Seeking style advice? Your professor may not be the first person you have in mind. But for some lucky Steinhardt MCC (that’s Media, Culture, and Communication) students, hitting up their professor isn’t all that implausible.

In fact, Professor Anna Akbari’s whole curriculum is geared towards the beauty and fashion industry: she teaches three seminars to MCC students: Media and Identity, Fashion and Power, and Beauty and the Body. They are all, according to Akbari, “very demanding classes with very sexy titles.” Students who sign up to experience shopping at Saks in a class: beware.

“They are very theoretical and very academic,” says Akbari of her classes. “One thing I say to the students first is that this is not a fashion history class, this is not a celebration of couture. This is a very serious class and we read a lot of very heavy sociological texts.”

But the seriousness of the classes shouldn’t be all that’s surprising, considering that Akbari graduated from The New School with a Ph.D in visual sociology, with a focus on “visual self presentation and identity construction.” That pretty much means she’s actually a fashion expert, y’all.  Oh yeah, and not only is she taking her expertise to the classroom and teaching it to her students, she’s also using it as the keystone to her new fashion consulting service, Closet Catharsis.

Though Akbari started Closet Catharsis a few years ago, she’s only started to expand and market the service in the recent year. According to Akbari, Closet Catharsis is a personal fashion consulting service that focuses on “taking a look at the way that [people] are presenting themselves and are being perceived by their various audiences,” and then “assessing how they can strategically project a more effective image.”

For 890 dollars, Akbari will make you take her through your closet and tell her about yourself, then compile a hefty personal style report for you including tips the clothes she thinks are right for you, and actually take you shopping! Her end goal, she says, is to help her clients feel empowered by the wardrobe decisions they make: “It’s really about tapping into who they are and who they like to be.”

Akbari admits that the service is a bit of an investment, but “it really is much more cost effective than if you go out and make some poor purchases.”

“It’s not about getting a bargain,” she stresses. “It’s about investing in something that’s sustainable. And that’s very different than a quick fix.” She even reveals that she once helped a heretofore unattractive male client get some female attention. So, single ladies and gents out there, take note!

In fact, Akbari is looking towards the NYU student population for her next set of clients. She says she loves “working with people who are in some sort of transition,” like, for example, seniors who are graduating from college and need to make a transition from a student identity to a more professional one.

If you want to learn more, she also has a seminar coming up in conjunction with the Fashion Business Association, on “how to look smart and dress-for-success in a non cheesy sort of way.”

The event will be held at Kimmel 908 on Thursday, Feb. 24th from 6:00-7:30, so mark the date and go learn about business attire that will compliment your body as well as help you look professional. And while you’re at it, maybe book an appointment or two with professor Akbari. Who knows? She could become your next stylist!

You can follow Professor Akbari on Twitter at @AnnaAkbari

(Image courtesy Anna Akbari)