Tell us about yourself
I am a fashion blogger, personal stylist & image consultant trained in London. I am a graduate from Delhi and have also completed well-recognised beauty courses to add to my expertise. I belong to a humble family and am happily married. Besides this, I am a digital marketer with over 11 years of experience.
Tell us about Fashion For Royals – When did you set it up, what styling services you provide
FashionForRoyals started as a digital platform in 2012 because of my love for fashion and my aim to help people get more out of their lives. Despite being forever passionate about dressing up, there was a time when, as a young girl, I struggled with my fashion choices and realised how it actually can boost or bring down your confidence. That’s where the idea of extending personal professional styling services came in the picture. Keeping this in mind, today I want to use it as a medium to guide everyone out there, from my own learning and self exploration of both the fashion and beauty world.
The services include personal styling and image consultation sessions, whether it is for a specific occasion like a wedding, party, red carpet event or just for a personality makeover. My aim is to make my professional services available to each and every person across the globe by going digital. It will have an element of personal touch with one to one styling for people to take up face to face or virtually. I want to help women who want to look great and styled well by using practical and professional instructions on how to go about it; keeping in mind the current trend in clothes, makeup, accessories and personality of an individual.
What is your target market?
My target market is anyone looking to learn more about fashion, evolve themselves in their lives and become a more confident individual. I want to break the myth that styling and makeovers are only meant for fashionistas, celebrities, models or actors. Whether you are a next-gen woman who appreciates understated style with just the right notes of glamour and feminine charm, or someone gently blossoming into the woman she aspires to be, you just need to know yourself and discover the latest in global makeup, fashion and everything in between — infused with ideas that work for you.
I love to help people who are stuck in rut and want to bring change in their lives. I treat being stylish and fashionable as a part of one’s lives which can make one feel more confident in every walk of their life and achieve more personally and professionally. I want to show people the different side of their personality and how it can evolve them and their thought process.
What you say would be the USP of the styling services at Fashion For Royals?
The USP of my styling services is that I understand and have learnt both Indian and Western Culture due to my roots and upbringing and my exposure to western world. You will see India’s culture reflecting in my experiments with fashion, but at the same time, living in London and my love for travelling have also added a new global dimension to it. So you will find the best of both worlds perfectly merged together. Another USP is one can use my styling services from any part of the world. I know many people in the UK who love Indian styling but are not confident enough to work around it, so now people from anywhere can have their own personal stylist who can assist them with such makeovers.
Why did you set up Fashion For Royals and what drove you to become an Entrepreneur by becoming an image consultant/stylist?
As a youngster I struggled with fashion choices and hence can really understand the challenges people face in their day-to-day life. I want to help common people explore the finest side of their personality to bring out the best in them. I wanted to make fashion accessible to all. I always have had entrepreneurial spirit in me, so I thought it would be great if I could bring my passion and work together and so decided to start up with FashionForRoyals. Besides this, for the last 10 years I have been working with many start-ups and have helped them achieve a great position in the market.
I think becoming image consultant/personal stylist was a natural progression for me in my career.
What has been your biggest challenge in achieving your success?
My biggest challenge is managing work life balance. I have a young family and I try to make sure I spend quality time with them and not overdo work. I feel so passionate about my work that sometimes gets totally engrossed when working on my projects. Being an entrepreneur demands a lot of time and initially It was a great challenge to overcome. Now I am more relaxed with my functioning and management. Also my husband’s support made it a lot easier for me
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
I am not being modest, but I believe my greatest professional achievement is yet to come. I will try and reconsider this 10 years down the line professionally. However I feel a great sense of achievement in starting my journey from being a girl who struggled in her fashion choices, to becoming an image consultant and styling my clients to look their best using the current fashion trends. Life is unpredictable!
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
My biggest style inspiration is Coco Channel & Marilyn Monroe. Madhubala is great style inspiration when talking about Indian Vintage. My husband is my biggest motivator personally and keeps inspiring me in all spheres of my life
How do you balance your work life and home life?
I try and balance my working hours around my home life. Being an entrepreneur is never 9 to 5 but I try not to over do it and relax with family over evenings and weekends. We also take breaks in-between to go on holidays so can I come back with more enthusiasm and zeal and so far it has worked for us. I believe when you love your work, things also get easier at home.
What advice do you have for women starting out on their own?
My advice to women starting on their own is to be consistent and have faith. It’s easy to lose faith at the start but hard work always pays off in the long run. If you believe in yourself and the work you are doing, you will definitely succeed.
Can you recommend any organisations or networking groups that have particularly helped you on your journey?
I follow Ted Talks consistently for great content, for style and fashion advice its everywhere from shops, to movies, television to fashion magazines.
I also find inspiration in books, reading is a hobby for me and once I pick I book, I won’t stop till I finish it. My ideal day is sipping a cup of coffee lounging on a chair with a book in hand.
If you could ask for one thing to help propel your work what would it be?
Great people, I think every start-up is made of great people who work with the organisation, as I have read one can easily become soleprenuer from entrepreneur.
My aim is to form long term relationship with anyone I work with, and I respect talent, skill & passion.
What does the future hold for you?
Future Looks Bright from where I stand, there are miles to cover as with every venture. I want to continue to do great work, grow FashionForRoyals to become the top fashion and styling platform. I am also looking to add more styling services very soon including Wedding Consulting, Stylist training and a finishing school in coming years.
Website: http://fashionforroyals.com/
About Archana Dhankar, a Successful Founder and Stylist – Fashion For Royals
Born in India and now has love for all things UK, Archana Dhankar is a renowned name in a fashion circuit. Being a beauty expert, stylist & blogger, Archana has an innate talent to make everything more beautiful. A graduate from Delhi, Archana has pursued her styling course from London. Along with that she also has some well recognized beauty courses in her kitty to add value to her interest and profession. Hailing from a business family, her love for styling and fashion comes right from her college days. Though she has forever been passionate about dressing up there was a time when as
a young girl Archana struggled with her fashion choices. And that’s from where the inception of Fashion for Royals took shape — to help other women who want to look great and stylized well by
using practical guidance on how to go about it keeping in mind the current trends and personality of an individual.
FashionForRoyals is listed among the top league of fashion sites in India & UK. Though Archana has been a consultant stylist for many offline, she now aims to make her professional services available to each and every person across the globe by going digital. It will have an element of personal one to one styling for people to take up face to face or virtually.
While her intrinsic love for India’s culture reflects in her experiments with fashion, living in london and her love for travelling added a new global dimension to Archana’s sartorial sense. Archana has the innate flair to envision the perfect cut for every individual and is known for her aesthetic vision, perfection and innovation.
Speaking on Styling and Fashion for Royals, UK based expert, Archana Dhankar says, “Whether you are a next-gen woman who appreciates understated style with just the right notes of glamour and feminine charm, or someone gently blossoming into the woman she aspires to be — I have plenty of inspiration to share. You just need to know yourself and discover the latest in global makeup, fashion and everything in between — infused with ideas that work for you.”
In the midst of multitasking, Archana dons many hats. From being a Head of Digital Marketing to individually running a top rated fashion site and entering in to being an entrepreneur in the styling industry, this incredibly skilled and creative personality truly signifies the spirit of ‘necessity ‘with ‘artistry’.
Archana’s interests other than fashion & styling are reading crime thrillers, travelling, cooking, photography, dancing. She is also trained in kathak, Glass Art and other fine arts.
