Personal Stylist

When people talk about becoming a stylist, they may be talking becoming a personal stylist. Alternatively, they may be talking about becoming a fashion stylist or celebrity stylist.

There are several different types of stylist you can be. They all fundamental differences, not just in terms of what these stylists do on a day-to-day basis but also in terms of who they work for, where they work, and the underlying purpose of their role.

Personal stylist

Personal stylists work to help individuals discover and ultimately achieve a particular “look” that matches their personality and flatters their appearance. As creative workers, personal stylists provide a valuable service to people who struggle to make decisions about their wardrobe and overall style.

As a personal stylist, you may have the following job responsibilities:

• Hold consultations with clients to understand their needs
• Create personal style guides based on in-depth discussions and assessments
• Analyze wardrobes to identify missing components or areas requiring improvement
• Find clothes (online or in brick-and-mortar stores) that flatter your clients
• Recommend fabrics, colors, or styles to your clients
• Stay up-to-date on the latest fashion trends
• Balance a schedule with different clients
• Actively listen and communicate with clients
• Understand different body types

No two clients will be the same. You’ll need to be able to adapt your approach and advice according to factors like lifestyle demands, budget, client preferences, and body type.

Fashion stylist

Fashion stylists often work for clothing brands and provide a wide array of services to achieve a certain look or aesthetic. In addition to picking out clothing and accessories, these stylists may take part in photoshoots and other events and make decisions about factors like set design, lighting, and casting.

The key difference between fashion stylists and personal stylists is that personal stylists exclusively provide services to individual people. Fashion stylists, on the other hand, often work for businesses, playing a role in productions or events.

As a fashion stylist, you’ll have different responsibilities to those of a personal stylist. For example, you could fulfil the role of creative director in overseeing all the various elements of a photo shoot—such as hair, makeup, wardrobe, set design, and even lighting.

Other types of stylists

In addition to personal stylists and fashion stylists, there are also several other different types of stylist roles in the fashion industry. It’s important to understand their differences so that you take the right steps in starting your stylist career.

These terms are often used interchangeably, but they have slightly different meanings:

• Wardrobe stylist: Provides similar services to fashion stylists but only handles clothing and accessories.
• Celebrity stylist: Provides personal styling services for high-profile celebrities and helps them create and maintain a signature look by working with fashion designers rather than shopping at retail stores.
• Editorial stylists: Magazines employ these stylists to collaborate with photographers, hair stylists, and creative directors. They often set up photo shoots for editorials.
• Commercial stylists: These stylists work with designers, photographers, production houses, and agencies to style models specifically for ads for TV or print publications. They’re similar to product and e-commerce stylists, who work with companies and retailers to showcase clothing and accessories for sale (usually online).
• Television/movie stylists: As their name suggests, these professionals work with costume designers, directors, and producers to dress actors for TV and film. They may also style people who appear on TV professionally in nonacting roles, such as news anchors, reporters, and reality TV stars.
• Retail stylist: Also called fashion consultants, these stylists work for retailers and luxury brands to guide and encourage customers to make a purchase by giving free consultations.

The distinctions between these roles can be subtle, and there is still sometimes overlap between them. When pursuing a career as a stylist, you may find yourself branching out into these other domains or taking on new roles.

We spoke to Kate Breen, a professional personal stylist who founded the service GetDressedGo, and asked her how her job compares to the work of other stylists, such as fashion or wardrobe stylists. She said personal styling involves a greater emphasis on personal relationships.

“Empathy is a key skill in being a personal stylist; you have to listen really well and genuinely care about the long-term success of your clients’ efforts to feel better about themselves in clothes,” she told us. Plenty of people feel vulnerable when seeking out personal styling services, so kindness and patience are incredibly important.

Becoming a personal stylist is the best option if you’re looking for a side hustle since you’ll get to work independently and run your own business. Fashion styling is a fabulous career, but it offers less potential to work on your own terms. For this reason, we’ll focus mainly on becoming a personal stylist.

Whether you want to take up personal styling as a part-time job or full-time career, you’ll need to decide what route to go down. You have three main job options as a personal stylist.

Online personal stylist

As an online personal stylist (also known as a virtual personal stylist or digital personal stylist), you get to do the bulk of your work from home. You’ll need to have a computer, and you’ll still need to deliver clothing and accessories to your clients, whether that be in person or by mail.

