Most likely you didn’t know you needed 6 reasons to invest in a personal stylist. Here’s why I’m summarizing them. Last week I ran this poll on LinkedIn.

Since I’m a personal stylist, I can imagine that some of my connections chose the first answer out of solidarity. So I dug a bit deeper into the responses: 19 out of the 60 votes came from people outside my network. Here’s how those 19 voted:

A. 7 (smart investment)

B. 4 (waste of money)

C. 8 (only for celebrities)

What is the VALUE of a personal stylist? What results do they bring? How do they SAVE resources (including money) instead of costing resources?

First of all, there are different kinds of stylists. Some of them do indeed specialize in celebrities and have a small number of clients who attend events frequently, and don’t appear in public wearing the same outfit twice. That’s a VERY small group of people that most of us cannot relate to.

Other stylists have other niches. The group I most like working with is professionals who understand the power of their appearance, and could use some help maximizing that. How can you use your appearance to communicate most effectively? How do you dress to strengthen your personal brand, to influence others, and to feel amazing? A stylist can teach you all of this. Let’s break it down a bit more, based on challenges you might have:

6 Reasons to Invest in a Personal Stylist 

     1. because you feel a disconnect between how you look and how you feel

You’re good at what you do and that shows in your work. In the past, you might have spent time and energy thinking about how you looked, and actually enjoyed getting dressed. Now your priorities, your audience, and your body have changed, and things feel more complicated than they used to be. You wish you felt like yourself when you got dressed, but instead your clothes have started to feel like a costume. A stylist starts by asking you the big questions: What is your why? What do you want to achieve? What do you want to communicate? Who are you communicating it to?

     2. because you know the fashion industry is a toxic place and it feels impossible to make a responsible purchase

There are increasingly more clothing manufacturers who are treating people, animals and the planet better, but they’re harder to find. Greenwashing is rampant, and even when a label advertises “sustainable”, it’s unclear what they mean, and frankly it’s just easier to buy from the company with cute merchandise whose ads pop up in your browser. Stylists know where to find items that fit YOUR criteria, and how to help you make the hard decisions — what do you really need; how do you build a wardrobe that reflects your values; and how do you combine a minimum number of items into a maximum number of “looks”?

     3. because you’re tired of having too many clothes, but nothing you want to wear

Most people don’t need new clothes, they just need some help learning how to (re-)wear what they have — new combinations, different styling, tailoring garments that don’t fit. A stylist can show you how to Shop Your Closet to remove the items that don’t work for your current lifestyle; repair or repurpose items you haven’t been wearing but want to keep; wear what you have more often and more creatively; and make a plan of action to fill in your wardrobe gaps in a sustainable way.

     4. because shopping secondhand is too time-consuming

Nowadays, wearing secondhand doesn’t mean looking like you got dressed in the dark and smelling like incense. There’s an abundant supply of high quality, well made, beautiful garments that show little to no signs of wear. You just need to know where to find them, how to have them tailored, and how to combine them into outfits that fit your personality and goals — all things that a stylist can teach you.

     5. because shopping is not fun and you have better things to spend your time on

Most of us buy on impulse or in an emergency. We’re out with friends or on vacation and see something we like, so we buy it, only to get it home and realize it doesn’t match anything we have, or actually fit very well either. Or we buy only when there’s an occasion we have nothing appropriate for, at the last minute, and wind up with a mediocre garment that we feel mediocre in. Blah!

If the idea of finding clothes — whether it’s a new outfit, or just a sweater to replace your favorite one that you’ve worn out — is overwhelming, you can outsource it. Not only will you save frustration and stress, you’ll also save time — time that you could spend doing something you actually enjoy. By hiring a professional to shop for you, the purchases you DO make will be well thought out. This increases the chance that you’ll keep the items for years, decreases your cost-per-wear, thereby exponentially increasing your savings.

     6. Stylists are Sustainable.

To find a stylist, check your local AICI. In the Netherlands, visit Kleding en Stijl Advies. To work with me, visit my website The Clothing Compass.

If you’d like some advice, but working with a personal stylist feels like too big of an investment at this time, check out my online course Dressing for the Job.