Would you/friends if yours consider hiring a stylist to update your wardrobe?

[mouse1234567]

Hi everyone,
I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. I am currently considering training up as a personal stylist, which would involve helping clients to build up their wardrobe and find outfits that make them feel confident, authentic and stylish.

My question to you is - is this something that you think you/ others would be interested in? I appreciate that it wouldn’t be for everyone and also that financially it wouldn’t be something that is accessible for everyone. Generally though, I’m just trying to get a feel for if it’s something some people would be interested in and if it’s something I could make a living from. Specifically, I would be interested in working with mums, though also other demographics. Maybe someone has employed a stylist before? What was your experience? - if you wouldn’t mind sharing.

Any comments would be really appreciated! Many thanks!

How much would you charge and how would it work? Would you bring clothes to me in a shop for me to try on and how would that be different to the personal shopper service that department stores do for free?

Hi thanks for your reply. It’s very early days so I haven’t looked into charges but all good questions!! I had considered that lots of stores like JLewis seem to offer good personal shopping services for free and that would certainly be strong competition.

The difference would be that I would come to your home and go through your wardrobe with you and find gaps etc. It would be a more personal service with a consultation and then time spent going in and out of shops together finding outfits. I don’t imagine it would be very easy to bring outfits to someone’s house but agree that would offer a better service.

Thank you -all good things to think about.

I’d be interested but the price would need to be right. Plus. I have daughters 😂😂😂 and they frequently tell me what not to wear. And keep me fashionable for someone of my great age.

No.
(Wondering how a style is authentic to the individual if they have been advised by someone else?)

For everyone like me though, there will be lots more who are interested so best of luck.

I love clothes and fashion but I don’t think I would use that in my own home. I wonder if it would suit someone who was starting a new job or changing career and needed a lot of direction/guidance.

When you say you would like to work with mums, what do you have in mind?

@Goodthings makes a good point. I’ve changed career recently and once out of pandemic I’ll need outfits for work that are sharper than I’m used to. I might use that sort of service then but tbh I’m much more likely to go to a dept store and use a free service or take dds with me. I can look and identify gaps myself.

It’s not a service I’d use, and I can’t see how it world work profitably for you while still making it affordable for the client, in the way you’ve proposed.

If we were going shopping together I assume I’d have to pay you for the day. What’s your day rate?

Lots of stores now offer a personal shopper service for free, what makes you different to them?

Also, I don’t understand what makes someone ‘qualified’ to be a personal stylist - especially when I’ve seen personal stylist training courses on Groupon for £29.

Hmm, I think the people that probably need help wouldn't be able to afford you. You are looking at quite wealthy people as your client base and they can already get this from the shops.

If you wanted to earn £40k a year and take (or not work at least) for 6 weeks, ie at xmas and NY and in Aug your clients will be on holiday etc, you need to earn £870 a week. You will perhaps only be with clients for 2 days a week and will need to charge £435 day rate. And you will need 92 clients a year, assume some will use you twice a year and some only ever once. So your other days will be spent marketing, and admin and keeping up with what's in the shops etc.

Then from this £40k you will need to take out any admin and marketing cost. Social media marketing is relentless and will have a price attached maybe £500 a month, plus £100 per month for admin/insurance. Then take of any tax off.

You would probably earn more as a stylist on photoshoots. I think they would on £200/250 a day. Can be long days but I don't think the work is taxing. Get with a good agent and you could work solidly.

There are lots of online stylists around at the moment that seem to be doing very well, and I belong to a number of groups on FB where the stylist has created communities of women who support each other with clothing choices, especially since the pandemic has meant a lot of connections have shifted online. I would use someone who would come shopping with me to help pick out an outfit - not necessarily tied to one shop. I think the key if you want to work with mums is to get your pricing right which most of these stylists seem to have done, there are lots of options e.g colour/shape analysis, capsule wardrobe, ideas for a special occasion, jeans shopping, make up ideas etc, I think it’s a growing market - good luck 😊

No, I don't like people interfering in my choices.

Is this service available in shops like John Lewis still? If I really did want a second opinion on clothes, I'd rather go there than have someone riffle through my wardrobe. There's personal, and then there's being criticised in your own bedroom.

Not a chance. Don't work in marketing or some professions where these superficial things are important.

Where my friend lives in West Wickham there is a woman with a waiting list of a year for stylist/personal shopping advice. She has a stable of other advisers for cheaper rates too. It’s something like Styled by Lucy/Katy/Emma? Might be worth a Google. But long long lists and sharing of name at (state) school Gates suggests demand.

No, I think most of my friends and I are comfortable with our personal taste and preferences. Most don't want to be 'updated' . I think if you are not well off you can't afford this and most who can prefer a more classic look - good clothes that last and are reasonably timeless.

No. Having been in the Styled by Susie group and then the break off groups that formed. Loads of people that posted in those groups looked an absolute kip after their styling advice. As did lots of the stylists themselves.

@TooWicked

No. Having been in the Styled by Susie group and then the break off groups that formed. Loads of people that posted in those groups looked an absolute kip after their styling advice. As did lots of the stylists themselves.

