How to Become a Personal Stylist

A personal stylist is a relatively new profession. To be a stylist, you should have a keen sense of fashion and be able to dress a wide range of bodies types for all sorts of events and occasions. Celebrities are so vocal about having personal stylists that everyday people are also hiring stylists; now is the time to get in the business.

Things You'll Need

• An eye for fashion
• Experience dressing different body types
• Enjoy shopping
• Business cards
• Website

Instructions

1. Study fashion religiously. Look through every magazine monthly and watch fashion shows on television. The Bravo and E channels have a lot of shows that will teach you about style and styling practices. Read every book you can find. Educate yourself about fashion and designers. You should know every current hip designer and their signature style.

2. Get a degree in fashion if you can. If not try to get an internship at a design house, fashion marketing firm or work for a celebrity. Working for a celebrity as a personal assistant is one of the easiest ways to break into the business. Make great suggestions to the celebrity and you will be the natural choice for the position of personal stylist.

3. Use some friends and family members as prototypes. Take a photo of them on a unstylish day when they look quite blah. Then, dress and style them according to what their day entails. Take an after photo to compare. Create a book of your before and after photos. Fill it in also with commentary about what you styled them in, what they were dressed for (event, normal day, etc.) and even include a bit about their personality and personal style. This is the beginning of your portfolio.

4. Go into a local store that seems to do quite well and offer to have a "day of styling." As customers come in, treat them to your styling services for free. You will demonstrate your style services and create business for the store because, naturally, your customers will buy items from the store according to how you style them. Make sure you have business cards made ahead of time and pass these out to people throughout the day. Repeat this at other stores to give yourself more exposure. Offer a discount or some other treat to people who hire you as a result of this consultation.

5. Start a website that lists your services and shows your portfolio. You can also start a blog about the current trends; include simple tips and tricks so that clients will be enticed to visit your site on a regular basis and call you when they need help getting styled for a special occasion or new job. That's all it takes! Continue to build your business and your clientele will grow as well. Good luck!

Tips & Warnings

• Take before and after pictures of all of your clients, even the ones you style for free.

• Don't insult or offend anyone about their size(s).

• Purchase great accessories when you see them on clearance or on sale because you can likely use them in the future for one of your clients.