Image Consultant Client Intake Form
The intake form is where a session is won or lost. Ask the wrong things and you spend the first half hour recovering; ask the right things and you arrive already knowing what the client needs and what they are afraid of.
See the coursesEverything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.
What yours needs to cover
- ✓ Lifestyle questions, because a wardrobe serves a week rather than an occasion
- ✓ What the client wants to be read as, in their words rather than a list of style labels
- ✓ Practical constraints: budget, laundry, climate, dress codes and what they will not wear
- ✓ Measurements and fit history, asked for neutrally and stored securely
- ✓ What they have tried before and why it did not stick
- ✓ Consent, covering photographs, storage of personal information and how long you keep it
How to use it
- Send it when the booking is confirmed, not on the day, so you can read it before you arrive.
- Keep it under fifteen questions. A form that takes half an hour gets abandoned or answered carelessly.
- Ask about budget plainly and once. Dancing around it costs you the shopping trip later.
- Read it twice before the session and write down the one thing you think they actually want.
What the form is really for
The intake form does two jobs. It gives you the practical facts you would otherwise spend the first half hour collecting, and it tells you what the client is worried about before they have to say it to your face. Appearance is personal, and many people find it easier to write "I have never known what suits me" than to say it in their own bedroom to somebody they met ten minutes ago.
Because of that, the tone of the form matters as much as the questions. Plain, neutral wording with no style jargon and no judgment attached is what gets honest answers. A form that reads like a fashion quiz gets answers designed to impress you.
The questions that earn their place
Start with the week rather than the wardrobe. Ask what a typical week involves, which settings they dress for most, and whether any of those have a dress code. A client who spends four days in an office and one day on a construction site needs a different answer from one who works from home and goes out twice a month.
Then ask how they would like to be read, in their own words. "Approachable but not junior" or "put together without looking like I tried" is the brief the whole session is measured against. Follow it with the practical constraints (budget, laundry, climate, anything they will not wear), and one question about what they have tried before and why it did not last.
For fit, ask which garments always fit well and which never do. That tells you far more than a shape label, and it avoids asking anybody to categorize their own body. Measurements are taken in the session, with the client's agreement, not requested on a form.
Consent and storage
An intake form collects personal information, sometimes including photographs and body measurements. Say on the form what you collect, why, where it is stored and how long you keep it, and ask separately for consent to photographs, with a clear way to say no. Keep it somewhere secure rather than in a shared inbox, and delete what you no longer need.
A filled-in example
| Typical week | Three office days, two from home, weekend with young children |
|---|---|
| How she wants to be read | Capable and calm in meetings, without looking stiff |
| Budget for new pieces | About $600 over the next three months |
| Will not wear | Anything dry-clean only, heels over two inches |
| Always fits well | Straight-leg trousers from one brand, knit tops with some stretch |
| Tried before | Bought a capsule list online, never felt like hers |
| Photographs | Yes to garments, no to her face, delete after the lookbook is sent |
Mistakes to avoid
- Asking for a body shape label. Labels invite self-criticism and are often wrong. Ask what fits and what never does, and take measurements yourself in the session.
- Writing thirty questions. A long form gets skipped or rushed. Keep it under fifteen questions and follow up by phone on anything unclear.
- Collecting photographs without saying why. Photographs are personal information. State the purpose, where they are kept and when they are deleted, and make saying no easy.
- Reading it on the doorstep. Read the form the day before and write down the one thing you think the client actually wants. Arriving prepared is what the form is for.
Image Consultant Client Intake Form FAQs
How do I ask about body shape without offending anybody?
Ask what fits well and what never does, rather than for a shape label. The client knows their own experience of clothes, and you take measurements in the session anyway.
Should I ask for photographs beforehand?
Only with explicit consent and a clear reason. Photographs of a client are personal information, and a form that collects them should say where they are stored and when they are deleted.
What if a client leaves it blank?
Ring them. A blank form is usually nervousness rather than rudeness, and ten minutes on the phone tells you more than the form would have.
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