A “Stream of Style” Theory Case Study: Amy Hunt
Most of my business involves helping women dress for their careers. Time is money and when you have a full-time career, preparing your daily wardrobe can be challenging. My business model is designed to reinforce the advantages of outsourcing what you wear and how you wear it to me. By letting me do what I do best, you can save time and money to go do what you do best. This does not prevent my clients from enjoying the wonders of style and shopping on their own. The relationship we cultivate centers around making strategic decisions offering solutions. My involvement keeps us thoughtful and within budget. I aim to be the voice of reason, knowing the value of the pieces we introduce.
I wanted to visually map out how my process works and the first client who came top mind was Amy Hunt. Amy was featured in Alexandria Stylebook in October 2015. We started working together about a year later in the fall of 2016. It goes without saying that Amy has incredible style and an impeccable eye. Since our first introduction, I knew Amy Hunt was an ideal prospect but I needed to be able to explain how I could be valuable. Keeping in touch with her and sending her interesting pieces I came across was my “resume.” It was important for me to make a good pitch to someone who had incredible taste. Understandably I felt her resistance to hiring me was that she could satisfy her needs, what exact value I would be able to offer> In fact, many women feel, “Where’s the value? If I am buying clothing, do I need someone to walk me through how to wear my pieces, too?”
My message, however, is more specific: are you getting the value out of your investment? I feel this is where I finally made a breakthrough with Amy. Our engagement started with an edit of her wardrobe. She had been intending on cleaning out closets and decided getting me involved could offer some insights on what she had, what she should keep, and, of course, what should be eliminated.
After these sessions were complete, I explained that I could start creating a library of looks for her from her wardrobe while offering suggestions that would create more outfits from what she already owned. In Amy’s online library, I create outfits each quarter using new silhouettes, shoes, or statement colors. This has kept her spending down while saving her time every morning. Each night she logs into her library and decides on the following day’s outfit. How’s that for maximizing productivity and protecting the bottom line?! I also log the individual pieces into her library so I can strategically suggest the next season’s purchases.
The most important thing about Alicia for me is her incredible eye. She can take a piece from my wardrobe and make 10 different outfits. In the past I would buy a jacket to go with a certain pair of pants and that’s the only way I would wear them. Having Alicia’s creative eye has allowed me to expand the options in my closet to so much more. And she has pushed me to be a little funkier, more color, more prints and that is fun!
Breaking down her looks for every quarter offers her new ways to wear her clothing and we add a handful of new items that keep her relevant and feeling “new.” I think it’s safe to say that this was the light bulb moment where I was able to prove to Amy how I could save her time and perhaps money! We also have a lot of fun brainstorming every quarter on what’s coming ahead and how to orchestrate her style with upcoming trends, new shapes, and offerings from some emerging designers.This keeps a fluid rotation of style running through Amy’s wardrobe.
Within my own business, I specialize in a more intimate experience designed to keep me connected with clients season to season within a retainer engagement. While I offer individual services as well as events services, I’ve found that the fluid experience is satisfying for both the client and myself. There’s a lot of information that has to be absorbed before you can determine what someone is comfortable trying. The development of trust goes a long way as stylist and client collaborate.
Follow along as I show you how Amy and I work off of pieces she has purchased from seasons past. My goal is to keep her investments interesting to her year after year, and then know when to purge items while they still hold value for places such as The Real Real.
Above is the A.L.C. Kati top from The Hive. I paired it with Amy’s Tibi pants she got from The Hive a few months ago and her own Prada slingback. Adding great prints is imperative to wardrobe. Snake print will have a major style influence over fall. I’ve already started establishing my own collection of snakeskin skirts, tops, shoes, and accessories.
To show the versatility of the Tibi pants and the A.L.C. snake print top, I put another look together and popped Amy’s Valentino Rockstud Slingbacks. Playing with all elements of Amy’s closet keeps her looks unique and interesting. My goal is to continually keep Amy one of the best dressed women not only on Capitol Hill but in the DMV!
Here is the Veronica Beard Moroso Houndstooth Check Dickey Jacket Amy purchased earlier. We added the Veronica Beard Tristen Blouse in blush at The Hive ($295). This makes a great underpinning or even an easy top for denim. I consider pieces like this the glue to a wardrobe. The pants are also from a previous season. Tibi is a favorite for the office and the Ponte knits are a great three-season fabric that will also work in offices where the AC keeps the temperatures low even in the summer.
Often my clients follow my Instagram stories where I’ll post what I end up purchasing for myself. The Mother Shaker Chop Chop Fray below was an early spring purchase for me. The second delivery just arrived at The Hive. These are incredibly lightweight for summer and will provide stylish leg coverage when heavier denim just won’t do! We explored a high neck top from Ulla Johnson for Amy. This isn’t typically her style but we push the envelope during our meetings and occasionally I will introduce something that Amy loves and would have never picked for herself.
Each quarter we rally to find what will reinvent her style using many of her pieces from the previous year. I look at this as a stream that continues to move and we pick up what we find along the way while some pieces wash up on the bank, basically because they can’t keep up. Staying engaged in fashion is part of the trick to being stylish. Getting comfortable with taking chances is a major part of the process. When clients step away from the “stream of style” it can be hard to get back in. It’s never the same as when you left and the current can be too strong for so many to handle. I encourage people to remain engaged at the level they are comfortable with in order to stay relevant and feel good about themselves.
