Image Consultant

[The_Jones]

Sorry if this was already posted.

Well Ive been pondering through careers and im thinking about starting a Image Consulting company. Does anyone own/participate in a bussiness like this? What is a average day like for an image consultant?

Any information on this career would be appreciated.
thanks in advance!

 

[Lena]

maybe you need to browse out 'how to be a stylist' discussion..

 

[blondie_babe13]

it's more complicated than a stylist

I took a course in College from an Image Consultant known thoughtout North America. Some of her student travelled from all over the world. Her name is Karen Brunger. There is a big difference between a stylist (who deals mostly with clothes) and an image consultant who makes over and helps one with everything. Here is Karen's website link:

http://www.imageinstitute.com/about_us.html


you can get an idea of what a successful image consultant should know. I am sure she would reply to your e-mail directly if you were to ask her a few questions.

 

[The_Jones]

I took a course in College from an Image Consultant known thoughtout North America. Some of her student travelled from all over the world. Her name is Karen Brunger. There is a big difference between a stylist (who deals mostly with clothes) and an image consultant who makes over and helps one with everything. Here is Karen's website link:

http://www.imageinstitute.com/about_us.html


you can get an idea of what a successful image consultant should know. I am sure she would reply to your e-mail directly if you were to ask her a few questions.

yea! Thats exactly what i inspire to be. I want to my own make-up artist and hairstylist team. The whole nine.I think im going to enroll in her schooling. Im dropped her an email, hopefully she replies back.

I want to focus on the styling aspect. Is it much like a Fashion Stylist?

 

[BetteT]

I'm primarily a fashion stylist but I do personal consultations on the side because people just ask me to work with them ... and I'm not one to turn down paid work. I do not advise on hair or makeup ... but merely put them in touch with people who specialize in those areas. My speciality (because I am a fashion/wardrobe stylist) is wardrobe only.

But it's a lot different from being a freelance stylist ... even though I am still dealing with wardrobe. In personal styling, I assist with shopping (either doing it myself and letting my clients try on every thing that I buy and bring to them or by scheduling a shopping trip with them), I go through their closets, teach them what to buy, what their body shape is and what types of garments flatter them. Sometimes I just have to find the perfect dress or outfit for a special occasion, sometimes I just update an existing wardrobe and sometimes I am instrumental in changing the client's entire look. Everything has to fit perfectly, or we take it to be tailored.

With styling for print (my main occupation), I deal only with models and sometimes celebrities that are pretty much a standard size and I borrow wardrobe from designers and retailers (for magazine editorials) or buy it or "rent" it with the client's money (for commercial shoots) and it doesn't have to fit exactly ... it's planned to be a bit large, so that I can pin, clamp and tape down the back or the side away from the camera and make it fit perfectly but temporarily. I must know what works on camera and how to work during a photoshoot ... acting as a collaborative team member. Then every thing is returned, except for anything that the client had to buy for the shoot. A different world, altogether.

But in either occupation ... my most important tasks are marketing myself and doing paperwork. They are both self employment ... so I must find a way to get the phone to ring and for people to hire me. I must take care of inventories, invoices, returns, keeping accurate records, paying taxes and developing and using marketing peices and making a lot of calls asking for business. And in either occupation, don't expect to come out of the gate running ... it takes time and money to build up a steady clientelle. Like any small business, there is no profit for a few years and most fail in the first 18 months. So it's important to have all your ducks in a row ... and to have the business plan worked out in advance.

Oh, and by the way ... if you are actually doing hair and makeup for the general public in your own place of busines, in their home or in a salon you probably must have a cosmetologist license to be legal. You should check with your state or country's requirements for working hands on. Another reason why I don't do hair and makeup as part of my personal consultations.

Not having the proper licenses, could open you up to fines and having your business shut down, if they catch you. The reason behind this is primarily safety and sanitation ... and you probably will be required to pass government tests to get the appropriate license for doing hair and makeup.

