Stylists Aren't Just for Celebrities Anymore
The secret of professional women who always look so put together? Shh, it might be their personal fashion guru.
Everyone knows that celebrities who slink down a red carpet have had their clothes, makeup, jewelry, handbag and hair vetted by a professional stylist. Stylists like Rachel Zoe and Robert Verdi have become famous enough to land their own cable TV shows. But there's an entire branch of the business of styling that never appears at a movie premiere or Oscar ceremony. Female executives and entrepreneurs--and the just-plain-busy or those in need of fashion guidance--often turn to stylists to improve or update their look and wardrobe.
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"I think anyone who is part of corporate America in a leadership role has a responsibility to look professional, interesting, well-tailored and act as a role model for other women," says Bernadette Kenny, head of human resources for staffing giant Adecco. Kenny, who updates her wardrobe semi-annually, has employed a stylist for the past 15 years and buys directly out of designers' showrooms. "[Fashion] is not my strength," she says. "This way, it requires very little thinking on my part."
Executive women will also hire stylists just for special events or when they might appear in the media. A fashionista's finesse can also help when a woman is making a transition from one industry to another.
In 2006, when Eva Ziegler was hired by Starwood Hotels and put in charge jazzing up the Le Meridien and W Hotel brands, she felt she needed to shake off the wardrobe remnants of her last job, which was in branding for Toyota. "It's important to ensure that as a spokesperson for a brand, you represent some flavor of that brand," she says.
For Ziegler, who works with Henri Bendel stylist Ann Watson, this meant trading in her corporate power suits for designers with cleaner lines and edgier bents, like Balenciaga. She also spiced up her look with interesting accessories, such as a Heaven Tanudiredja necklace of silver and black beads that hangs all the way to her waist, or pairing a lace-trimmed Sharon Wauchob skirt with knit stockings and black leather boots for work events. "I was now part of a hospitality company with a more contemporary lifestyle feel, and I wanted to reflect that," she says.
However, stylist Jill Markiewicz warns that too much emphasis on style can sometimes have the opposite effect. Google's first female engineer and VP Marissa Meyer, for example, has often been flayed in the media over her wardrobe. One blog derides her fashion sense as "nouveau gauche" and "Skittles-inspired." Says Markiewicz: "The focus can easily become about what a woman is wearing and not the professional advances she's made."
Like most executives, Meyer is not on record regarding the stylist "does she or doesn't she" question. Jill Markiewicz's five full-time clients, executives who spend up to $100,000 a year on clothes and are admired for their style, keep mum about having her on their personal payroll. "Most of my clients' husbands don't even know I exist," she says. "And I respect that. Does anyone need to know you get Botox?"
Markiewicz says she no longer even gives designers the name of her clients, fearing a leak to the press. She tells the story of one client, an executive at a Wall Street firm that was "sliding quickly and having many troubles," who mentioned to the media that she loved wearing Chanel and Oscar de la Renta. The press, Markiewicz says, raked her over the coals: "Certain people felt like she was another example of Wall Street excess."
But Ziegler, for one, won't closet the contents of her closet: "It's part of my approach to life, and I'm not spending tremendous amounts. And it's my personal money."
In fact, stylists and clients alike argue, hiring a wardrobe professional essentially saves money. "One bad Chanel jacket ends up being our fee," says Joe Lupo, who owns New York-based image-consulting company Visual Therapy with partner Jesse Garza. The two charge clients $450 an hour. He adds: "It's not about being indulgent; it's about having a smart, streamlined wardrobe. People will wear their stuff to death. It's anti-waste."
Lupo and Garza will not name any clients, other than to say that they work with "major families in America." "They know we don't talk," says Garza. "Our clients are not showy and flashy. They don't want to give the wrong impression. They just would rather focus on their businesses and families instead of running around on the weekends putting looks together.
Besides women's fear of being seen as wasteful or indulgent by hiring a stylist, there are other, more emotional issues. "They don't like to admit they don't know how to dress," says Nancy Berger, who charges clients $150 an hour, with a two-hour minimum to shop and overhaul closets. "I walked into one woman's apartment, and the first thing she said to me was, 'Don't judge me.' I handle women with major kid gloves."
As anyone who has ever looked in a mirror and wailed, "Does this make me look fat?" knows, dealing with women who have body issues can be a challenge. Berger shares how she had to cut ties with one client, a "major financier who has written a book." Says Berger: "She didn't like the way anything looked on her. We hired a nutritionist, a hairstylist, but nothing could make her happy. Go get some therapy and then call me."
Women can also get overly attached to certain styles, and getting them to update can sometimes be a trial. Jose Parron, who has been a stylist at Barneys New York for 16 years, tried to get a woman to get rid of a pair of big black shoes with a heavy sole."
Parron was able to convince the woman to toss her "clunker Frankenshoes" and replace them with a pair of Azzedine Alaia wedges, but it took him, literally, three years. "Part of what we do is growth, and fashion is about trends, and that means moving people out of their comfort zone," he says. "But I can't push someone too hard. Otherwise, no matter how great I think something looks on them, they won't reach for it."
Parron is currently big on Isabel Toledo, a favorite of Michelle Obama. But he says his clients are not coming in and asking for a Michelle Makeover: "They are a little more fashion savvy than that," he says. "They just want to look good and have their own style."
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