Breen says you can also mix working online with working in person to expand your reach as a personal stylist. “It’s common for personal stylists to offer online services,” she said. ‘Online styling works surprisingly well and can open up your potential client base much more than if you only do it in person.”

Freelance personal stylist

Freelancing might not get you consistent work, and you’ll need to put in a lot of effort in the beginning to get your business started. You’ll also have to get used to juggling clients, scheduling, organizing stock and shipments, and managing payments.

However, this way of working also offers great flexibility and, when properly executed, can be the most lucrative and rewarding personal styling job option.

For Breen, freelancing as a personal stylist had been her dream job since she was a teenager. She’d done it as a hobby for friends and family, but it was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that she properly pursued it as a career.

“I started GetDressedGo as a side hustle to try to connect virtually with people, never imagining how fast the business would take off,” she said. “I was able to leave my day job 15 months after launching my first website and have been supporting myself as a full-time stylist ever since.”

If you want to try the freelance option, but you’re not sure where to find clients, try creating a profile on a freelancing platform like Upwork, Thumbtack, or Guru to advertise your personal styling or wardrobe styling expertise. However, bear in mind that you’ll generally have to sacrifice a cut of your pay.

Retail personal stylist

If you search personal stylist jobs on regular job boards, you’ll find part-time, temporary, and full-time personal styling jobs advertised by department stores and clothing brands. These jobs don’t offer very high pay, but they do ensure you have a steady income.

When working as a personal stylist for a clothing store, you’ll generally need to interact with customers and perform tasks on site. You’ll also be limited to recommending only the items sold by your store or brand.

Breen thought these jobs would be a less obvious choice for newbies. “I think it would be difficult to get a job as a retail stylist without any experience or connections,” she said. “If a person were trying to do that, I’d recommend putting together a portfolio of looks styled on other people, not themselves, to show their talent and skill level.”

You don’t technically need any formal education, training, or experience whatsoever to start a personal styling side hustle, which is what makes it an excellent job option for fashion lovers and trendsetters. However, you will need certain skills and knowledge to succeed.

Required skills

As you’d expect, you need creativity, an eye for fashion and beauty, and a thorough knowledge of the fashion industry to become a stylist. This includes knowledge of both historical and modern fashion trends.

But what you may not know is that stylists also require various business skills. If you plan to work as an independent contractor (as many stylists do), you’ll need to know how to advertise your services.

You’ll also need strong communication and networking skills. This is necessary for dealing with both your clients and other creatives and industry professionals. As in many industries, who you know (and what they think of you) will have a strong impact on your career.

We asked Breen what kind of skills you need to succeed as a personal stylist. She told us that basic administrative skills (e.g., scheduling and accounting) and people skills are key for the job.

She also told us that sewing skills go a long way since most people aren’t fully satisfied with off-the-rack clothes without some type of adjustment. “An understanding of garment construction and tailoring has been a HUGE help to me,” she said.

Education requirements

You don’t need to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in fashion to become a professional stylist. With that said, you should have some form of education. This doesn’t necessarily mean attending classes—you could be self-taught or acquire knowledge from free resources like books, videos, and podcasts.

The bottom line is that if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’ll be tough to make a fruitful career as a personal stylist. But if you’re starting from scratch, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to build up the foundational knowledge needed to get your foot in the door.

Before you can start a personal stylist side hustle, you need to first build up the required knowledge. This includes a strong foundation in fashion as well as business skills for running your own business. There are a few different ways to get qualified.

Getting a fashion degree or certification

You don’t need any particular degrees or certifications to become a stylist, but having some sort of formal or informal training can give your career a boost.

Consider taking online courses in fashion or fashion styling. You could also explore programs in cosmetology or dressmaking. A fashion program can build your knowledge, and getting a certification can help you establish credibility as a stylist.

Even a simple online program that covers the basics required to start a career in the fashion industry can be a huge help. Some programs even offer access to internships and job opportunities, networking events, and continued education.

Fashion colleges

You could also pursue a formal degree in fashion. Here are the top fashion colleges in the US to look into:

• The Fashion Institute of Technology: Offers associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in fashion design as well as a bachelor’s in fabric styling.
• Parsons School of Design: Offers associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in fashion design and also provides internship opportunities.
• Savannah College of Art and Design: Offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fashion and a bachelor’s in fashion marketing and management.

If you intend to work independently as a freelance stylist, you may also want to study business—especially marketing, accounting, and business administration.

