How much confusion can a title cause? It’s funny in these past couple of weeks I’ve had at least 3 calls from women wanting to book onto the ‘Train to be a Wardrobe Stylist’ course who have been in total confusion as to what the job actually entails. Luckily I offer every potential delegate a free 30-minute consultation/chat to find out everything they need to know before committing to any training at our Academy so there’s no embarrassing moment where they realised they’ve actually enrolled on to the completely wrong course! Yes, there are two completely different job descriptions for the exact same ‘wardrobe stylist’ title!
1) A Wardrobe Stylist can also be known as a ‘Fashion Stylist’ or a ‘Celebrity Stylist’.
A Wardrobe Stylist in this context is a consultant/specialist who selects the clothing for editorial features, print and television advertising campaigns, music videos and any public appearances made by celebrities, models or other public figures.
They are often part of a larger creative team assembled by the client, collaborating with the fashion designer, photographer/director, hair stylist, and makeup artist to put together a particular look or theme for the specific project.
Although the job description varies greatly depending on each assignment more often than not it’s not as glamorous as it sounds. The hours are long and like most jobs in ‘fashion’ you have to be prepared to start at the bottom and work for not much money.
With hard work and the right connections of course you will succeed but as many of my celebrity stylists friends say by the time they get established and respected in the industry they’re pretty much burnt out!
2) A Wardrobe Stylist can also be known as a ‘Wardrobe Analyst’.
A Wardrobe Stylist in this context is what a conventional Image Consultant is known as and is responsible for the clients ‘at home’ wardrobe, be it a regular person or even a celebrity client. Put another way, it’s the styling and advising on the items that the celebrity client actually owns and wears vs. what she wears and returns for a shoot.
A wardrobe stylist’s main aim is to advise on the existing items in her client’s wardrobe. Are they working for or against her: Do they suit her body shape? Are they flattering his/her colouring? Are they appropriate for their existing lifestyle? Can items be saved with alterations or is time to donate, give away or ebay? In short the goal is to build their client their personalised Capsule Wardrobe: key items that can be dressed up or down, season-to-season, day to night so that getting dressed for whatever the occasion becomes a breeze.
Although option 2 doesn’t exactly sound glamorous there is definitely more of a demand for this kind of Wardrobe Stylist; who doesn’t know someone who would love to get their wardrobe together? Everyone could do with professional help and when you do the job well the recommendations will follow. It doesn’t stop there, Wardrobe Styling sessions are nearly always followed by Personal Shopping trips and that’s when the glamour starts as you get to restyle your client in latest collections that actually do end up in real wardrobes not just in a glossy magazine.
Want to enrol on our next Wardrobe Styling course? Contact us here