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Style Startup: Tips and Tools for Aspiring Personal Stylists
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items Thinking about becoming a personal stylist? Here are some of the key things I have picked up in five years on the job.
Note: This list contains some affiliate links. It won't cost you any more, but if you choose to purchase I may receive a small commission.
Note: This list contains some affiliate links. It won't cost you any more, but if you choose to purchase I may receive a small commission.
Sections
5
Style Education
Stylist Communities
Personal Stylist Tools
Getting Your Business Known
Time and Money
Style Education
Before getting started have a look at other stylists and decide what types of services and customers you are interested in. This section includes links to different stylist blogs, youtube channels and more to give you some idea of what other stylists...
While I wrote this article for potential clients, it contains a good overview of the different types of stylists that I have encountered. Which type of stylist would you like to be?
Personal Stylists: Is WearAble Wardrobes the Right Fit for You?
The basics of Colour and Style that I use the most in my work. And a blatant plug for my own website.
WearAble Wardrobes Blog - 101 Series
Fun and educational. I love hue is a great game for getting your eye in and recognising different colours and how they look depending on the colours they are next to.
I Love Hue | App Store
Following Imogen got me interested in style. She posts multiple times most weeks on youtube and one her website.
Imogen Lamport | You Tube
Nat's approach to style is very different to what I was taught. I follow her to get a different perspective on style.
Nat Tucker - Make It Look Easy
The Vivianne Files looks at different ways to create a Wardrobe Capsule based on the colour of the clothes. While there is no guarantee they will work for a particular body shape, the Vivianne Files is great for inspiration.
The Vivienne Files - Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature
Audrey provides tips on how she puts together outfits and a standardised approach to creating a wardrobe.
Putting Me Together
Pantone is the best resource I have found for staying up to date with colour trends. It gives you a good idea of what colours will be appearing in the stores, and how hard it will be to help clients shop for clothes.
Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report, New York, Spring/Summer 2025
While I don't encourage my clients to follow trends, keeping up to date is essential for a fashion stylist and will also give you an idea about what will be appearing in stores.
Fashion News and Trends: Designers, Models, Style Guides | Vogue
Best course for understanding why style guidelines exist. This is where I did my training. Imogen at AOPI is lovely to train with and what's the best for all her clients. I love that because I know why different guidelines exist I have been able to adapt my services as I learn more from other stylists and my clients.
Online Training in Colour & Style | Academy of Professional Image
Stylist Communities
Networking with other stylists is good for skill development and great for your sanity. Here are some of the best ones I have found.
The professional body of personal stylists and image consultants runs regular training and an international conference once a year. Local chapters also run training and networking events.
Association of Image Consultants International
This is a fabulous group of stylists who are all out to support each other.
Fashion and Personal Stylists Connect. We value community over...
This group is lead by the Image Innovators. While they promote their courses and material, the also support the sharing information and courses from other organisations. This is a large and active community.
International Image Consultant & Stylist Collective | Facebook
My iPad is my workhorse. I use it for presenting information to clients, recording notes, doing research and for staying connected with my business when away from home.
iPad | Apple
Personal Stylist Tools
When you train as a personal stylist you normally get access to the drapes and colour palletes of the system you learn. These are the other tools to make it easier to deliver personal styling services.
A Colour Wheel is a useful too for explaining colour concepts such as showing people examples of analogous, triadic and complementary colours.
Colour Wheel | Amazon
A portable clothes rack allows you to remove a client's clothes from their wardrobe so you can assess each item before you put it back. I have two like this and love that they fold up nicely to go in the back of the car - albeit with one seat down. Unlike cheaper ones, they don't bend over time either.
Clothing Garment Rack | Amazon
Pins are useful to show clients how their clothes would look if they were to shorten or take them in, but also to pin notes to clothes that require alterations and say what needs to happen to them.
Sewing Pins | Amazon
Measuring tapes are useful for measuring a client (if necessary) prior to a shopping trip and for ensuring hems are a consistent length.
Tape Measure | Amazon
Lint removers are great for removing stray hairs and dust. They can safe an outfit from needing to the dry cleaners. In a pinch, sticky tape can be used instead.
Lint Roller | Mr Siga | Amazon
Useful to help a client organise their wardrobe.
Velvet Hangers | Amazon
Getting Your Business Known
Everything you need to get a website and social media up and running effectively.
I have a degree in Information Systems and I use Squarespace because it is simple to use. I have tried switching to other tools to reduce the cost, but even for an IT professional, none of them have been worth the effort. With Squarespace hosting, backups and security upgrades are all taken care of without you having to lift a finger. It has lots of built in tools and if you want to get all tech-ey, you can insert code to make it as complex as you like.
Website Builder | Squarespace
Not sure what to write on your blog? Start with a topic - eg blue, shorts, colour analysis - and see what questions people are asking about it. Write a blog post that answers those questions.
Answer The Public
You'll want to add images to your website and any social media sites you are on. Canva is my preferred tool and I have opted for Canva pro because it also gives me access to lots of additional images and graphics that templates.
Visual Design Suite | Canva
Get a consistent look to your website and social media images with a set of customisable templates.
Social Media Starter Pack - 1080x1080 - Circle Logo - Canva
Best for compressing detailed images. Images with a lot of detail - like of clothes - can be very large. Emails with large images tend not to be opened and may not reach the recipient. People browsing the web may not want to wait for your images to load. While a lot of tools can compress images, the quality often drops too. The app is the best I have found for compressing images while maintaining their quality.
Compress Photos & Pictures | App Store
Now you have a website and some content, you will want to optimise it. That's wear ahrefs comes in. Forgot to put text after a heading? ahrefs will tell you. Want to know how you rank for a key word. Ahrefs will tell you.
Website Optimisation | Ahrefs
You have the best website, but no-one is seeing it. Why? Because you don't have any links to it from elsewhere on the web. This website gives you some tips on how to get backlinks from other websites.
How To Get Backlinks | Shopify Australia
Time and Money
Tools to help you spend more time offering services to clients, and less time doing administration and trying to make ends meet.
When I first started out I did all my bookings by hand. Sending out invoices, chasing payment, ugh! Now I use TidyCal. It's good value for money and allows me to spend time doing what I love not worrying about bookings and chasing money.
Booking System | TidyCal
Great for tracking how much time you are spending on different activities. I track admin, time spent on Benable, and time spent working for different clients.
Project Tracking | Toggl Track
Worried about giving out your bank details? Use a payment system like paypal.
Payment Management | PayPal
I use both Stripe and Paypal for payments. Both integrate with different systems and offer flexibility for clients.
Payment System | Stripe