Styling…it isn’t just for women. Seriously. Guys like style too;)

Recently, I have had quite a few people ask me if I style guys…and the answer, of course, is YES.

Back in my Nordy days, I spent a couple of years working on the Men’s floor as a personal stylist. I learned a lot about men and their shopping habits VERY QUICKLY. Some had style and some had zero clue as to what style was. As a rule, most of them didn’t like to shop or didn’t have the time. Which meant, when they did shop, they did it only twice a year. Being in the store only twice a year meant we had to cover a lot of ground in one appointment. Dress shirts, pants, suiting, casual wear, shoes, accessories…you name it we found it. I thought it was going to be overwhelming, but I also learned that men are fairly quick with decision-making, which made the process quick and concise. So, when people inquire about men’s styling I can confidently say, it isn’t a whole lot different than the way that I style and shop for my female clients. Many of my female clients also, do not care for shopping or do not have the time so our appointments tend to cover a lot of ground which is very similar to the way I shopped with my men’s customers.

However, at the end of the day, when working with any client (male or female), the main goal is to make them feel their very best, by offering expert advice in fit and style, saving them time and hassle of shopping blindly for themselves, all while…giving them the luxury of being able to do it in their very own home! AND, since I just finished a styling session with a gentleman, I thought I would give you guys a little peek into our appointment.

My client, we will call him “Mike”, is going on a vacation. Mike is a casual dad that works from home. His daily uniform consists of jeans, novelty t-shirts, hoodies and tennies. Mike is interested in updating his style a bit and decides to call me. After we chat, we decide this is the perfect time to do some personal shopping because just like me, Mike likes to wear new things when he travels. So fun.

Because Mike is a new client, we first do a closet audit appointment. (FYI The closet audit is not a requirement but it is a GREAT way to clear your head and your closet to help you focus on how we are going to evolve your style and fill in some holes) The audit begins. We weed out the old and outdated, anything that doesn’t fit correctly and anything that doesn’t bring him joy anymore. (I know…the last one seems corny but trust me, it works.) Next we colorize and categorize the keepers and make a shopping list of items to add back into his wardrobe. Mike is super jazzed at the end of this appointment because now he sees how much room he has and can focus on what he can really wear. He also notices how much room he has now to fill his closet with new updated clothing!

Next, Mike and I do a Pinterest Board Collaboration. I create a board, just for him and do an edited capsule of items I think he will like. Mike see’s the board and likes which items he is interested in trying. We chat about his shopping budget and from his feedback on the Pinterest board, my shopping spree begins.

At Mike’s next appointment, I bring all of my purchases over to his house for him to try on. Because of what I learned early on about working with men when styling, I know I need to be precise. Men want their clothing to be multi functional. They want quality. They want to be able to wear it for a lengthy amount of time without it wearing out. They want to be comfortable. Lastly, they want to know EXACTLY how to wear it.

As I told you above, Mike is getting ready to jet set to Mexico. So, when I shopped for Mike, I capsule shopped. What is a capsule? It is a grouping of items that coordinate with each other in many different ways. I wanted to find items that Mike could take on his vacay that complemented each other, but I also wanted his new items to transition into his normal spring/summer wardrobe. Challenge accepted. I took Mike’s capsule to his home for his appointment. I gave him different looks to try, we talked through his likes or dislikes and talked him through some out-of-the-box looks to make him feel comfortable about trying something new. Mike made his final decisions and I packed up to leave. I did a couple of size exchanges and had everything dropped off at his house the next day, pressed, folded and ready to put into his suitcase. I went home and Mike went to Mexico…I really feel like he really got the better end of the deal. But, I was of course happy that Mike was traveling stress free, knowing he didn’t over pack, knowing exactly what he was going to wear each day and knowing he was going to look pretty good too. How did he know exactly what to wear you ask? I made him this nifty pinterest board to follow:)
Follow Abby’s board Mens- MD LBS SPRING 2016 on Pinterest.

In the end, Mike ended up with a 25-piece wardrobe capsule that did exactly what I wanted it to do: Update his style and take him from vacation to regular spring/summer wardrobe all while staying in his budget. Below is the EXACT capsule that I built for Mike for your viewing pleasure.

Do you have a guy in your life, or know someone that might benefit from this type of service? Send him my way!

Stay tuned next week for lots of coverage from Kansas City Fashion Week! as I am instablogging and blogging away as media for the event.

Until then…