All About Becoming a Fashion / Wardrobe Stylist

[BetteT]

Bette, how do you bring your rolling rack to a shooting? Is it collapsible? I'd like to buy myself one but can not imagine what shop can sell it....

It's collapsible. I see you are in Russia, so I can't help much ... but there are companies that sell supplies to retail shops ... things like hangers, price tags, display shelves, mannequins, etc. and they usually carry racks and steamers, too. So I'd talk to some shop owners to find out where they get their supplies.

There is a good place in L.A. and they also sell on line ..... Acme Display

And even stores here that sell closet. laundry and organizer stuff have them. I've seen them at Sears too.

 

[delerith]

It's collapsible. I see you are in Russia, so I can't help much ... but there are companies that sell supplies to retail shops ... things like hangers, price tags, display shelves, mannequins, etc. and they usually carry racks and steamers, too. So I'd talk to some shop owners to find out where they get their supplies.

There is a good place in L.A. and they also sell on line ..... Acme Display

And even stores here that sell closet. laundry and organizer stuff have them. I've seen them at Sears too.

Thank you very much I'll do the research

 

[Reetaree]

When you've done a paid gig-when should you be getting paid? I assisted on a job and I thought that I was being paid immediately but to my surprise the wire still hasn't been done and this was a month and a half ago. I have heard of many horror stories of people not getting paid, etc. Need your help.

 

[BetteT]

That should be determined up front when you are negotiating your fee with whomever is hiring you.

In the US, it's often as long as 90 days, but more commonly about 30 days. We provide an invoice at the end of the shoot (which is giving them a record of the days and hours you worked, etc.) and then they turn it in to their accounting departmenta and that sometimes takes time. If we are booked through our agency, then the company's accounting dept. pays the agency and then the agency runs it through their accounting department and finally pays you.

If you assisted, probably the key stylist did the invoice for all the styling.and they will pay the stylist and then the stylist pays you. So you need to talk to the key stylist and see if he/she got paid yet ... and if they invoiced for your work too. If that is not the case, you should talk to whoever hired to and make an inquiry as to the timing and who will be paying you, since you did not ask in the beginning.

 

[softgrey]

unfortunately...90 days is becoming the norm...
it's so not ok...

...

 

[Reetaree]

Rumor has it...

I hear it all the time-that NY is so much better for work. There's a lot more to do and there is more pay. I haven't had the opportunity yet to work in NY; is this true compared to a city like Paris for example?

What are the main differences between NY, Paris and Milan as far as fashion and how does that affect a stylist?

very very curious

 

[afriyie]

i just wanna know do you have to have a college degree to be a stylist for a magazine? is fo or if not, can someone please give me details on it. it is urgent. i want to study fashion, just dont know what field in fashion.

 

[mimiko]

^no you don't need a college degree

 

[BetteT]

i just wanna know do you have to have a college degree to be a stylist for a magazine? is fo or if not, can someone please give me details on it. it is urgent. i want to study fashion, just dont know what field in fashion.

Any type of stylist does not need a degree ... it's more about experience and contacts.

See this thread too... about fashion editors ... who are really just stylists for magazines or oversee the stylist team. There is a lot of overlap between fashion editors and stylists and often they are the same thing. But on occasion the fashion editor actually writes copy too, so for those few times, it might require journalism skills which you can learn in school. But most of the time, no ... a degree is not needed.

 

[afriyie]

Any type of stylist does not need a degree ... it's more about experience and contacts.

See this thread too... about fashion editors ... who are really just stylists for magazines or oversee the stylist team. There is a lot of overlap between fashion editors and stylists and often they are the same thing. But on occasion the fashion editor actually writes copy too, so for those few times, it might require journalism skills which you can learn in school. But most of the time, no ... a degree is not needed.

okay can you please give me some tips on how to get a start on being a stylist or fashion editor?? please? i will permanently live to the USA in the fall. i am attending tennvogue FASHION U in NYC i am so excited! cannot wait to see america!

 

[BetteT]

Tips:

Read both threads ... it's pretty much all in there already. Do your homework by reading everything in these threads, then come back to the threads and post any specific questions that have not already been answered earlier in the threads.

It's mostly a long process of working your way up in the business, making the right connections ... for either type of stylist. It;'s very, very competitive ... so it almost always comes down to who you know and your reputation.

Information about how to become a freelance fashion stylists (most of us just work for ourselves) is here, in this thread.