This is in addition to getting a business license, which may be needed as well .. esspecially if you work in your home.

 

[Lena]

when i do 'image' its mainly for singers either for cd or for concerts/tours/TV shows etc and more rarelly for actors/actresses

a-we discuss the 'atmosphere' and we decide on a the concept
b-from there we work the wardrobe, the hair/make up and the photographer (if clients need a shooting, eg for a cd cover)
c-materialising the 'image'

for what i do i preffer to work with the whole range of make&hair artists and photographers because each person is 'perfect' for a certain style
this doesnt allienate me from the 'scene' and i keep good relationships with everyone in the field...

 

[high maintenance]

Bette t, how do you gain a clientele? Where do you start off getting the numbers and knowing who to call? And did you go to school for wordrobe styling? the reason I asked was because Iam going to school in new york and I just want to know what steps to take in going forward. And you seem like you know alot

 

[BetteT]

Bette t, how do you gain a clientele? Where do you start off getting the numbers and knowing who to call? And did you go to school for wordrobe styling? the reason I asked was because Iam going to school in new york and I just want to know what steps to take in going forward. And you seem like you know alot

Well thanks ... I only know what I've experienced and what other stylists tell me.

1. Gaining clientelle ... the hardest thing to do. First of all, my clients are mainly photographers, art directors, designers and retailers ... people who are doing photo shoots. My personal consultation clients are either referred to me or they find me on line. I don't actively market to the public ... just people in my industry.

Many photo shoot gigs are one time only, so I must constantly market myself. I network with other people in this biz , send marketing pieces, do emails and phone calls and ask for referrals. I also have a web site (actually several), but that does not bring me a lot of work ... it's more of a place to send prospective clients to see my work.

2. Research is how I get phone numbers, email addys ... and that's done mainly on line .... searching lists, directories and associations for information.

3. I did not go to school for this. My background is a bank operations officer and a real estate agent, but I did major in art in high school (for no particular reason other than I liked it).

I just fell into it ... I knew a fashion photographer who needed help and we discovered that I had the "eye". So she coached me a bit and the rest was done with research. I read everything I could get my hands on ... learned how to put together a strong portfolio and started networking and testing with better and better photographers and slowly started to get a few paid gigs here and there. And then built on that ... I've still got a long way to go.

That's it in a nutshell ... and I think that most stylists and/or style consultants have simlilar stories ... they knew someone or worked somewhere and somehow got involved in helping style a few things and were recognized for their innate talent. I don't think that many of us actually studied "styling" in school ... but many of us have a fashion or art background (mine is art and business). And most of us just "know" when it looks right.

I'd like to hear how others got into this ... to see if my theory is correct.

 

[greatfire]

(I don't know where to post this).

I'm about to graduate from school and enter into the workforce. The dress code at my job is jeans and shirt/t-shirt (very loose), but people dress exceptionally well, for folks not wearing suits.

Anyway, I think I need an image consultation, or atleast someone who could help me shop for some clothes.. I have awkward dimensions, and so I've always had problems finding clothes that work well for me.

Do you think I should look into getting an image consultant?

How expensive would it be for me to do something like this!?

Its, of course, embarrasing for me to ask someone else to do this for me, but I couldn't care less at this point.

 

[greatfire]

any opinions?

 

[baRose]

Maybe you can start by consulting with a (free) personal shopper at a department store. They can help you with sizing and fashion within your budget. I wish I could point you to some books, but most are geared towards women..

 

[softgrey]

i think it's about $200-300/hour with a 3 hr minimum for an image consultant...

how hard could it be to get some jeans though?...

 

[mimih]

There's no need for an image consultant. You can just do a little research on your body type and then you'll get the idea of what type of jeans or shirts that will make you look good. After that you can go shopping on your own and have some little fun.

