Personal stylist

Personal stylists assist their clients in making fashion choices. They advise on the latest fashion trends in clothing, jewellery and accessories and help their clients choose the right outfit, depending on the type of social event, their tastes and body types. Personal stylists teach their clients how to make decisions regarding their overall appearance and image.

The duties of a personal stylist include, but are not limited to:

• Meeting with clients to discuss their needs, preferences, and lifestyle in order to create a personal style guide
• Observing clients’ current style to identify areas for improvement
• Coordinating with photographers or hair stylists to make sure the outfits are suitable for the occasion
• Creating a unique style for each client based on her preferences, body type, and lifestyle
• Recommending fabrics, patterns, colors, styles, and accessories that suit clients’ tastes and preferences
• Arranging for fittings and tailoring clothing to ensure that it fits properly
• Providing fashion advice and guidance on trends in order to help clients create new looks for different occasions
• Helping clients select new styles and trends that work for their personality, lifestyle, and budget
• Organizing fashion shows and events to showcase new styles and designs to clients

The following job titles also refer to personal stylist:

fashion colour analyst
wardrobe consultant
fashion consultant
personal style advisor
personal style coach
corporate image consultant
image consultant
fashion advisor
personal wardrobe consultant
personal stylist professional

Personal stylists work in a variety of settings, including salons, fashion boutiques, and department stores. They may also work in the fashion industry, providing styling services for models, actors, and other public figures. Some personal stylists are self-employed and work out of their homes.

Personal stylists typically work regular business hours, although they may occasionally work evenings and weekends to accommodate their clients’ schedules. The work can be stressful, as personal stylists must be able to handle last-minute requests and changes, and they must be able to work well under pressure.

Although not required, a formal educational credential is a plus to be hired as a personal stylist, such as an associate’s degree, a certificate from a cosmetology school, or a qualification in fashion, make-up or a related discipline. Cosmetology schools teach students about the latest hair and beauty trends, how to use products and tools, and how to perform different beauty treatments.

Personal stylists typically receive on-the-job training from their employers. This training may include learning the store’s inventory, how to use the point-of-sale system and how to interact with customers. Personal stylists who work for salons or spas may receive additional training in the form of seminars or workshops.

Personal stylists keep and update a portfolio of their work to help grow their client base and increase their earning potential.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Personal stylist is a Skill level 2 occupation.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of personal stylist.

• Trends in fashion: New developments and trends in the world of fashion.

These skills are necessary for the role of personal stylist.

• Teach fashion to clients: Provide clients with tips on which clothes and accessories to match, and how patterns or designs on clothing and different garments can influence the clients appearance.
• Advise customers on accessories to complement clothing: Recommend accessories to match customer’s clothing style.
• Advise customers on jewellery and watches: Provide customers with detailed advice on watches and pieces of jewellery available in the store. Explain about different brands and models and their characteristics and features. Recommend and provide personal advice on pieces of jewellery, according to the customer’s needs and preferences.
• Offer cosmetic beauty advice: Provide customers with advice and beauty tips for creating a new look.
• Take care of personal appearance: Project the correct professional image by ensuring personal appearance is always of the highest standard. Select proper outfit and overall image and outlook; make daily efforts to build a good impression.
• Advise on hair style: Make recommendations to customers about suitable hair styles, based on their preferences and your own professional judgment.
• Assist customers: Provide support and advice to customers in making purchasing decisions by finding out their needs, selecting suitable service and products for them and politely answering questions about products and services.
• Identify customer’s needs: Use appropriate questions and active listening in order to identify customer expectations, desires and requirements according to product and services.
• Maintain customer service: Keep the highest possible customer service and make sure that the customer service is at all times performed in a professional way. Help customers or participants feel at ease and support special requirements.
• Advise customers on usage of cosmetics: Provide advice to customers on how to apply various cosmetic products such as lotions, powders, nail polish or creams.
• Satisfy customers: Communicate with customers and make them feel satisfied.
• Recommend cosmetics to customers: Recommend and provide advice on cosmetic products based on the customer’s personal preferences and needs and on the different product types and brands available.
• Listen actively: Give attention to what other people say, patiently understand points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times; able to listen carefully the needs of customers, clients, passengers, service users or others, and provide solutions accordingly.
• Develop professional network: Reach out to and meet up with people in a professional context. Find common ground and use your contacts for mutual benefit. Keep track of the people in your personal professional network and stay up to date on their activities.
• Advise on clothing style: Provide advice to customers on fashionable styles of clothing and appropriateness of different garments for particular occasions.
• Stay up-to-date with fashion trends in hair style: Keep abreast of current and future fashion trends, especially in hair styles.
• Apply fashion trends to footwear and leather goods: Be able to stay up to date on the latest styles, attending fashion shows and review fashion/clothing magazines and manuals, analysing the past and present fashion trends in areas such as footwear, leather goods and clothing market. Use analytical thinking and creative models to apply and to interpret in a systematic way the upcoming trends in terms of fashion and life styles.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of personal stylist. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Style hair: Style a person’s hair using the appropriate techniques and products.
• Manage schedule of tasks: Maintain an overview of all the incoming tasks in order to prioritise the tasks, plan their execution, and integrate new tasks as they present themselves.
• Give advice on personal matters: Advise people on love and marriage issues, business and job opportunities, health or other personal aspects.
• Teach communication to clients: Provide clients with tips on how to communicate verbally and non-verbally and teach them the appropriate etiquette for different kinds of situations. Help clients attain more effective, clearer or more diplomatic communication skills.
• Manage a small-to-medium business: Manage the organisational, financial and day-to-day operation of a small-to-medium enterprise.
• Network with store owners: Build professional relationships with store owners. Try to make agreements with them about promoting their stores in return for a certain commission or fee.
• Assess character: Assess how a certain person will react, verbally or physically, in a specific situation or to a specific happening.
• Maintain professional administration: File and organise professional administration documents comprehensively, keep customer records, fill in forms or log books and prepare documents about company-related matter.
• Administer appointments: Accept, schedule and cancel appointments.
• Keep personal administration: File and organise personal administration documents comprehensively.
• Show social competences: Ability to interact effectively with other people.
• Accompany people: Chaperon individuals on trips, to events or appointments or to go shopping.
• Assist clients with special needs: Aid clients with special needs following relevant guidelines and special standards. Recognise their needs and accurately respond to them if needed.
• Control of expenses: Monitoring and maintaining effective cost controls, in regards to efficiencies, waste, overtime and staffing. Assessing excesses and strives for efficiency and productivity.
• Perform services in a flexible manner: Adapt service approach when circumstances change.

5142 – Beauticians and related workers

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References

1. Personal stylist – ESCO
2. Personal Stylist Job Description: Salary, Duties, & More – Climb the Ladder
3. Featured image: Photo by Ron Lach