Many people have a bit of a misconception about what personal styling actually looks like. They assume that if someone uses this service, they must be ultra-rich, and the stylist is only going to advise on luxury fashion. Well, perhaps if we’re talking about styling for celebrities, that can look like this. But I write about regular fashion for regular people, to solve regular, very common problems: how to dress according to your body type and not Instagram trends, how to mix and match clothes from your current wardrobe to maximize it and create a minimum of 20 new outfits without spending money on unnecessary items, and how to boost your look by adding small elements — a bag, cool shoes, or a unique accessory.
I’m not a typical stylist. I’ve spent my entire career divided between two things: a very business-minded person on one side, doing big negotiations for tech companies — business is in my blood — and a highly creative person on the other, with a slight obsession with fashion, the sociology of it, the whole end-to-end process of creating clothes from idea to final outcome, and a real obsession with very local fashion, produced on a small scale, unique, that doesn’t follow any trends but the culture and vibe of a particular country or city. As a personal stylist in Madrid, anyone who reads my website can easily see plenty of articles devoted to these topics.
So what does a personal styling session actually involve, whether in person or virtual? I’ve decided to break it down, to give you a better understanding of what to expect from a personal styling session, and to encourage you to try it if you feel you might need a bit of help with your wardrobe.
Once I’m contacted by someone, either in person or via email, I always send a first email with a set of questions — to understand the body type of that person, the problem we’re trying to solve, the style they already have or aspire to have, and the lifestyle they currently live. Once I have that back, I always recommend my client start cleaning their wardrobe before we have our session, because cleaning is the very first process and the foundation of my styling session. It comes from the capsule wardrobe principle, but I modify it to give a bit of flair and fun to what can otherwise be a fairly plain method. My clients are usually asked to separate their clothes into three piles: the ones they wear most often, the ones they almost never touch, and the complicated middle pile — the clothes they kind of want to get rid of, but keep for sentimental reasons or for a “one day” occasion that will never come.
Once we have the session, either in person at my client’s house or virtually via video call, we first talk. I need to really understand who you are as a person, what problem we need to solve, what your biggest challenges are, and what type of style you truly like. It’s always important for me to know your lifestyle, your hobbies, your work — since clothes have a primary purpose of being functional, and a secondary one of making us look great and feel good in our own skin. The rule is always very simple: we try to cover the parts of the body that are a bit challenging for us, and always show the parts we’re most proud of.
Another thing — we always work with the clothes you already have, trying to give them a second life by mixing them with other pieces you wouldn’t have thought could even work together. We analyze which silhouettes aren’t good for your body, and find the ones that are the perfect fit. Once we have an outfit proposal, I always look at which accessories can elevate the look, and of course, afterward, I give a list of recommendations for what’s missing. It could be a pair of good universal shoes, a small bag, some well-designed jewelry, or what I call “bridge clothes” — pieces that help mix and match what you already have, in case we’re dealing with a wardrobe full of colors and patterns. Or the other way around: we might add a few more creative pieces if someone has a very plain wardrobe.
During the session, I might take photos of you in the outfit, or photos of the outfit laid flat on the floor, to remember what we’ve put together and what’s still missing. A couple of days after the session, you’ll receive a follow-up email from me with mood boards of the outfits we created, plus the items I’ve added as missing pieces to complement the look. You’ll always receive a style analysis, including your body type, the best silhouettes for you, and a list of shops — either in the city or online — where you can buy anything that’s missing.
You’ll always have the right to message me on WhatsApp or email if you have any questions, if you want to share anything else, or if you’re not sure about a purchase. I’m always there for you.
So if you feel more confident and a little less afraid of getting dressed, feel free to book a session with me here, or chat with me here.
