Sometimes brands will have press offices in smaller cities , but no samples. If this is the case, then the local press agent can usually arrange for you to borrow from a store or get a sample shipped in on your behalf. Borrow from the stores. Some stores will lend clothes for shoots. If it is a big brand, they will usually need approval from head office.
If it is a smaller brand, they might ask that you pay or put down a deposit for the clothing, but are willing to refund you if things get returned in good shape. If you mess something up, be prepared to pay for it! Borrow from local designers. This is a great option, particularly if you are doing work for a local publication.
Again, nurture these relationships and be good to people. Shop vintage or your own closet. It is ok to feature vintage pieces or older season if you are not working for a top fashion magazine, and this is a great trick to use when you are building your portfolio. So, I sought to learn more about the people who get to call shopping a significant part of their job.
Of course, it's much more than that, and there isn't just one way to go about entering this entrepreneurial career. We spoke with several women — one who focuses on the contemporary market, one who works exclusively with Nordstrom , one who styles celebrities and does costume design in addition to personal styling and one who's building a team of stylists to work across the country — to learn what it really takes to get people to pay you to build their wardrobes.
While those of us who work in the fashion industry may find joy in shopping and getting dressed every day — and thus not see the appeal of having someone else do it for us — many others do not, but still want to dress well and on-trend.
Leesa Evans does personal styling for people in a range of professions , from Hollywood executives to entrepreneurs, in addition to costume design, celebrity styling and designing a clothing line called Le Cloud with client Amy Schumer.
Even for those who may not feel suited to self-employment, there's a growing need for personal stylists at digital-native platforms like Stitch Fix and Trunk Club which also has in-person options , as well as at brick-and-mortar retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.
Most department stores have some version of a personal styling service. Or, you could work for someone like Bree Jacoby, who is working to build out her membership-based personal styling startup with a growing team of stylists, as well as a backend platform for personal shoppers. They want to buy; they're ready to do it. I think they're just getting a little tired of it not taking them to the 'next level.
Lublin worked in retail as a teenager and went on to become a talent booker for E! She took a break from work to have children and got back into it when a friend asked her to style e-commerce shoots for Ella Moss and Splendid. From that gig, friends and friends of friends started asking her to style them and it quickly snowballed.
Amanda Schwartz, a Nordstrom personal stylist in Nashville, owned her own boutique before also taking a break to have kids, joining Nordstrom as a personal stylist for her second career. For Evans, personal styling came out of her work as a costume designer — she's done films like " Zoolander 2 " and "Bridesmaids" — and both actors and executives would ask her to style them for their daily lives.
She feels her experience, as well as her passion for art, made her a good fit for this career. Later, after taking a break from fashion, she became a stylist for Trunk Club before striking out on her own.
Each of the stylists we spoke with named word-of-mouth as their number-one way of reaching new clients, though every now and then someone might find them through Instagram. For a less-established stylist or one without a built-in way of finding clients like working with a retailer , more hustling and networking may be necessary. Jacoby and her team think about their potential clients' lifestyles and find them in places like Soho House or by participating in summits and panels attended by high-level executives.
If you're not a very self-motivated person, it would be almost impossible. It's also difficult to find the right pieces for your client, especially given that standard sizing is not designed to fit every body type perfectly — and personal stylists are generally dressing a much wider range of shapes and sizes than celebrity stylists.
Also busty [versus] not busty. People have so many things: 'I don't like to show my arms. Your portfolio doesn't have to be huge, but designers would expect to see some images of models not just landscapes. A link to an Instagram account or a straightforward website is perfect; designers don't want to hunt for pictures and probably not look at more than about 30 pictures.
Some dresses are very delicate and challenging to make, and designers wouldn't lend them to a photographer they didn't know unless they were very established. Designers would be there to look after it you wouldn't believe the number of models who try and eat or drink in white silk sample dresses!
Others are more robust or easier to clean and mend. The best way to get a response is to say which is your preferred dress, but be clear that you'd be flexible. There are many photographers with no real plan in place or idea of what they'll be shooting.
Designers will never give a dress out to these photographers because they are cautious about which hits will make their dresses shine. When you email, outline exactly what you want to do with the shoot, what sort of theme and genre you expect the images to have, who else you hope to collaborate with, and where you would like to shoot.
Designers are creatives, so they understand that these plans may change, but much more likely to get excited and reply if you can give them a clear idea of what the images will look like. Mood boards are great for this, but so is Pinterest. As a rule of thumb, designers will be much more relaxed about lending their dresses for indoor photo shoots rather than for walks on the beach or through muddy fields. The best way to make sure you can borrow from a designer more than once is to promptly edit the images and make sure that they've seen them and know where you are planning on submitting them.
It is understood that this process takes a month or two, but nothing puts a designer off more than lending to a photographer than having to wait months and months for images, by which point they start to look out of season. The most important thing is that you are genuine and don't let setbacks knock your confidence. Designers can't lend dresses to every photographer that gets in touch, and it's often more of a logistical issue than a personal one.
You need one or two images of previous work to link to when you approach new PRs or designers about borrowing clothes. This is evidence that you are a fashion stylist.
They don't have to be published images. A great way to get these pictures is to do test shoots. Collaborate with photographers, makeup artists, hair stylists and other creatives who want to build their portfolios.
Once a PR or designer can see evidence you have shot clothes before, they are more likely to feel comfortable lending clothes to you. No stylist starting can go straight to Gucci. Work your way up. Look at emerging designers and check out those who are still at university — you might find the next big thing. Try local boutiques and source clothes from your wardrobe and friends. A classic trick is to buy the clothes you want to shoot, hide the tab from the camera and then return the items for a refund.
Remember that creating an image has nothing to do with the label on the item of clothing; it's what you do with that piece. Pulling clothes is about mutual trust. A brand or PR agency will lend out their clothes if they believe that:. You create trust by being professional at all times — from your first request to when you return the clothes. This means taking care of the clothes, crediting correctly and being as transparent about your process as possible — including being honest if something has gone wrong.
What to include in your email approach to designers or PR agencies:. Being a stylist is a real job, which means there are real responsibilities involved.
S o if you want to pursue a career in styling, below are some golden rules to keep in mind when you're borrowing items. Brands and designers are not obliged to lend you their items. And since you're the one who's asking for a favour, make sure to ask nicely and approach them professionally. If they don't reply within the day, it's okay to send a follow-up text or email; they may have been busy, so they forgot to respond to your inquiry. But if after that your pull-out request still hasn't been granted, respect that and refrain from bombarding them with one message after another.
Even if it's just a pair of socks, guard it with your life okay, fine, this may be an exaggeration. For all you know, it might've taken someone from dawn to dusk working on that one piece of clothing—always keep in mind that there's a lot of time, effort, and resources that have been put into it, so borrowing an item only to neglect it is an ugly form of disrespect. This one is self-explanatory. Especially if you did not pay a single dime for the worn item, the least you could do is give credit where it's due.
If you're posting a photo on social media, be diligent in tagging the brands or the designers—what's two minutes of your time to check the correct spelling of their names or Instagram handles anyway? I t's nothing compared to the amount of time and effort they spent working on each piece, and given that, they still agreed to lend you their prized garments. So again, make sure you uphold your end of the bargain and credit accordingly.
The standard practice is to return within a week after the items have been pulled out. Some stores are very strict with this rule, and with good reasons; for one, they have to do regular inventories, and every day that their products aren't on the shelves is a missed opportunity for them to translate those items into potential sales. That said, if you had time to borrow, then it's only fair you make time to return.
Holding onto the borrowed items for more than seven days is already pushing the envelope.
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