Meet The Member - Edits-Styling
We caught up with our lovely Harpenden based member Nina from Edits-Styling to find out all about her journey becoming a colour consultant and fashion stylist.
What was the path that lead you to become a stylist?
I started my career in fashion buying straight out of university, in fact I didn’t study fashion but got a degree in Geography and realised after writing my dissertation around fashion rather than anything Geographical that perhaps it was the right career for me. After a few years climbing the buying ladder, a stint living and working in Barcelona I landed a buyer’s job at New Look based in Dorset. I loved being a buyer, my drive and dedication to my job led me to travel to China four times a year, buying trips to New York, Tokyo, Paris and Shanghai working closely with designers and suppliers to put the best range in our stores. It wasn’t all glamorous, it was hard work, profit driven and there were many times I had to present to peers and bosses my ranges to justify why I wanted them to be on the high street competing with other retailers.
Once I fell pregnant with my first son, life changed and so did I. We moved to Harpenden (where I was born) which coincided with New Look moving their head office to London, but I decided that I didn’t want to go back once my son was born. After consulting for a while I realised that I wanted to start my own business and becoming a personal stylist felt like the perfect fit. My main ethos for my business was to ensure that women could feel happier, more stylish and better about themselves whilst giving them an easy way to dress every day. I was really keen to have my own brand and that’s when Edits-Styling was born.
After working with colour for years in my buying career I was interested in using colour in my business, showing men and women what colours suit them best and using that to really focus wardrobes and buying habits. So, I trained as a colour consultant in London with Aston & Hayes who are the leading specialists in colour, image and styling in the UK. That was over eight years ago now and I haven’t looked back. I am passionate about what I do, helping men and women achieve their best style through colour, styling, shopping and wardrobe editing. Every person I meet has different wardrobe needs, different lifestyles, different styling requirements but the outcome is always the same; you have a style and a wardrobe that you have always wanted but never knew how to achieve it; quite simply it changes your life.
Have you always had an interest in fashion since a young age? And what was your first fashion memory?
It certainly wasn’t something I remember being interested in from a young age. I knew I liked shopping, reading magazines and getting dressed up, but I had no idea what a career was in fashion. It really only dawned on me whilst at university that fashion buying was a job. My Grandad owned his own shoe business so I like to think that perhaps there is something in the genes that led me to the career I chose, or maybe it’s just my obsession with shoes! But my Grandad certainly influenced fashion choices I made at a young age. Whilst he would take my brother and cousins to watch Liverpool play football for Christmas and birthdays, he would take me to Harrods to choose a new outfit. I would love these trips with him and my Grandma, walking around all the fashion floors, having lunch and trying clothes on. I have early memories of one outfit I wore which was a check dress layered over a roll neck, with black stompy boots and a beret as an outfit I chose one Christmas - Who’d of known that I’d be bang on trend this year, 30 years later!
What is a typical step-by-step process you work through with your clients?
Firstly, it’s all about getting to know the client. Sitting down having a chat with a cup of tea and understanding why you have asked me to come to your house to help you with your wardrobe. It might seem like a give, but it is really important for the process to be personal. With this insight into your life I can then help you build a wardrobe and style around it. It also helps the person to relax from the start, getting to know me better and realising that I am not going to judge them, their wardrobe or the way they dress. It’s important to me that they are happy and in the right headspace to make changes to their style.
Next, I always confirm what colours suit that person the best. We take around one hour to do a colour analysis which gives us a focus on which to build your style and wardrobe around. By wearing the right colours, it enables you to build a versatile working wardrobe where all the pieces you own can be worn with each other. It also helps when buying new pieces - everything can be mixed and matched when the tone of colours match. Once we have the parameters of the colours to work within we then move onto the wardrobe. This can be tiny, medium sized or across four rooms, I have seen it all! We declutter and edit your wardrobe, getting rid of what no longer fits you, what doesn’t suit you in colour or shape and clothes that haven’t been worn for years.
There is a process we go through, sometimes it’s easy and sometimes I hold that person's hand to let go and other times we keep the pieces ready to revisit them at a later date. By the end of the wardrobe detox the client always feels like a massive weight has been lifted off their shoulders and they feel rejuvenated to start their new styling journey with me. Then I show the client how to style what they have left in their wardrobe, inspiring them to wear their clothes in different ways, trying the outfits on and building up their confidence whilst giving them lots of tips as we go along.
The final step of the process is the shopping, this can be done in person at the shops or remotely online where I pull together the pieces that I feel are missing from your wardrobe to make up stylish outfits for your lifestyle. This is where it all comes to life and quite often a styling session once you have received all your items from the online shopping look book I email over is the best part as I get to see the items on you in real life. In this consultation I see the client’s confidence grow in front of my eyes, the love for their wardrobe and style is apparent and the compliments from friends and family comes on a daily basis. The journey doesn’t stop there, I am your number one champion, always there for support, for seasonal wardrobe updates, holiday shopping or special occasions when you can’t find that perfect outfit you want. Some clients have been with me for years now and I count them as friends, and every year it’s great to meet new clients too.
