5 Things I Tell My Clients
Could there really just be 5 things that I tell my clients? Yep!
Let’s back up for a minute. Getting to this point was no feat. I worked tirelessly for years to understand what would make my business different from any other stylist. My goal is to provide confidence in each and every one of my clients through their wardrobe. So here’s the thing, this isn’t just a business for me, it’s about digging deeper and understanding people’s relationships with their clothes, their thoughts and thought processes when shopping for new items (essentially their buying habits) and why they’ve gotten to this point in their style journey. For this to make sense, I had to start with my personal relationship with clothes, shopping and my own body type/image.
As a designer and creator for 10+ years (that’s the starting point I’m referring to) I began to realize that fashion, style and clothing was much more about the actual garment, how it was made and how it made it to the store or online shop. It was actually about the feeling, experience and fit. The way it made people feel, how that experience in purchasing that item panned out and how well (or not) it fit them. This was the secret sauce! This was the perspective that I needed to better understand the client. I shopped, and shopped and shopped a lot more and each time I honed in on these 3 concepts: feeling, experience and fit. Each time I made a note of how they changed from one brand or retailer to the next. Each time, I stopped and really thought about how these concepts actually affected me and invariably brought me to feeling confident, cool and badass. So what does that mean for you?
#1: Feeling
How do YOU want to feel? What makes YOU feel good? What are your perfect “feeling” words to describe how you want to feel when you’ve gotten dressed each day, evening or for an event? Mine…confident, cool and badass!
#2: Experience
You choose – it’s your life after all, right? What experience do you wish to have when it comes to buying clothing? Do you want it to be quick and painless? Maybe you’d prefer it to be calculated and meticulous. Whatever you wish for it to be, that experience is extremely important in your process. I’ll take…meticulous, organized and creative every time!
#3: Fit
Do you understand your body, the shape, how to play with your proportions, how to modify items with tailoring to fit you perfectly? Listen (and you’ll hear me say this again), clothing isn’t designed for you. It’s designed for a fit model with measurements and proportions that are likely different from your own. I know, because I’ve been a designer. But what I know even better is how to make these items fit you, no matter your proportions, measurements or size.
So I said 5 right? The last two are slightly different from the first 3, but equally important. See, here’s the thing…you can’t have the first 3 without thinking about the last 2. They’ll be consistent key words in your style journey and might even evolve along the way. So let’s talk about this evolution.
I love fashion, I literally get excited about button detailing, zipper placement and even material composition. It’s real! My job isn’t just to understand these things, but it’s to understand that you as my client could very well care less. Oh – and that’s perfectly ok. Here’s the thing, I need to know these things so that I can better serve you, as my client on this style journey we’re on together. Here’s why…
I do this for a living. I personally style clients – whether that’s shopping, wardrobe and closet organization or event styling. You don’t. Your attention is in a different place – you have another job whether it’s at home or in an office, with your children or pets or your co-workers – that’s your focus. Your wardrobe needs to be geared towards YOUR specific needs.
#4: Style Needs
Stealthy SATM? I have an idea of what you need in your closet. Badass Attorney? I’ve got a wardrobe capsule in mind for you. Balancing two careers? I’ll make your wardrobe overlap in ways you never thought possible. Too tired to be bothered? I do all the heavy lifting. There is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL! It’s just bulls*it. Apologies for that, but really…it’s not a thing. I don’t have pre-programmed molds for you and no one should, I create a custom service solely for you and for you only based on your style needs.
#5: Time
If you’ve got it, I bet you never thought of spending it on a Personal Fashion Stylist. Here’s the deal, we don’t have a lot of time these days – everything just moves faster than it ever has before. However, in order for your style journey to start, you have to MAKE THE TIME FOR YOURSELF. Consider it self care, personal time or whatever makes this time worth it to you. I promise, if you dedicate the time to yourself, you won’t regret it.
Without understanding your Style Needs and dedicating Time to your style journey you’ll never be able to launch into a new style journey. We’ll work together to ultimately foster a better relationship with your wardrobe, body and clothing choices and to cultivate a lasting feeling of_______ _______ _______(you get to fill in those blanks!)
