40 - Sunday, July 29, 1990 - North Shore News Ramona Beauchamp makes women look good THE WORLD’S top fash- ion models have always possessed three crucial physica! qualities: they’ve got the height, the long, sexy legs and flawless com- plexions. By EVELYN JACOB News Reporter But not every aspiring model is born with the prescribed statu- esque proportions, and when Ramona Beauchamp’s friends scoffed at their petite friend for seeking a career in the rough and tough world of fashion she turned out to be the exception that proved the rule. ‘I actually went at it because of a dare,’ says the 5'3”" Beauchamp, who at 50 sti}! looks her former glamorous self. “In high school I had been photographed by the local news- paper photographer, and I was sitting having tea with my friends one day and fF told them that I re- ally wanted to be a model. Weil, they looked at me and had a jolly good laugh...because I’m short and not photogenic, and because there was no fashion industry in Vancouver then.”’ But the teen-aged Beauchamp was determined. She started small, modelling part- time for com- munity and church fashion shows, and grew up to become one of Vancouver’s best-known faces, landing modelling assignments with Eaton’s and Max Factor. But it was her modelling agency and schoo! that made her an in- stitution among Vancouver actors and models. For more than two decades the Ramona Beauchamp Internationa! school was the place for aspiring models and businesses looking for beautiful people. Rather than employ instructors whose only experience was in the classroom, Beauchamp invited film directors, producers, and models from Milan, Paris and London to teach students how to AFFLUENCE¢ RAMONA BEAUCHAMP sold her reputable Vancouver modelling agency three years ago and has since 2INFLUENCE opened her own women’s clothing store, Labels, on the Plaza of Nations. walk, talk, and flash their pearly whites for the cameras. But 23 years of success even in the world of glamor wasn’t enough to keep her happy. As the saying goes, she found it lonely at the top. Three years ago, she sold the school, but retirement wasn’t ex- actly her cup of tea. Last year she opened, along with business part- ner Janet Cave, her own women’s clothing design company, Labels Inc., on the Plaza of Nations site. “IL was very unhappy in the last years of Ramona Beauchamp because most of the time | was stuck in the office while everybody else was working with people. And I wanted to work with people,’’ she explains, sitting in her spacious store surrounded by reams of fabric and custom- made designer suits and jackets. Today, Beauchamp has got her wish. Labels, the women’s clothing industry’s answer to a custom tailor shop, allows her to work di- rectly with people on a daily basis, planning and designing individual wardrobes for clients, hair, make- up and even diet. The intimate contact with cus- tomers is what she likes best about her job, and, of course, seeing the results of her efforts. The end result is particulariy rewarding when it comes to witnessing the transformation of entire groups. In addition to counseliing individuals, Beauchamp has counselled emp!oyees of corporations — such as the Pan Pacific and Greyhound — on grooming and personal ap- pearance. Getting a new business up and running involves long hours, but ONO TRANSMISSIONS & & MUFFLERS GUARANTEED SERVICE! DOMESTIC/IMPORT CARS Beauchamp says it doesn’t in- terfere with her personal life. “I"ve been married to Terry (CKNW broadcaster Terry Moore) for eight years. He has his career and !| have mine. He is a very un- derstanding man who has great confidence in himself. Some men don’t like their wives working, but he allows me to live my life and doesn't interfere with that.”” Besides which, workaholic is not a term she uses to describe herself. *'T like co work, I’ve worked all my life. Bue I don’t think of myself as a workaholic. My father Includes: SRAKE e Es TRANSMISSION NEWS photo Nell Lucente was killed when | was very young and my mother had four children and she couldn't supply us with all the extras. If | wanted a skirt I had to go out and earn the money to get it. | started working ata very early age and I think you form patterns.”’ Beauchansp says that having a strong family has been a great support. **My daughters are incredibly loving and my step-children are like my own,’ she says. **Everything else is just icing on the cake.” AUTOMATIC SERVICE ¢ 1 925 | ¢ Complete road check _* Remove and Clean Transmission Pan e Change Gasket ¢ New Fluid * Make Any Necessary Adjustments COMPLETE 4 WHEEL BRAKE JO8* *Machine Rotors * Repack Bearings « Adjust Brakes » Road Test ¢ Metallic OPEN MON. TO SAT. 8:30 TO 5:00 P.M. fe “ | 860 WEST 15TH ST, NORTH VANCOUVER 9849581 | c.conp2__| FELL AVE ° Reprace Brake Sror 7 Resurtace Drums $ "59 « Replace Disc Pads ®* lop Up Brake ul Linings and FW.D. Extra 8 “MOST CARS COURTESY CARS AVAILABLE Also see our 2nd location at: an 2639 Kingsway, Vancouver — 436-1633 _