What’s a typical working day like for you?
There is no typical day for me which is why what I do is so interesting and varied. It’s all about the relationships I have with my clients. I could be doing someone’s colours for an hour in the morning, checking in with a client when I get home who has received her online shopping and coaching her through the styling remotely, finishing off look books for clients and sending them over to shop from and taking photos or doing videos for Instagram keeping my clients inspired to style their wardrobe. The next day I could be doing a wardrobe detox in the morning with a new client, following up with an extensive email and shopping look book, writing a blog post for my website and advising a client on what boots to buy for the new skirt she’s just brought. My clients can rely on me to be there when they need me whether it be for shopping or styling advice or needing a new outfit for a wedding next month.
What are your two favourite places to go to for fashion inspiration (online or in person)?
Over the years I have come to rely and be inspired by the women I follow on Instagram. It’s a constant source of inspiration and ideas and it is the reason I post so that I can keep inspiring my clients that follow me to style their wardrobes every day. As most of my clients love me finding them gems from the high street, I love going shopping where there is a great array of high street shops. I love seeing the product in real life, touching the fabric, looking at the fit and seeing the colour or print up close. It gets me excited for styling and helping clients shop and buy new items that season and I know I can rely on what I have seen to confidently give the pieces to my clients.
What's the most fun part of your job?
This is a hard one to answer as I genuinely love everything about my job. All of it is fun and I am so very lucky in that respect. But if I was to narrow it down to one step in the process then it would be the personal shopping with a client in person. Since the pandemic practically all the personal shopping I do on behalf of clients has been online which is fantastic but I hope that next year sees more in-person personal shopping as I thrive in that environment. I love scouting the shops for clients, pulling together pieces and outfits for them to try on in the private changing rooms, seeing their faces change and light up when they put something on they never would have chosen if I hadn’t of.
The joy of walking out of a shop with a client who has a whole new wardrobe in 3 hours and has the knowledge of how to wear it, how to style it and has brought something that will last for years. My passion for my job and styling really comes to life when I am shopping with a client. It's exciting, fills me with so much joy when doing something I love and imparting to others my styling knowledge to make them feel great!
And what is the most challenging?
Sometimes it can be challenging to earn the clients trust. It is a big part of the process and being able to advise that person in all aspects of their style means trusting me. Normally it comes pretty quickly, as soon as they can see the results in outfits I have pulled together or when the first shopping items start arriving and they realise what I have chosen is perfect for them, but sometimes this takes a bit more time. I always say to people that they should only book my services when they are open to change and are ready to make that change in their life because that way they get the best out of the services I offer and the best out of me too!
How do you keep up with the changing trends in fashion?
This comes from constantly shopping online, looking at Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration and identifying what trends will work for my clients. When I was a buyer a big part of the job was understanding from the designers what the trends were and how that translated to our customers, now I just do this on a much smaller and more personal level. A lot of what I do isn’t about trends as they can come and go, it's about choosing stylish clothes that are right for that client, curating a wardrobe that works for them and is timeless.
Describe your personal style in 3 words
Stylish / Bold / Effortless.
Who is or are your style icon(s)?
I do think style evolves over time and you can reinvent yourself as you change and grow as a person. My style has definitely changed as I have had children, gotten older and even now I am feeling a change as I have past 40. I am liking more minimalist style icons such as Victoria Beckham, she always looks polished and refined as well as elevated in whatever she wears. She sticks to what works for her but she isn’t afraid to experiment with fabrics and fits to update her look. Her sense of personal style never waivers and she always looks timeless, streamlined but never boring.
Top five wardrobe essentials?
This really does vary for each person because their lifestyle will dictate whether they need a great dress in their wardrobe, a fabulous fitting suit, a leather blazer or a belted coat or not. But for this season my 5 wardrobe essentials would be:
1. A knitted dress
2. A pair of leather trousers
3. A Breton stripe jumper
4. A blazer
5. A great pair of white trainers
One piece you're buying for autumn/winter to update your look?
That has to be the knitted dress, it is the piece of the season and will continue to be into the Spring. They are having a real moment right now, born out of the need for comfort dressing last year, this has evolved into knitted dresses, something that every wardrobe should have right now. It’s a great example of a piece of clothing that can be dressed up for the evening with heeled boots and a leather jacket, and dressed down for the day with trainers and a quilted duvet coat.
What would a typical day off look like to you and do you have any favourite hotspots in Harpenden?
A typical day off would start with a run or a boot camp session at Camp Green in Rothampstead park. Then I love meeting a friend for brunch at the Silver Palette in town. I might pop over to St. Albans for a look around Whistles and Anthropolgie which are two of my favourite shops for clothes and home. Then once I have picked the kids up from school we might head to The Pudding Stop in Harpenden for some naughty after school treats, well, I would have earned it!