Working as a fashion stylist Essay Example for Free

Working as a fashion stylist Essay I. Introduction The world of fashion is a very exciting, glamorous and challenging world. There is no doubt that everybody, the rich and famous as well as ordinary people with discriminating tastes, patronizes the fashion trends for nothing is much more satisfying than to indulge oneself in presenting beautifully to the public. In fact according to Sandra Burke, author of the book Fashion Artist: The Design Series â€Å"Fashion has become a global phenomenon†. It is because fashion caters to ones craving for change and excitement in presenting oneself. Burke added that fashion reflect a person’s sexuality, morality and individuality (10). Fashion is advertised in television, newspapers and magazines. From there one can see models dressed glamorously or fashionably with all the matching accessories, make-up and hair do. But these models did not attain their glamorous or fashionable look by themselves. Models are dressed and adorned beautifully by a stylist. For it is the stylist’s job to make people look and feel beautiful. II. Discussion A. What is a stylist? When the word â€Å"stylists† is mentioned, common people automatically thinks that this is a person who cuts hair or do make-up and works in a beauty saloon. Little did common people know that to work as a stylist is to engage in a job that provides opportunity for working with the rich and glamorous of the world. If a stylist is lucky, he/she gets to work with the celebrities, high-profile politicians, businessmen and royal families (Sullivan and Simon 1). Far from being an ordinary beautician in a saloon, a professional stylist is an† expert who uses art and science to make people and objects look good in order to make a statement†(â€Å"Breaking Into†2007). In other words, a stylist is more than just someone who is trying to make a simple ordinary woman looks like a glamorous babe in a haphazard manner. To transform someone to a fashionable person or somebody of discriminating tastes, a stylist employs an extraordinary talent to create a distinct style for a particular individual. Stylists are not just ordinary people who are knowledgeable in fashion although it may be one of the requirements. What is important is that a stylist should have an eye for style and is not ignorant of the latest trends in the fashion industry. A degree in fashion may be an advantage for any stylist, but there are some who learned about the trade by experience. For those who want to learn about styling there are many schools that offered varied courses about the subject (Marie-Claire 2007). For a stylist to be successful he must possess certain qualities. First, he must love to shop to get acquainted with various fashion styles. Shopping is very essential for it enables the stylist to get to look for materials available in the market which will give him additional inputs on styling techniques. Aside from that a stylist must have an eye for detail, meaning that he just do not look at things like any ordinary people do but should scrutinized details of how are things are made or is made up of. He should notice how colors and shades are combined and where and how accessories are placed. If he is a fashion stylist he must be able to know what certain styles fit certain body types, and how they should be put on and what color, shades or color combination is suitable for certain skin tones. In other words, he just do not pick things up or conceived styles without much thought and consideration otherwise his client would look like a clown or would be a laughingstock to the public. Another characteristic of a stylist is his ability to present traditional things in unusual and trendy ways. Other words, he must love to experiment things and see which combination, style, materials would bring out the best in the physical appearance of his client (Fibre2fashion 1). A stylist should always remember, however, that having all this traits would not guarantee that he would become successful. Like in any other profession, stylist should exhibit exceptional interpersonal skill. He must be able to communicate clearly, politely and tactfully with a number of people for in his chosen field of work he will have to interact with various individuals whose work is connected with the fashion industry (Marie-Claire 2007). In other words, a stylist must be able to maintain and initiate good personal relationships B. What are the works of a stylist? The work of a stylist varies and with such specific tasks they are also known in certain job titles as hair stylist, makeup stylist, celebrity stylist, costume stylist, fashion stylist( Fibre2fashion 1-2). As stated earlier, a stylist creates a distinct style for a particular individual. His clients include celebrities, royal families, businessmen, models and other ordinary individuals who desired to present a distinct image of themselves (Fibre2fashion 1). To achieve a certain look a stylist, especially a fashion stylists, should be able to rightfully combined wardrobe, accessories and hair for his client’s style (makeup is included specifically for women). In choosing a dress to wear it is very critical that a fashion stylist should be able to know certain body types. According to Kendall Far author of The Pocket Stylist: Behind-the-Scenes Expertise from a Fashion Pro on Creating Your Own Look a stylist must know about silhouette (the outlined shape or contour of a person’s body and what will flatter it best), proportion (individual pieces of an outfit in relation to one another), fabric as well as other information needed in fashion wear( 1-4). More often than not, stylist are called trendsetters for they are the ones who first dictate to the public what’s in, what’ new and what’s right for the occasion. For example, he may require a certain to celebrity to wear a fancy accessory in an important event that would surely catch the eye of the onlookers and then eventually the onlookers will wear the same type of accessories themselves. Or they can give certain styles a hip look to traditional garment that sets the trend in the fashion industry (Fibre2fashion 1).