 

[pinksatin]

Well what do you like? If the dress code is very loose but fashionable, you could look for ideas in the models streetstyle threads of males or on the sartorialist? Are you looking for help with what's in style? I'm not sure what you need help with. It's not too hard to browse around (mostly in trendspotting forum I'd try) and see what well-dressed people are wearing. Also, when you go to nice dept stores or shops you like you can just look to the mannequins or sales associates for ideas. They are there to help you. You can pay someone, but like it's been mentioned, I don't think you really need to invest that much money in this. Maybe as a one time thing if you really need it. Plus you can look at men's fashion mags like details, mens vogue, GQ, Nylon Guys, DNR, etc. They are made to help in situations like this. Just go to a bookstore grab a coffee, a stack of mags and look through for ideas on what's appropriate in your office. Or even look at what the other men in your workplace are wearing and take cues from them. I can't imagine it would be that hard to find ideas. Good luck though.

eta: if you go to style.com they have a link to the men's version of the site. I'm sure you'd find tons of solutions there.

 

[kimberwyn]

There's no reason to be embarrassed. What you can always do is find a stylist who is just starting, like a student or something, they can probably help you for free. And if you give us more info, we can probably help you for free here online!

 

[jleerabiner]

The value of a stylist or fashion / wardrobe consultant

I just ran across this post (I'm new here) and thought I would post....

I am a private fashion/wardrobe consultant where I assist women in purchasing pieces that work best for their their body architecture, which also creates or further enhances their own personal style ... by how pieces are combined or altered to take on a unique look. (It's amazing what a talented tailor can do!) Additionally, I educate them on fit, proportion, silhouette, etc. which indeed they could learn on their own through reading books, blogs, and forums - but I typically work with extremely busy women who do not have the time to sort through all of the misinformation out there to get to the valuable advise. More importantly, I help my clients build a wardrobe long-term that works. I think that's where the real value of consultants come in.

I have found that many women are talented at selecting individual outfits that flatter them, but struggle with creating an overall wardrobe with interchangeable pieces that has endless options. My goal is to work with them so that they can go to their closet and feel that they always have the perfect outfit for a given event. Too often women have a closet full of "outfits" that they have to wear over and over again in the original combination and tire of quickly ... and they have to buy a much larger number of clothing "outfits" to fill out their entire wardrobe; whereas, if they strategically build a wardrobe "family" consisting of "options", they can make individual pieces go a lot further. (This may sound elementary to the members here who are well-versed in fashion and wardrobing techniques, but it not understood or incorporated by most of the ladies that I run across.)

If a wardrobe is built successfully, the money a client spends on a consultant is saved by reducing the number of clothing pieces they have to purchase to have a workable wardrobe ... or they can purchase the same number of pieces but gain a much larger range of individual looks! Additionally, provided you hire a talented consultant, the fee you typically pay is relatively low for the results you receive. First impressions are made in 7 seconds ... before you get to say a word! Clothing encompasses approx. 90% of your body - so of course they will be your largest visual message to the world, telling others who you are. Having the right look is priceless!

The short-term value of a stylist or fashion/wardrobe consultant is in helping time-starved, overwhelmed women develop a personal style that conveys the image they want to the world - regardless if its for business or social engagements. A consultant's long-term value is in helping women maintain that style and develop an overall wardrobe that works! I believe that stylists, fashion/wardrobe consultants are worth their weight in gold. There are numerous women who are embarrassed to admit that they need the services of consultants, although there is no reason for embarrassment. Styling/wardrobing skills are learned, and not instinctual! And often guidance doesn't have to cost a fortune, and in some cases free as a value-included service with purchases.

For instance, I typically work exclusively with a clothing line that I represent, Doncaster, where my services are included with their purchases - although I also offer to help them with other designer purchases for an additional fee. Often department stores and some smaller boutiques offer somewhat similar services - although they will probably not do a wardrobe audit or accompany you to the tailor shop. It's worth making some calls around to inquire about what services are available to you.

 

[BetteT]

Wecome to tFS, jleerabiner!
Thanks for sharing what you do and how you work.

 

[jleerabiner]

Thank you Bette.

By the way, I visited your website - very nice!

J. Lee