Enrolling in a stylist certification course or training program

Educating yourself can be time-consuming and overwhelming for some. If you feel stuck or want to speed up the process of preparing for a career as a personal stylist, you can invest in a short training program or course to become a certified personal stylist.

Getting certified isn’t required, but it’s something you could do to make it easier to find clients. It can also ramp up your earning potential.

However, if you don’t feel like attending classes, you can also teach yourself or use free resources like books, videos, and podcasts to gain the knowledge you need.

Ultimately, many prospective clients will care more about experience and talent than education. Nevertheless, a certification can make them more inclined to take a chance on you when you’re brand new to the field.

DIY fashion education

You don’t need to spend money on fancy courses to learn about fashion. If you don’t have much in the way of start-up funds, then going the self-taught route may be a good option. There are plenty of free or low-cost resources that can teach you a great deal about the latest fashion trends, different garment types, and relevant terminology.

Here are a few to explore:

• Blogs
• YouTube channels
• Magazines
• Social media
• Books from your local library

Just make sure that the information you’re getting is up-to-date. While learning fashion history can be useful in some cases, most of the work you’ll be doing will require knowledge of today’s fashion trends.

Learning by doing

Instead of going to school or enrolling in a personal styling course, you could also just jump in and learn by doing. A good way to get started is to practice on people you know. Breen told us that before she started her personal styling side hustle, she had done a lot of unpaid work for friends and family.

“For many years I styled friends and family at no cost, just because I loved them, and they wanted help,” she said. “Those sessions were extremely valuable to me, helping create and hone the services I offer now and the way I run my business.”

One thing she emphasized, however, is that you should always ask for permission before you feature anyone in your portfolio. “Many clients will not be comfortable with you sharing before/after photos,” she said.

Having the right knowledge isn’t enough to make you a good stylist. Before you can truly be prepared for a personal stylist career, you need to get a bit of hands-on experience.

Work in retail

Breen said relevant work experience helped to build her knowledge base. “My passion for clothes led me to work in my first job ever as a window dresser in a thrift store, then in retail, then in theatrical costume design and production, then to side-hustling as a stylist where I incorporated skills from all those jobs,” she said.

She recommended this kind of work experience for anyone who wants to start their own personal styling business. “The reality of working with clothes and clients all the time is quite different than the fantasy, so before going all-in on a styling business I really recommend testing the waters with retail,” she said. “Plus, before you get your first private clients, a background working with clothes will give your styling business credibility.”

Get a styling internship or assistant job

When you’re just starting out, getting experience should be a top priority. Stylists fulfil a highly complex and multifaceted role. While a course can help you get prepared, the only way to really understand the job and gain the practical skills needed to succeed is to learn from professionals who are already working in the industry.

There are a couple of ways to get professional styling experience:

• Get an internship: An internship or apprenticeship will allow you to gain work experience under a respected stylist, who can then recommend you to employers or clients when you strike out on your own.
• Become an assistant: Working as an assistant for an established stylist is much like having an internship, except it’s more likely to be a paid position.

Working as an intern or assistant will give you the chance to learn more about the industry and what’s expected of you in your role as a stylist. You’ll fill in gaps in your knowledge and have someone to guide you as you assess your strongest and weakest skills. This also allows you to wait to take on the responsibility of having your own clients until you feel more confident in your abilities.

Where to find internships and entry-level jobs in fashion and styling

There are several websites that focus on the fashion and beauty industries that you can scour for opportunities. Here are a few examples:

• StyleCareers
• Fashionista (look at the Careers section)
• InternQueen

You can also find jobs on general-purpose job boards, such as LinkedIn and Indeed.

Personal styling can be a tough field to break into. However, your journey will be a whole lot smoother if you follow the tips below.

1. Learn from professional stylists

Many pro stylists will tell you that the best way to get your foot in the door as a personal stylist and acquire hands-on experience is to train with veterans in the industry.

Look up personal stylists in your area using local directories or job boards and reach out to ask if they’d be up for taking you on as an assistant, volunteer, or intern.

You might not get paid this way, but you’ll quickly learn the ropes, acquire practical experience that’ll help you secure jobs later down the line, and even make professional connections that’ll further your career.

2. Create a portfolio

This is less of a tip and more of a necessity for professional personal stylists. As you train, you should create an online portfolio of your work to showcase your talents.

Having a portfolio that showcases your skills and style is incredibly important, especially if you don’t have any personal styling certifications or a college degree. This is what potential clients will look at when deciding whether you’re a good fit as their personal stylist.

