When Alyssa Doorhy of CoChic Styling reached out about doing a personal branding session at various spots in Chicago, I squealed with delight. Not only is she incredibly talented (and stylish!), but she is an absolute sweetheart who pours so much intention and care into every aspect of her work. She created CoChic to provide an approachable personal styling service to help everyday women look stylish and feel confident while also feeling comfortable and not spending a fortune! Style AND comfort? Confidence without breaking the bank? Alyssa spoke my fashion language. While I love a cute cocktail dress and heels from time to time, I’m really more of a jeans kind of gal. And although I have no problem splurging on a few signature pieces, I like to spend a bit more moderately to create space for other things I value like travel and dinner with friends.

Photographing Alyssa was a dream, and we had so much fun envisioning the various concepts and locations that would really capture her brand offerings. Co Chic provides several tiers of services: personal shopping and styling, closet clean outs, and wedding styling. One of my favorite parts about doing personal branding shoots is helping my clients get specific on who they’re serving, what they are doing uniquely in their market, what values they embody, and what message they’d like to communicate. Alyssa really took this part of the process seriously, and it provided a framework for our locations, aesthetic, and shot list.

We started at Alice in Ivory, a bridal boutique in Lincoln Park. The modern, romantic vibe of the atelier really matched Alyssa’s aesthetic, and because her brides tend to be drawn to a custom experience, it was completely in alignment with her values.

Our next stop was Margaret O’Leary, a clothing boutique born in San Francisco that has graced us in Lincoln Park. It’s known for it’s “affordable luxury” and “relaxed sensibility.” Sounds so very, CoChic, right?

Next up was a few shots of Alyssa at work in the office. These kinds of images are really great to show the “behind the scenes” of what life looks like when you’re not in action with clients. They are great images to use in social media posts and as filler photos on your website and marketing materials. Styling these scenes is a lot of fun, and the goal is that they reflect aspects of professionalism and your vibrant personality!

We ended our shoot with a closet clean out and some shopping on Southport in Lakeview. I loved watching Alyssa’s process of removing clothing, evaluating whether to keep or eliminate a piece, and then organizing clothing by color and type as she reassembled the closet. Before Marie Kondo’s Netflix series, Alyssa was already revolutionizing closet clean outs in Chicago!

What a transformation, right?!

After our shoot, I received the most meaningful feedback – a client had booked Alyssa as a direct result of her updated imagery that showcased her personality!

“I loved working with you and was so impressed with your process. Your thorough questionnaire helped me hone in on my branding, you provided direction on what to bring for the shoot, you helped me find a location, and took amazing photos the day of! I wanted to portray approachability, and after uploading the photos to my site, I got a call from a potential client telling me she reached out to me because I looked the most approachable!”

-Alyssa

Watching Alyssa in action made me want to take advantage of CoChic’s services, and so I hired her to do some personal shopping and styling for me. Fashion can be a bit intimidating for me, but Alyssa make it so easy. She really listened to what I wanted in terms of style and budget, and I was blown away by how spot on her choices were. She struck the perfect balance of selecting some pieces that were classically “me,” as well as some that pushed my style boundaries a bit. She gave honest feedback as I tried on each item and was willing to exchange sizes, when necessary. I was so grateful and ended up purchasing most of what she chose for me. At the end I felt stylish, confident, and comfortable – so I can attest that CoChic’s values are felt in every part of the process! Alyssa is truly a breath of fresh air and makes fashion approachable. So whether you need a wardrobe refresh, a closet clean out, wedding styling services, or just a few new pieces for your upcoming personal branding shoot, she’s your gal!