapes to meet your requirements in either size, or you could choose a seasonal or tonal drape set.
In a nutshell, we don’t decide for you what you should use because we don’t run a franchise; it’s your business and it’s entirely up to you. I train image consultants but give everyone a choice as to which drapes to use – each person is different and relates to colour differently. But I am always here to help so if you have some specific questions, just let me know.
Standard or large drapes?
Most image consultants, including me, use the standard size but it’s entirely up to you. How much material do you want to drape around your clients?
Question: “Hi Kim! Just wondering in your experience whether you think the small or large size drapes work better or is it good to have a selection of both sizes?”
When it comes to the large drapes, I have never understood why image consultants would want to drown a client in so much material. When your client sits down in front of the mirror, the large drapes will cover her knees!
In a personal colour consultation, we’re focusing on what happens to and around the client’s face so, in my opinion, the standard-size drapes are more than big enough.
How to use the drapes
1. Use the drapes folded into 4 – that’s how they arrive when you order. Some consultants like to drape one or more colours on one shoulder, near the face, it’s then easy to shift them to the other shoulder for confirmation, especially when the light in the room is not consistent. You can also drape each shoulder with opposing characteristics for instant comparison, e.g., Cool vs. Warm, Deep vs. Light, etc.
2. Open out the folded drapes and spread them from shoulder to shoulder. Personally, I’ve always cut out a triangle while the brand-new drape is still folded up which creates a neat little V shape to fit under the chin so that the drape lies flat. This allows you to layer several different drapes over the top of each other without ‘bunching’ and you can then remove them, one at a time for comparison purposes.
You end up with a collection of little cutouts which I sometimes add to my client’s ready-prepared seasonal or tonal swatch wallet. I only use the seasonal fans and safe tonal fans so cutouts can be popped into the little pocket on the inside of the fan cover.
No-one can wear all the colours in the swatch wallets for their season or tone, and some clients may need to ‘borrow’ a colour or three from another palette, and if, like me, you don’t want to create personalised wallets, this helps to create a truly bespoke analysis for each client.
The perfect colour match
In any case, clients will never, ever find a perfect colour match in the shops with any of the swatches in the wallets/fans so an image consultant’s job is to show clients HOW to use the wallet to find the colours that DO mix, match, and complement their seasonal/tonal diagnosis – because, at some point, they’ll be shopping on their own!
As always, this is totally my own opinion, forged from 45 years’ experience in this fabulous business – but you did ask!