Your stylist portfolio should have the following traits:

• Simple layout: Keep the design of your portfolio tasteful and minimal to keep the focus on your work.
• Diverse projects: Avoid showing too many projects with the same style. Potential clients and employers want to see that you have a varied background with a variety of projects within your specialty.
• Relevant and recent work: Instead of including every project you’ve ever worked on, be selective about what you put in your portfolio. Make sure that the bulk of the projects are recent, and include work that shows off your signature style and technical skills.
• Favorable reviews: You can include reviews from satisfied clients to boost your credibility.
• Short explanations: For each project, give enough context for the viewer to understand your inspiration, vision, and execution, but keep it short and let the work speak for itself.

If your previous work experience is limited to assisting another stylist, it’s a good idea to check with them before including their work in your portfolio.

3. Promote your services on social media

In addition to building your portfolio, you should take other steps to promote yourself. In particular, establish an online presence by creating your own professional social media accounts on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

As well as online promotion, Breen recommended word-of-mouth. “Start with the website, tell your friends and family you’re doing this, and ask them to spread the word,” she said.

Personal recommendations are also very important. If your clients recommend you to others, you’ll grow your personal styling business, get more clients, and make more money. And the best way to make this happens is to ensure that they’re satisfied with your service.

The earning rates of personal stylists vary drastically. While online salary sites tend to estimate that personal stylists make somewhere in the range of $10–$35 per hour, you can find freelance stylists on Upwork who charge up to $600 per hour.

Breen says it’s difficult to pinpoint typical earnings: “There’s really no way to say what you can reasonably expect when starting out,” she said. “It so much has to do with who you know, how you present, your confidence, and your ability to sell yourself.

However, she did mention that she now makes significantly more per month than in her previous office job, which was in finance.

Setting rates for your personal styling services

Instead of charging by the hour, most personal stylists use a payment structure based on services or packages. Breen stopped charging by the hour after several clients told her that they’d rather just pay upfront. She now accepts payment in full before offering any services and considers this to be more efficient in terms of billing people and chasing them down for payments.

Although the artistic nature of this field means that you can pretty much charge as little or as much as you want, many stylists start off with lower rates and gradually charge more as their career progresses.

Breen says she’s now making about three times the rate she asked for when she started her personal styling side hustle, but she says it’s good to be conservative with your pricing when you start out. “Start at a low enough price point to attract people to practice with while you hone your services,” she advised.

A personal styling side hustle can be incredibly rewarding and lucrative. It offers the opportunity to be your own boss and spend your days working in fashion. However, you should expect it to become more of a full-time business than a casual side gig.

Professional styling isn’t necessarily an easy job, and it takes time and effort to really break into the field. You need a passion for fashion, strong determination, and a willingness to invest your time in your styling business if you want it to take off.

Benefits

There are several reasons why becoming a stylist is a great side hustle:

• No degree required
• Minimal startup costs
• Potential for flexibility in terms of schedule and location
• Dream job for fashion lovers

It can be highly lucrative, and there are also other rewards, as Breen explained. “The best thing about being a personal stylist is absolutely the moment when a client is truly excited to see how great they can look, and when you know that they are going to be changed in a positive way long after you work together,” she said.

Drawbacks

Personal styling can be a great career, but it has disadvantages as a side hustle:

• Variable/unreliable earnings
• Lack of job security
• Finding your first clients can be challenging
• Some clients are hard to please

In particular, Breen warns that it’s an “extremely competitive” field to break into, adding that, “The trickiest part is juggling the business aspect of freelance styling with the creative side; you really have to be willing to work just as hard at both parts, and to wear a lot of hats at once.”

Alternatives to becoming a personal stylist

If you’re not committed to a career as a personal stylist but you still want a side hustle or your own business in the fashion industry, consider the following jobs, which are similar to personal styling:

• Personal shopper: Buy clothing, groceries, and other items for clients according to their budget and preferences.
• Hair stylist: Cut, color, and style your clients’ hair according to their tastes and needs.
• Makeup artist: Offer professional makeup services for celebrities or everyday people attending special events.
• Retail/sales associate: Work in a clothing store or for a particular brand or designer and help customers find the items they need.

Personal styling isn’t the only side job you can do if you love fashion and want to use your creative perspective to help others. You can even take on more than one of these roles—it’s all up to you.