Information about how to become a fashion editor (working for a magazine as an employyee) is in the other thread.

If you are interested in U.S. fashion magazines... NY is where you need to live.

 

[thesiren]

bette-

if i am doing tests for a lookbook, how many shots are too many?

as of now i'm looking at doing three stories with 3-4 looks each. is that too many since they are simply test shots and not professional gigs? i plan on completing the lookbook and showing it to local publications in hopes of landing something. will this come off as overzealous to include this many looks?

 

[BetteT]

I really don't have a definitive answer to that because I think it's one of those things that depends on what is customary in your area, who you are showing them to and what you want to say about yourself.

But, as usual, I have some thoughts about it:

Don't worry about whether they are creative shoots or paid shoots... they don't really care. What they mainly care about is how it all looks. If they want to know who youv'e worked for they will ask for your resume.

I've done as many as 11 looks for a creative shoot, but usually show only 4 or 6 images, depending on how I feel and who I'm showing it to. The others were just not as good (various issues, photographer, makeup, lighting, model, wardrobe) so I want to show only the best ones. Sometimes only 1 or 2 make it into my portfolio ... sometimes, none ... if all the factors were not in place.

I always vacilate on this issue. On one hand, I want to show them that I can plan and execute a series of many looks ... that I can do a complex, multi look shoot. On the other hand, I want to show them a wider range of what I can do, so a lot of long stories will make my portfolio too big ... and I don't want their eyes to start to glaze over from too much ... so I sometimes think that a small sampling of a variety is better.

I do like even numbers for any story that goes into my porfolio ... so they can all face each other and not be mixed with something else from another story in my portfolio. So, it's usually 2, 4 or 6 images depending on the strength of each of the images.

You may find that unless you are applying for a regular job at the magazine, they will be more interested in talking to photographers than stylists. They know that good photographers already have good teams, which will include good stylists. So you want to be on those photographers' teams when they get the gigs.

Oh and don't expect pay for most editorials ... or a token fee at best. We do editorials for the tears ... so we can put them in our portfolios and on our resumes to attract real paying clients. Doing magazine editorials is not how we make a living ... it's just another marketing tool.

 

[thesiren]

i'm not planning on doing commercial styling. i am a freelance writer, and sometimes am asked if i have any experience styling. i have styled for friends who've taken photography courses (but were not pursuing photography as a profession), and i've styled several community fashion shows for high schools/charities. i never seriously considered it professionaly because i do not live in a strong market for wardrobe stylists.

i have read all of these threads backwards and fowards in preparation for (hopefully) great tests.

as far as even pictures, should the first story have only three, since the portfolio will open to a single page, and be followed by a spread? should it be the same with the last story?

thanks for all of the insanely helpful posts you've contributed...this thread is a godsend.

 

[BetteT]

Thanik you.

as far as even pictures, should the first story have only three, since the portfolio will open to a single page, and be followed by a spread? should it be the same with the last story?

Good point ... and that would work. Or usually we have a few single images that we love that would work on the first or last page ... but it's got to be a killer shot!

There's a thread about building portfolios here ... check it out.

 

[Reetaree]

I am reaching a point where I don't know where to turn anymore. I've done many tests, created a book...I follow up all the time with photographers, etc. I want to start getting published in order to get a jump start with my career.

Tests are becoming more and more difficult to do because PR can'y always loan for nothing in exchange. I only have photos to offer but in the end does that serve them? I am scared to borrow from the same places. Some photographers I do test with expect to have all the BIG names. Like how am I supposed to get Balenciaga or Chanel(?!)

Do any of you have solid advice in getting ahead and getting published. How did you begin? Does it help to write to small magazines with attatchements of your work and ask if ou can style one of their next stories?

 

[BetteT]

Most smaller magazines (actually even Vogue and Elle) do not have photographers on staff for all the editorials. The gigs are commissioned out to freelance photgraphers in most cases, so that should be your target. Not the magazines. Now you could try approaching magazines to see who shoots their editorials and get the names and hopefully some contact information from them.

It's been my experience that you must work with photographers who get published.. find a way to get on their team when they are shooting editorials. It's almost always the photographer who selects his team for commissioned editorial shoots. If you are working on such a shoot, then you have something to offer ... tears. Spec shoots are not nearly as good ... because the magazine has not commissioned it ... he will just be submitting to various magazines and hoping that someone picks it up and most do not get picked up.

