Stylist Corner: 7 Tools Every Fashion Stylist Needs to Be Successful!
Aspiring fashion stylists – report to this post immediately!
Ever wondered what you needed to get started with your style clients? I did too when I was new. I searched and really didn’t find a lot of things to start – so I piled a list of 7 tools that I’ve personally used in my stylist career that I know will help you in your business!
Pinterest is everyone’s go to for inspiration and can easily be a stylist’s best friend. I use Pinterest to create specific boars for my clients, collaborative boards for projects, and overall fashion inspiration as a style influencer & blogger myself! Feel free to check out my fashion board (and request to be added as well!)
Canva
I love using Canva for creating mood boards. With Canva Pro – you can bring in any image and remove the background, then create custom moodboards for any client or project you’re working on! This definitely is a game changer, especially with no real replacement for platforms like Polyvore.
Hue & Striple/Garmentier
As a stylist, my main goal for 2021 was to figure out a way to streamline my business – from the beginning of booking and client intake to the end of wrapping up a project and everything in between. Through the wonderful world of Clubhouse (we’ll talk in another post) I found Hue & Stripe and Garmentier!
Hue & Stripe and Garmentier are two platforms that are changing the game for personal, wardrobe, & editorial stylists & personal shoppers everywhere! These platforms are geared towards keeping the stylist organized and providing innovative tools, such as virtual closets, affiliate marketing, and partnerships with brands to over the option of pulling for a unique and customized experience (I will be doing a Youtube video soon on my experience with both and which I recommend!)
Pantone Fans
If you don’t know (which you should) about Pantone – they are the color gods, and the main source of color inspiration, tools, and technology used by many industries, including fashion, beauty, interior design, & more. As a stylist and image consultant, you may be giving a client their personal color palette, or working on a studio project and needing to put together a color scheme for a mood board. Pantone is hands down your go-to for your color needs, specifically their color bridge – or color fans as we call it.
Portable Clothes Rack
I mentioned this a few years ago in my first Stylist Corner post and want to touch on this again. Every stylist or image consultant that does photoshoots, collaborative projects, or pop up events needs a portable clothes rack. This is styling 101. Specifically, you need a collapsible clothing rack so that you can transport to and from different appointments. Uline & Bed, Bath & Beyond have great options!
Industrial Sized Steamer
You would think this is obvious – but it’s not. A lot of stylists don’t think to invest not only in a steamer, but a steamer that’s actually appropriate for their clients. What I mean is – a $20 suitcase steamer is not what you should bring to a 3-5 hour photoshoot, it’s not smart or efficient. There are alot of affordable industrial size steamers that are equipped to handle long hours and multiple projects, like the one I bought from Bed, Bath & Beyond!
Online Booking System
I saved this for last because I feel like this is the most important. Being a stylist is like operating any other business and your booking system is the first point of contact for many of your clients. At first, I was simply taking bookings off Facebook messenger but wanted a more professional approach. I eventually migrated to Calendly for the initial booking method for my clients. I like Calendly because their platform is clean, minimalist, easy to set up and navigate, and is cheaper than other competitors like Acuity Scheduling.
Fellow stylists! What tools do you use in your business?! Drop a comment and let me know!
