I have been called so many things. I’ve been called an image consultant, style consultant, personal shopper and stylist. I don’t bother correcting anyone when they call me any of these names because there really isn’t a proper term to describe what many of us in the profession do. However, there are some subtle distinctions which you should be clear on. While I for one could call myself all of the above, typically, image consultant is a very broad profession. People with very public careers, like politicians and celebrities, hire image consultants who work with a team to help shape the public image of these folks, especially when something goes terribly wrong. Additionally, many image consultants are trained and qualified in the area of etiquette, public speaking, media training and other areas of visual communication. However, not all image consultants specialise or are required to have training in any of these areas. Image consultant is a broad term that can have many different meanings.
Personal shoppers are not stylists, typically. Personal shoppers usually focus solely on the shopping aspect of a client’s needs. They usually don’t do at-home appointments, closet edits or anything beyond helping a client shop. This is only a fraction of what a stylist can do for you. Personal shoppers can either work for a store or independently. They also can be hired for things beyond fashion, like shopping for gifts and other non-fashion items.
Style consultant is another tricky term, simply because many retailers have started calling their sales associates style consultants. This irks me beyond belief because usually a sales associate in a store isn’t trained beyond doing typical sales associate things – like ringing customers up, stocking the floors, selling and cleaning out dressing rooms. Style consultant is a made up term that had no meaning in the retail world but some personal stylists use the term style consultant in lieu of stylist. When I started my career I used the title Style Consultant but abandoned it once the term was usurped by retailers and online fashion sources.
What are the stylist’s credentials?
If I had a nickel for every time I heard that someone decided to become a stylist because people told them they always dress well, that all their friends ask them for fashion advice, or because they’ve had a passion for fashion their whole life and that becoming a stylist seemed like the best way to gain entrance into this profession, well, I’d be a rich woman who would never need to style another woman again. It takes a whole lot more skill than being a well dressed friend’s go-to fashion expert to be qualified to style others.
Now I’m not saying that a successful stylist has to have two decades worth of fashion training, to be a good one. However, what I am saying is that a stylist should have a respect for their profession and a desire to learn beyond the basics of good fashion sense. This is not nearly enough to be qualified. Even I, who wanted to leave my fashion design career and start working as a stylist, went back to school and took classes on image consulting. In addition, please be very cautious of any stylist who merely has a media presence and no qualifications beyond that. Just because a stylist creates a pretty blog of outfit photos or gets sponsors to make them look qualified doesn’t mean that they have any experience. In this day and age it is very easy to pull the wool over the eyes of many consumers. Which leads me to my next, very important, point.
It’s about you, not about them
A good stylist often has a media presence, but not all do. Speaking for myself, I’ve done television appearances as a style expert, I write a blog, have written articles for major magazines and websites and have been quoted in tons of major publications as an expert. However, while my media presence may make me visible, I keep this world and my private client world very separate. In fact, there are some clients who hire me who have no idea who I am publicly and some don’t even know that I’ve written fashion blogs or that I have ever been on TV. When I work with a client, it’s about them, not me.
Stylists have to earn a living and we often do it in many ways. Some of us get spokesperson roles, monetize our blogs, write for other publications, and more. Stylists who have a presence like this aren’t bad and all of us have to do what we have to do to promote our businesses and create multiple income streams to sustain. In addition, when a stylist does become well known, media and sponsored opportunities come quite naturally. However, I have met so many “style experts” out there who are all flash and absolutely no substance. Here they are giving style advice having never once zipped a woman into the back of a dress. Just be careful. While media and stylist work can go hand-in-hand, a good stylist may not necessarily always be the one who is constantly on TV.
Services that stylists offer
Like the fact that stylists can go by many different names, the services that a stylist can provide can vary. I am an all inclusive stylist, meaning that I will do everything from style development, shopping with clients, closet edits, color analysis and outfit styling sessions. One thing I want to make very clear is a stylist is not an organiser, unless they claim to be one in their credentials. While we often come in to help you weed through your closet and give you ideas on how to better manage the clothing, don’t welcome us in to your messy closet expecting us to organize it for you. Yes, some closets that I’ve worked in have been outrageously disorganised and have taken multiple hours to cull through, but if you are looking for someone to come in and clean your closet but not necessarily advise you on style, consider an organiser, not a stylist.
Regardless of the services that a stylist offers, they should be presented to you in a professional manner and the stylist should have enough sense and skill to know what services are right for you and how to either package or present how to move forward. This goes back to my point about a stylist running themselves a business. When you call on them to inquire you should feel like you are calling a seasoned business professional, not an inexperienced person who seems to be winging it.
If you’ve been staring at your closet and can’t find anything to wear, are worried that your professional image isn’t getting you where you want in your career or are in transition and feel that your look needs an upgrade, it might be the right time to hire a fashion stylist. Yes, it can be an investment, but never once has a client told me it was a waste of money. In fact, in the end, they usually wind up saving thousands of Euro’s because of the style direction they have received. As you begin your research for your own stylist, I hope these tips and my advice will help you. Always remember, a good stylist will respect you, their skills and their profession.