You want to be able to walk in to the publicist's office with a "Pull Letter" (or "letter of Intent") from the magazine naming him(or her) as the photgrapher and you as the stylist, when the editorial should run, and who is responsible for the safe return of the clothes. You will beef that up by showing the publicist a copy of the magazine ... that is how they decide if they want to lend clothes ... the quality and demographics of that magazine itself. Publicists are aware that even for a commissioned editorial, there is no guarantee that it will run or that the images with their pieces will be selected ... it's all up to the magazine editor. So don't worry, if their stuff does not get in ... just do everything you can to get a pull letter so you can get samples.

I've said this before in this thread .... photographers that are not experienced in fashion editorials do not understand how this works. If they expect you to be able to pull the big names, they need to shoot for the big magazines. It's up to them ... not you.

They think that a stylist can just pull whereever and whenever she wants ... and it's all about the stylists contacts. Well, it is a bit about her contacts ... she needs to know who reps which designers and how to reach them. But it's more about what the stylist has to offer in return ... and publicity is what the publicists are looking for. Magazine tears, photo shoots of celebrities ... that sort of thing. So in all reality, the responsibility falls on the photographer to get the right gigs .... so that you may get the wardrobe.

Don't let a non-experienced wannabe fashion photographer brow beat you into thinking that you are not a good stylist, if you can't get high end clothes for creatives, tests and spec shoots. Put the ball back in his court ... tell him you must have a pull letter from the magazine in order to pull anything decent and tell him that the better the magazine, the better the lines will be that will allow you to pull.

Here's how it goes, typically: Funky little throw away = funky, low quality local lines from beginning designers and e-tailers. Glossy mag catering to an upscale local community = clothes (upscale lines) from local boutiques that cater to these people or limited stuff from last season (nationally known lines) from publicists. National fashion magazine = Pretty much anything you want.

 

[thesiren]

retaree- good styling comes from a good stylist, NOT from label-induced clothing. i am thankful to be doing tests with a close friend, who is a great photographer, but does not do that as his career (he is an interior architect with a brilliant eye though), so it's me running the show. i am using a mix of my own designer clothing (pinned to the extreme as i am NOT a model!) and tons of vintage. i want my book to speak volumes of my styling, not "hey that's balenciaga s/s 2007!"

i tried to get the wheels moving on a portfolio in january with a local photographer who would definitely fit into bettet's description. upon meeting she wanted to know where i would get the clothes from, and wanted to do an EXTREME location shoot way the hell out in the middle of nowhere. this included cold weather, and lugging furniture (which we did not have) into a field with a group of models! not only all of this, she wanted do it in two weeks! right then and there i knew i had to step back and be realistic and just ended up cancelling things. she was way to ambitious for our skill level (not that you shouldn't aim high, but outfitting SEVERAL models is a task, much less tracking down props, transporting them, finding a time that worked for everyone, etc.), and not something i wanted to do for my first test. she was also fixated on becoming a "fashion photographer" and seemed to want the title, but wasn't willing to invest the blood, sweat and tears that go along with it.

 

[Reetaree]

BetteT-thank you for your sage words. Only if photographers knew...Everyone wants the best. Photog wants a good team, stylists wants the best photog, MAO, etc, etc. It can be so crazy sometimes.

It bothers me that photographers will call, often just days before a shoot, for a test and all they want to know is if you can "pull" x, y, and z. They must understand that just as it is a challenge to get commissioned for a glossy mag; it is equally challenging for a stylist to pull from upscale brands.

I've pulled myself together and Ill be styling something for a magazine. Although unpaid, this will be a good chance to network with a new photographer who actually WORKS!

theSiren-it's great you work with a photog/friend and understands your limits. I love working with vintage as well. All my first tests were with clothes right out of my armoire-it was fun! I would do it all the time if I hadn't run out of things to shoot! I agree when you say that a good styling comes from a good stylist. I have to add though if you have a not so good photographer-it don't matter. your styling will be as good as his lighting. That's the way I see it. The photogs I have been working with are probably very vey ambitious. but I like the challenge-but good to know when you gotta step back and say "Whoa-hey now."

side note: how do I get more blue square-y things under my name? Do I need Karma?

 

[BetteT]

You just need more posts .... it goes up when you reach certain number of posts ... like every 100 (I don't really know the number).