Could your personal style benefit from a lookbook?
Here’s why some stylists think they’re important
A few months ago I pitched a story to Elle Canada about the recent personal styling boom—the crop of stylists popping up on Instagram helping people look and feel better in their clothes.
I was intrigued by the concept: Women with an eye for what looks good helping those with sartorial confusion. It was a service that has long been available to celebrities but not so much for the non-celeb set. So, I wondered: Why did it take so long for personal stylists to become a thing? They are, after all, people with skills offering a service, just like accountants, hairstylists, and plumbers. Also, how in-demand are they now? And what kind of services do they offer exactly? I had to find out.
I got the assignment and set up interviews with six Canadian stylists to learn how they got started, how their business is doing, and their best styling tips. I discovered Instagram was the key to most of their success not just because it acted as a platform where they could advertise their skills for free, but it also created a mass need for their services—the app feeds people endless images of stylish influencers around the world, stewing up the desire to step up their own looks and seek expert help to do so.
I also learned that personal styling can be a seriously lucrative career. Some of these pros have done so well that they were able to hire multiple team members and lock down beautiful office spaces within just a year or two of launching their business.
As for their secrets for helping clients build a functional wardrobe and create everyday looks they love? I learned a few of those too…
I got over three hours of transcripts totalling 30,000 words—my word limit was 1500. That means there’s a lot of juicy info I couldn’t include in the Elle piece. But I can here! So today, I’m sharing one styling tip that came up among most of the stylists I chatted with: the importance of having a lookbook.
(Oh, and the Elle story will be on ellecanada.com soon, but for now you can pick up a copy on newsstands or try to read the PDF version here.)
What’s a lookbook?
According to the stylists I interviewed, a lookbook is a picturebook of outfits tailored to a client’s personal style and composed of pieces they own. The point of it is to make everyday dressing a whole lot easier. “I put together about two weeks’ worth of outfits per season for my clients,” Lindsay Wilkins of Mabelle Style Consulting told me. “So when they want to get ready in the morning, they just open the lookbook and select an outfit.”
Julianne Costigan of her eponymous styling firm offers a Clueless-like service, creating a digital lookbook on a mobile app. “We give clients styled looks in different categories, such as work, vacation, etc,” she told me. “We show them which pieces to buy then style them in multiple ways so they can see how to wear the pieces.”
Here’s the thing: The lookbook is arguably the most essential part of personal styling. “What we learned is that a lot of women go to a store, see things they love on mannequins, buy them, then get home and forget how to wear them,” said Julianne. The lookbook acts as a point of reference—a reminder of how to wear the pieces in your closet and the many different outfits you can make with each piece. In other words, it helps prevent the I-have-nothing-to-wear woes.
How do you create a lookbook?
If you’re one of the aforementioned sartorially confused individuals, an appointment with a stylist is invaluable. They can show you how to wear each piece in your wardrobe in multiple ways that you may not have thought of yourself. “Sometimes a client thinks something doesn't work for them for whatever reason, but they just don’t know how to style it,”
of La Closette told me. “So I’ll show them how to wear it—put this in or tuck it in this way.” She creates dozens of outfits for her clients, “in a style that’s theirs.”Need help finding the right stylist for you? Here are the Canadian pros I featured in the Elle piece:
If you love being the cool girl try: Amanda Telesca + other stylists at Charly Goss
If you want to elevate your personal brand, try: Julianne + other stylists at Julianne Costigan Style Consulting Firm
If you're after timeless style, try: Lindsay Wilkins at Mabelle Style
If you want to channel your deepest sartorial desires: JoyAsibey-Gabriel at Black Lady of Leisure
If you're after a specific look, try: Gabi Conac at Wardrobe Detectives
If you're looking to dress like yourself but better, try: Irene Kim at La Closette
How can I create a lookbook on my own?
The secret to being able to create lots of different outfits you love is to “build a closet full of functional and versatile items that you love,” said Irene. That means (surely you’ve heard this before) for every piece you bring into your closet, you should be able to make a minimum of three outfits with it.
Here’s how to start creating your lookbook: Pick a pair of bottoms in your closet and look to see how designers or influencers you admire style similar ones. Then try to replicate those looks with your own pieces, in your own style. Create as many full looks as you can, snap a mirror pic of each one, and then move on to the next pair of bottoms. Every time you buy a new item, create a few outfits with it and collect them all in a folder on your phone.
Now, this would be a great time to show you my personal spring lookbook—but I don’t have one yet. I’m still in the phase of trying to find light layers and everyday basics I love that are high quality and cost under $400. (All suggestions welcome.)
As soon as I manage to create a little lookbook for myself I’ll share it here. But in the meantime, I’ve rounded up a few looks by a three IG stars who have great style for lookbook inspiration.
Emmanuelle Koffi
Follow her at @emmanuellek_
Anouk Yve
Follow her at @anoukyve
Sylvie Mus
Follow her at @sylviemus_ and subscribe to her Substack .
Until next Sunday,
Renée
Yes! The actual “buying beautiful clothes” is just one part of the personal styling experience. Another equally important skill set of the stylist to be able to put those pieces together in a versatile ways that make sense for the clients’ lifestyle! Thank you for sharing, Renee! It was a pleasure to speak with you!