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Sisters who stick together

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Sunday Aug 19 2007

YOUNGER sisters often complain about older sisters offering unsolicited opinions, yet in Siobhan Tuite's house, her older sibling's phone number is on speed-dial, and she and her housemates regularly call Fiona whenever they need help on matters of style, make-up and dress.

"I call her every weekend to ask her what I should wear," says Siobhan, 24, who is six years younger than Fiona, "and she has always been fantastic for helping me dress for an interview, function, or party."

As part of her prize for becoming the Sydney Rose, in 2002, Fiona won a session with an image consultant, and the experience impressed her so much that she embarked on a career in the same area. She set up an image and style consultancy, called the Whole Shebang, and now has clients in Dublin, New York and Sydney.

Fiona and Siobhan, and their middle sister Karen, grew up in Sydney, where their parents ran a pub called the Mean Fiddler.

"Our dad, Larry, is from Dundalk, and our mum, Briege, is from south Armagh," says Fiona. "After they got married, they went to Australia for a year for an adventure, but loved it so much they stayed there. We all have a very strong work ethic, because we helped out in the family business while growing up, clearing tables and working behind the bar as we got older."

The sisters always got on well together, apart from an incident in which Fiona persuaded three-year-old Siobhan that a spoonful of vegemite was actually Nutella!

"Siobhan was the cutest child you've ever seen," says Fiona. "Karen and I used to fight over her, because she was absolutely beautiful, and never stopped smiling. She was a good back-up, and, as teenagers, if we were going out somewhere we weren't supposed to be, she would never dob on us, although we might occasionally have to bribe her with chocolate."

The girls have kept very strong links with Ireland, visiting every year and spending time with their huge Irish family. "We have 52 first cousins," says Siobhan, "and our parents have a house in Dundalk. Irish dancing was a huge part of our lives for almost 20 years, and we were both Australian champions at one point."

The girls were separated for about four years when Fiona went off to college, after which she went travelling.

"I really missed her," says Siobhan. "She's my big sister! I used to call her before I went to bed at night, and she'd be somewhere like Egypt, India, or the Middle East."

Fiona came to Dublin in 1998, and she did her Master's in marketing at the Michael Smurfit Business School. A few years later, Siobhan came over and studied there as well. Fiona went to work in brand management with Irish Distillers, and went back to Australia to work as a brand manager for the LVMH Group (Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessy), which deals in luxury goods.

She became the Sydney Rose in 2002, which she describes as a "fantastic experience."

"The competition was so much fun, and working with the image consultant was really the first time I had ever learned anything about colour, style and your body shape. The stylist really opened my eyes to what was possible, and to beautiful jewel colours that I would never have worn before. It made me realise that what I really wanted to do was to help other women feel and look their best."

Fiona did her training at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and worked with an image consultancy company there for two-and-a-half years. She set up her own company, the Whole Shebang, and at that point, decided to move to Ireland, where Siobhan had come to live and study.

"I love Dublin, and it's really nice that Siobhan and I are both here now," says Fiona, who also travels to her clients in New York and Sydney. "I look at clients' wardrobes, and their hair and make-up, and take a holistic approach to everything, working out which styles and colours are the best. I genuinely love helping people to look and feel good, and there is a great demand for the service."

There is an element of Trinny and Susannah about Fiona's work, but with one vital difference.

"I'm never mean!" she laughs. "There can be a little bit of tough love involved at times, but it's all done in a loving and encouraging way. You have to be sensitive to clients, and it's all about bringing out the person that's in their heart. I take people shopping, but I'll have done the pre-shopping first, and picked out suggested items, to take the hassle and stress out of it."

Siobhan did a degree in sociology, industrial relations and gender studies in Sydney, and she came to Dublin to do a postgraduate diploma in business studies, and a Master's in management, also at the Michael Smurfit school. She is now working with the telecoms section of AIB.

"I love it here, and I've made a really great group of friends," she says. "Fiona is living around the corner from me, and we're so lucky that we get to see each other so regularly. She's very personable and really good with people, and has always been so encouraging of me. Her image- consultancy business is brilliant, and she's really interested in learning about what people want to achieve out of the whole session."

With their parents dividing their time between Sydney and Dundalk, and a strong possibility that sister Karen will come over to live here as well, it seems that Ireland will feature strongly in the Tuite sisters' future.

"We're both single at the moment," says Fiona, "so who knows, we might meet two nice Irish men and have little Irish babies?"

The Whole Shebang (087 933 4613; or email fiona@wholeshebang.org)

The Rose of Tralee, RTE 1, 8 pm, tomorrow and Tuesday