All About Becoming a Fashion / Wardrobe Stylist

[Lena]

i'm fully employed at the moment, so i've skipped the 'waiting for the money' issue.. which actually made me stop styling some years ago.. it could take anything up to 4-6 months to get payed, it was so beyond the point for me at that time, i felt poor all the time while working all the best deals.. horrible

if you go commit yourself through an agency it is much easier to get your money quicker

 

[BetteT]

I'm pretty lucky ... sort of. I'm new enough in the biz that most of my clients are still small companies and they don't have all the red tape of running it through apporvals and payables departments ... the owner usually cuts me a check on the spot. Down side ... the pay is not as good.

I know that is not the way with bigger companies and that I will have to wait for those. Recently, I did something for Just My Size (actually their ad agency) which is a subsidiary of Sara Lee and it's a huge corporation ... and I've been waiting over 30 days. I was assured of "immediate payment" upon receipt of my invoice ... but this did not surprise me that I'm still waiting. I have heard that 90 days is very common.

I am fairly comfortable with this, since my previous career was as a real estate agent and we had to wait for houses to sell and for escrows to close and it was often 60 days and often way longer. So as long as I trust the company, I can deal.

 

[Lena]

you do have agencies for stylists in the US no?
thats the best way to secure you'll get payed.. anyway in europe most freelancer stylists wouldnt dare go indie.. they'd never collect their money the way the fashion/media industry is going at the moment...

this current economic crisis is breaking my nerves

 

[BetteT]

Yes... we do have artists' agencies ... but it's difficult to get representation. First you have to have a strong resume with good clients and high quality magazine editorials before decent agencies will even consider representing you.

So we struggle to do it all on our own for a long time. By the time that they can, most artists I know opt not to sign with an exclusive agent ... they already have a good client and referral base and certainly don't want to pay commissions to an agent on those gigs. They, more often than not, continue with their own clients and sign a non exclusive agreement with the agency and pick up a few extra gigs that way. So they still have to collect most of their receivables on their own ... the agency doesn't help with anything not booked through them.

However, most of the really big gigs are booked through agencies even though it costs a lot more ... the art directors don't want to mess around with unknowns. So to get to a certain level .. an agency is essential.

 

[cchanel89]

Hey i want to be a stylist ! what kind of traning do you need after highschool do you need to excell?How do you get going?

 

[BetteT]

Hey ... read the entire thread ... it's all there and lots more!

I don't want to go post it all again .... I'm making' ya do your homework.

 

[*Happiness*]

I wanted to chime in on the need for good business skills in the field of styling. All of my friends and I who style professionally have a big problem when it comes with negotiating payment. This is not the field to get into if you're strapped for cash as in many cases your client may not pay you until the job is published or until post-production is completed (in the case of some advertising jobs I've done). This makes for some nail-biting adventures come rent time!

Here's a link to an honest post I found from a fellow colleague about waiting on her money.

BetteT, Softgrey and others: How long do you normally wait before a client pays you?

zrzava, to answer your question about pay....first of all get a clear and precise day rate and get that established up front. don't start a job unless you know how much you're getting paid, who is paying you and when you will receive payment.

I have been on both sides of the fence.....when i first started working in this business, I would work directly with producers and directors and the pay was quick but as BetteT stated it wasn't good. Then I moved to assisting this stylist who would pay me directly AFTER they'd gotten paid and that sucked because sometimes they wouldn't do their billing for a long time and I would go a month and a half without payment....that's not cool. Other stylists are very good at paying me so it just depends on the relationship and who you are working with. each situation is going to be different. Now I am working directly with production companies who have payroll handle all of that stuff and i get paid two weeks after the job is wrapped so it's way better.

Z, just make sure your lines of communication are clear and precise when it comes to money. Sometimes the subject can be a little "touchy" but it's nothing personal just business...YOUR BUSINESS!

 

[snowqueen]

^^ i dont know about stylist .. but generally when paying anyone for a service or goods in business the standered is 28 days

 

[tori_mack]

Art direction

Hi there, i just joined, and this is my very first post!!

