About Liana Chaouli, CEO & Founder of Image Therapists, Intl
I’m Liana Chaouli, and I’ve been doing this work I call Image Therapy for over 30 years. When I was 22, I worked as a translator in Hamburg, Germany. Part of my official duties was to guide visiting dignitaries and officials on tours of the city and translate for them. These tours didn’t just include visiting cultural sites – I took them shopping, as well.
One of the most impactful experiences I ever had occurred while I was working with the proud, strong wife of a Middle Eastern dignitary.
She was a dignified, beautiful, intelligent woman, who looked like royalty. She wasn’t tall, yet she was quite striking with wonderful, voluptuous curves and a small waist (even after having five children!). She was very excited to go shopping, and she had the money to spend.
When we walked into the Chanel store, her face lit up with excitement, as her eyes fell on rows upon rows of exquisite clothing. We explained to the salesclerk that we needed something elegant – a suit my client could wear to an important event.
The sales clerk glanced at my client for an instant, and said with noticeable disdain, “We don’t have anything in your size.”
My client instantly collapsed into a puddle of nothing.
I realized that in just one fleeting moment, that sales clerk robbed my client of her joy, her self-esteem, and her excitement with a handful of cold words. Loud and clear, she embarrassed my client – she told her that she wasn’t good enough to wear those clothes.
I was mortified. My heart sank. This woman deserved to feel GOOD about herself!! EVERY woman deserves to feel beautiful!
And right then, in that instant, my mission was born: to help as many people as I could to see their own beauty – to become empowered through their clothing choices.
I would teach them how to choose clothes that flattered their bodies and made them feel WORTHY, strong, and as uniquely beautiful as they truly are, so they could show up authentically in the world!
Now, when I first began working in the clothing industry, there was no such thing as an “image consultant,” so I became a custom clothing designer. This way, I could literally hand out self-esteem – one garment at a time.
With thirty years’ experience as a custom clothing designer, color specialist, and a Master Couturier, it means I am a high-level clothing craftsman, patternmaker, and seamstress who really understands all the facets of clothing that fits they way it should on your body.