This 🥴

So many questions.

Is this supposed to be your main income? You need to work out how much you need to earn (including tax etc) in order to work out how much you'd need to charge to make it viable.

How will you demonstrate to potential clients that you know what you're talking about?

Mums tend to have the least disposable income and are likely to spend on their dcs rather than themselves. How would you make your service into something they can justify spending the money on? Is it by bringing clothes to them? Marketing it to husbands as a birthday/xmas/anniversary gift experience? Preparation for going back into the workplace?

Is the intention that you give them the understanding of what suits them so they can do it for themselves in the future or do you see it as a long term relationship? Would you charge differas a result?

Would you see yourself working with smaller stores to bring customers to them for a fee?

Would you be scanning press/stores etc for items that would work for your clients? How would you charge for that?

Are there personal stylists local to you? What do they charge? What services do they offer? How would you differentiate yourself from them? Do you think there is room in the market?

Do you need to link into wider services such as hairdressers, beauticians, opticians to give a total package?

Are you thinking of a discrete service or developing a community amongst your clients?

What are your people skills like? One thing having a day shopping with someone you get on with, quite another convincing a demanding customer that something isn't right for them and steering them towards a better choice.

Lots to think about.

There might be money in helping put a work wardrobe together for people (graduates, people on a career break) you could focus your energy/expertise into one area. This could be offered at a number of levels (and price points) and could be marketed as a gift experience/career investment. Potentially it could also be done as a social media channel with the option of a one to one service or additional support to subscribers.

I know one person who has used an in-store stylist, once for a wedding and once for some clothes for a new job. I can’t see how she would benefit from someone in her home unless you had a selection of clothes to try on.

This is quite a crowded market, there are lots of people around offering this service

I don't know many stylists who are actually making a living from just advice. Most have some other links, personal training, makeup, customised clothes, hairdressing etc.

The colour and style analysis companies make their money from training up stylists and repeat business selling things.

What is your business plan?

I can absolutely see that there would be an interest in it from mums lacking in confidence due to body changes/return to work/etc

But I am also sceptical that this translates to "would pay a viable fee for the service".

A stylist is not a scalable role - you can only be with one client at a time unless you manage to develop some other business line like selling products/subscriptions to content/etc online.

Because it is not scalable, you need to charge quite high fees per hour. And if you have to spend time then researching products for clients you need to charge for that too. Let's say you spend an hour or two with a client at home talking about what they need. You then need to spend at 1-3 hours finding the products online or in stores to suggest to them. Then do you do another session where they try things on you give feedback/suggest what is right. And then someone (you?) returns the stuff that is not.

So each 1-2 hour client home visit is really 10-20hours of work that you need to charge for.

Plus you would need to be spending several hours a week social marketing yourself/answering queries from potential clients (most of which will not go anywhere)/admin/etc.

What would you need to charge per hour to earn a living plus cover all your business costs, insurance, website, travel, advertising?

Let's say it's 50quid/hour. It means that you'd need clients willing to pay £500-1000 to cover 10-20 hours of your time.

So narrowing it down to quite wealthy mothers as potential clients - either who are returning to their high end careers or with lots of family money as disposable income. That really means being located in quite specific places in the country where that demographic is sizeable enough (likely London and surrounds).

I have friends who did the John l
Lewis stylist when they returned to work after maternity and were struggling a bit with changing bodies and were very happy with it - but that's hard to compete with as it is free!

@MrsSkylerWhite

No. (Wondering how a style is authentic to the individual if they have been advised by someone else?)

For everyone like me though, there will be lots more who are interested so best of luck.

I agree. I paid a personal stylist do something similar (very local to me, quite active on Instagram). She tried to get me to dress like her , and buy a coat just like hers. I really only did it out of curiosity, but I wouldn't bother again.

I don't think you could rely on this for an income outside of a major city. I would definitely not be a customer because 1, I love clothes and have a very clear picture of my life going forward; 2, I am 65 and already have a lot of clothes (that still fit) bought since the 1970s, so I can definitely shop my wardrobe and cover almost any event.

If you want to do this, I would be angling for a retail job at the most upmarket boutique within 20 miles, to meet your potential client base.

And no, my friends would not ask you to go shopping with them, they already ask me!

I have thought about hiring a stylist before. I have the type of income that makes it possible and I have a lack of time to shop and no fashion sense.

I have not gone through with it because I obese and have some sensory issues. I want to be sure a stylist would be willing to work with me and not make me feel worse about myself. I’m guessing there are a mix of types of people working as stylists out there. Some that would be a good match for me and some that would not. I just lack the confidence to risk ending up with one of the wrong ones.

I would definitely pay for this service. I’ve seen the free personal styling services in department stores but always assume they’d be a bit dated/ middle of the road, so would pay to have someone with more of an updated view.

I see so many mums on here asking for tips about how to feel less dated and frumpy since becoming a mum, and I definitely fall into that group. I’ve always been confident in my own style but now I have a different body and no idea how to dress.

I feel like paying for this sort of service would be a really nice, fun confidence booster before going back to work after maternity leave, for example. Or as a gift from a partner or kids wanting to make mum feel special.