I am currently based in Scotland, working as a stylist in a large photographic company. But my ideal job would be working as an art director.

How do you get into this kind of work?

 

[Lena]

if you dont have any kind of 'specific degree' eg history of art/marketing studies, you just take it from being a stylist and move on through connections to various clients etc

 

[Avah]

Dreams of becoming a Stylist

Hey Everyone,

My name is Avah and this is my second post. I was in heaven when I found this site

I wasn't sure where to post this so please dont be annoyed. I'm a 21 year old Jamaican female living in Canada and I would love to become a fashion stylist. I would appreciate any feedback from those of you who are in the industry or just have knowledge of the industry in general. I need some guidance as to where to start and how to go about putting together a portfolio. Thanks in advance.

 

[Avah]

I aspire to become a Fashion Stylist but am just starting out. I just signed up so haven't taken the time to go through this thread properply but I welcome any feedback. I have my notebook ready. I would appreciate any and all tips on how to get started, put a portfolio together, things I need to know, dos and donts, etc. Thank you.

 

[Lena]

lesson number one: don't be lazy avah
all that you need to know is already been discussed,
browse back when you have the time

welcome to tFS

 

[Estella*]

Hey Everyone,

My name is Avah and this is my second post. I was in heaven when I found this site

I wasn't sure where to post this so please dont be annoyed. I'm a 21 year old Jamaican female living in Canada and I would love to become a fashion stylist. I would appreciate any feedback from those of you who are in the industry or just have knowledge of the industry in general. I need some guidance as to where to start and how to go about putting together a portfolio. Thanks in advance.

welcome avah, i see you already found this thread ... just wanted to let you know i merged your other post in here, too.
i'm sure you'll find all the information you're looking for provided by others members, good luck

 

[zrzava]

Just so you know, don't assume that just becuase you're "styling" a photo shoot you'll be able to borrow whatever designer clothing you want. If you are really interested in becoming a stylist, learn to use what's in your own closet first. (It's all you might have access to for your first several shoots!)

...and if you are hired (or asked to work in exchange for prints) be sure to communicate well with the photographer so he knows if you will or will not be bringing Gucci, etc.

http://stylebites.blogspot.com/2006/05/photographer-is-not-god.html

 

[Avah]

Just so you know, don't assume that just becuase you're "styling" a photo shoot you'll be able to borrow whatever designer clothing you want. If you are really interested in becoming a stylist, learn to use what's in your own closet first. (It's all you might have access to for your first several shoots!)

...and if you are hired (or asked to work in exchange for prints) be sure to communicate well with the photographer so he knows if you will or will not be bringing Gucci, etc.

http://stylebites.blogspot.com/2006/05/photographer-is-not-god.html

Thanks Zava. U r right. I'll learn to work with what I have. One step at a time.

 

[nycki1122]

what do you have to do to become a stylist

I would like to know exactly what you would have to do to become a stylist I've been searching everywhere and can't find any info on what I'm looking for?

 

[BetteT]

For the last 3 of you who don't seem to get it that all the information about how to get started as a stylist .... is already right here in the past pages of this thread (yeah ... it's all mixed up, but pretty much everything you need to know is there).

Or, you can buy this book if you are U.S. based; It's very detailed and is actually used as a textbook at some schools who have a styling course or two. If you can and will do everything that's in there ... you will become a stylist, if you have any talent at all: http://www.makeuphairandstyling.com/home/

Either way ... you will have to read and it will take a lot of effort on your part. I feel strongly that if you can't take the time to do that, then you are not cut out for the extremely hard work, long hours, mega research and selling your services that you must do as a stylist.

 

[jaime_glamour]

I would love to be a fashion stylist one day. I am still in high school but I am currently looking at colleges. What type of education would be most helpful id I were to pursue styling? Is fashion school necessary? Just because I am not interested in designing. I have heard of many stylist who went to regular liberal arts schools and became stylists later. Does this happen often?

 

[twilight fairy]

I'd love to be a styling assistant for some magazine..do they have any specific requirements for such a job? Anyone has experience, etc. that wants to share would be very appreciated..