Morag Iona Young has worked as a Colour Analyst and Image Consultant for the last 13 years. Based in Abingdon Road she works both with personal clients and businesses. Her one-to-one or group consultations with male and female clients are based on colour analysis techniques developed in the 1930's and enable clients to understand which colours and style of clothing suits their particular skin colour and personality. As well as running a successful business she regularly appears as a colour and fashion expert on television.

"Its difficult to describe what I do because its such a visual thing. The essence is that some shades of colour can make you look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, while other shades can make you looked tired, washed out and lacking in energy. In my consultations I find out which range of colours suit an individual. I start by analysing a person's skin tones to find out their 'base tone', and from this, the shades of colours that when placed next to their skin make them look in balance with themselves. Everything else stems from that first analysis.

"Depending on what people want I either meet them for a one-to-one consultation or within a group situation. The first stage is always the colour consultation and for female clients this also involves looking at make-up. This normally takes about an hour and a half. The next stage is the image consultation where I look at body shape and proportions, and then, I look at personality. It's the mix of all of these factors that make up a person's 'clothing personality'.

"After that I might go out shopping with clients for about half a day, three or four hours heavy shopping … and it really is heavy shopping, its not just wandering about. Often people come back for review sessions at a later point just so that I can see how they are getting along.

"The end result of the consultations is that people end up with clothes that co-ordinate, spend less time shopping for clothes and start to have a wardrobe that works for them, rather than them having to work for a wardrobe.

"I often work with groups of people and one of the really positive things about this is that people can see other people being colour analysed too. It's sometimes difficult for people to give up years of conditioning about what colours and styles look good on them, and these are very personal feelings. In a group situation other people give you feedback when they see things working and this is really exciting.

"Another part of what I do is corporate work, working as an image consultant. For instance, lots of companies are now advocating 'dress-down' policies, but this can make the whole issue of professional dress really quite difficult because 'dress-down' of course, doesn't just mean getting into your old jeans. I am often called in to advise on what a 'dress-down' code for a particular company might be. I find that my proportion of male clients is rising year on year partly because of this reason. Did you know that some companies are starting to have 'dress-up Fridays' to complicate it further. It's all quite exciting really.

"At the end of the day my job is really just getting people to feel much more confident about themselves, and this is good for individuals and for businesses. "My clients are all ages, although my oldest client was 85. Can you imaging at 85 wanting to find out what colours suited you? It was fabulous. She actually loved it so much that she came back to have her style and image done. For her, the consultations just reinforced what she was doing already and gave her more confidence. She said that now she could walk into a shoe shop and get the high-heels she wanted without being brushed off by an assistant who thinks that 'something more comfortable might be more appropriate'.

"When I started Colour Analysis over ten years ago, it was in its infancy in this country and of course there was scepticism. People could be slightly dismissive and say, 'I know which colour suits me', but nowadays, the idea has spread and people recognise that it really does work.

"I don't think that anyone who has been colour analysed hasn't thought that it wasn't worthwhile, and people really do change. A lot of people come to see me at a time of change in their life, it could be a new job, a new partner, a move to a new city. One of the best things about this job is seeing people really blossom and come to believe in themselves."

for personal colour consultations contact:
Morag Iona Young
House of Colour
12 Abingdon Road
London W8 6AF
tel: 020 7938 1982 (by appointment only)

for corporate image consultancy contact:
Morag Iona Young
Public i
12 Abingdon Road
London W8 6AF
tel: 020 7938 1982 (by appointment only)

on Kensington:
"I always feel that I need a passport to get out of Kensington. I've lived here for over 30 years now and love to be able to walk out of the flat and meet people that I know. Just walking to the top of the road I might meet 3 or 4 people who I can stop and have a chin-wag with. It feels like a real community, and in 30 years it hasn't changed much."