Consulting a fashion stylist is an investment in yourself that can transform your wardrobe and your confidence.
However, many people feel overwhelmed during their first styling session, unsure what to ask or how to communicate their needs effectively.
To help you confidently navigate your styling consultation and get the most value for your investment, we’ve compiled the ten most important questions you should ask your fashion stylist.
These questions will help you understand what to wear and why certain styles work better for you than others.
Before your first styling session, prepare these ten essential questions to make the most of your consultation and develop a wardrobe that reflects your personality.
Q1. How Do I Know What’s My Unique Fashion Style?
This is an excellent question to ask your stylist because your personal style extends beyond the latest fashion trends and is more like an expression of your identity.
As such, a skilled stylist will analyse your lifestyle, personality, and preferences to determine whether you gravitate towards old money classic, bohemian, goth, minimalist, avant-garde, or other style directions.
They’ll discuss how your profession, daily activities, and personal interests influence your style choices. Understanding your unique style helps you make confident fashion decisions and build a wardrobe that feels authentic rather than forced.
Want to discover your unique fashion style right now? Take our comprehensive men’s fashion style quiz to get started before your consultation.
Q2. Why Should I Know My Seasonal Colours?
This question is crucial because understanding your seasonal colour palette can save you thousands of pounds in shopping mistakes and help you create a more cohesive wardrobe.
Your seasonal colour analysis is based on your skin undertone, eye colour, and natural hair colour, categorising you as Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter.
Each season has specific colours, some of which naturally enhance your features and others that can make you appear tired or washed out.
A professional stylist will explain why specific colours make you look vibrant while others drain your complexion, helping you build a wardrobe that naturally complements your colouring.
Want to find out what’s your seasonal colour right now? Try our seasonal colour analysis quiz before your styling session.
Q3. Does Knowing My Body Shape Can Help My Style?
Understanding your body shape is fundamental to making smart fashion investments.
It determines which clothes will naturally flatter your proportions and which might require alterations or should be avoided.
Your stylist will assess whether you have a rectangle, triangle, inverted triangle, or oval body shape and explain why certain cuts and styles work better for your specific proportions.
This knowledge prevents expensive purchasing mistakes and helps you understand why some clothes look better on you than others.
Start understanding your body shape now with our men’s body shape quiz before meeting your stylist.
Q4. Should I Consider Location When Creating My Style?
This question is essential because fashion is deeply influenced by cultural context and geographical location, affecting both the practicality and appropriateness of your clothing choices.
A business suit in London differs significantly from one in Dubai or Tokyo, while casual wear in New York varies greatly from what’s appropriate in Paris or Sydney.
Your stylist will explain how local climate, cultural norms, and social expectations should influence your wardrobe choices.
Understanding location-based styling helps you adapt your wardrobe effectively when travelling or relocating while maintaining your unique aesthetic.
It’s particularly valuable for professionals who work across different cultural contexts.
Q5. Should I Adapt My Style for Different Occasions?
This question is crucial because mastering occasion-appropriate dressing can significantly impact your social and professional success.
Your stylist will explain the subtle yet important differences between dress codes like business formal, business casual, smart casual, and black tie.
They’ll also explain why certain pieces work for specific occasions and how to maintain your personal style while meeting dress code requirements.
Understanding these nuances helps you navigate social situations confidently, from job interviews to weddings, ensuring you’re always appropriately dressed while feeling comfortable and authentic.
Q6. Does the Time of Day Impact What I Should Wear?
This question reveals important styling principles many overlook, yet understanding them can significantly enhance your appearance throughout the day.
Your stylist will explain how natural and artificial lighting affects colour perception and why certain outfits that look brilliant in daylight might not work as well for evening events.
They’ll share professional techniques for creating looks that transition effectively from day to night.
This knowledge helps you select appropriate fabrics, colours, and styles for different times of day, ensuring you look your best in any lighting condition.
Q7. Do I Need a Capsule Wardrobe?
This question is particularly relevant today, where sustainability and efficiency are increasingly important in fashion choices.
Your stylist will explain how a well-planned capsule wardrobe can save you time, money, and decision fatigue while ensuring you always have appropriate outfits ready.
They’ll demonstrate how fewer, well-chosen pieces can create more outfit combinations than a closet full of random items.
Understanding capsule wardrobe principles helps you make smarter purchasing decisions and maintain a more organised, versatile closet that serves your lifestyle.
Q8. Can I Mix Different Styles and Aesthetics?
This question is vital in today’s fashion landscape, where personal style combines elements from different aesthetics.
Your stylist will explain the principles of successfully mixing styles, such as combining old money elements with streetwear or classic pieces with contemporary trends.
They’ll teach you how to maintain balance and coherence while experimenting with different looks.
This knowledge gives you the confidence to create unique, personal looks that express your individuality while still looking polished and intentional.
Q9. Do I Need Accessories to Elevate My Style?
This question helps you understand how to maximise the impact of your wardrobe through strategic accessorising.
Your stylist will explain how accessories can transform basic outfits, demonstrate which accessories work best for your style and body type, and teach you the principles of proper scaling and proportion.
They’ll show you how to use accessories to make affordable outfits look more expensive, essential, and attractive.
Understanding accessorising principles helps you invest in pieces that enhance your entire wardrobe.
Q10. How Do I Identify Quality Clothing?
This question is crucial for making wise fashion investments at all price points, from high street to luxury.
Your stylist will teach you to evaluate fabric quality, construction details, and finishing techniques.
They’ll explain why some pieces deserve higher investment and where you can save without compromising style.
This knowledge helps you build a wardrobe of well-made pieces that will look good and last longer, regardless of their price point.
Final Thoughts
Preparing these questions before your styling consultation will help you get maximum value from your session.
Remember to take our style quizzes beforehand to gain insights into your fashion personality, body shape, and seasonal colours.
This preparation will make your consultation more productive and help you build a wardrobe that works for you.
Style Like A True Gentleman
Before we say goodbye, here’s one of the best-kept secrets in men’s styling circles, a secret that only a few expert image consultants know or are willing to share.
First and foremost, professional styling requires knowing your unique body shape and seasonal colour palette – paramount factors in choosing perfectly fitting clothes in colours that complement your skin, eyes, and hair.
Only then can a stylist engage in styling by occasion, location, season, and time of day, with garments, footwear, and accessories from stylistically relevant heritage fashion brands to depict high confidence and success.
Best part? You can find your body shape, seasonal colour palette, and ideal fashion style in less than 5 minutes by yourself, for free, thanks to our four simple steps:
1. Find Your Body Shape
Different garments flatter different silhouettes, so knowing your body shape is the first step in dressing like a confident man.
To find out your unique body shape, take our free body shape quiz for men.
Once you know your unique body shape, take the second free quiz to discover your unique colour palette.
2. Find Your Unique Colour Palette
Remember, the garments that compose your outfits come in various colours, and you must ensure that each hue complements your natural colour.
To do that, you have to find out your seasonal colour palette, and you can do it by taking our free seasonal colour quiz for men.
3. Find Your Ideal Fashion Style
By now, you should already know your body shape and unique colour palette; the next step is to discover your ideal personal fashion style.
The fastest and simplest way is to take our free fashion style quiz for men; it includes your ideal style, outfit ideas, relevant fashion brands, and much more.
4. Professional Image Consultancy with The VOU
And if you want to style like a professional, by occasion, location, season, and time of the day, you can always ask our expert image consultants and fashion stylists for help.
Our styling services for men are the most comprehensive and detailed on the market, backed up by leading stylists who will guide you step by step in creating looks that communicate affluence, elegance, and endless accomplishments.
Remember, wearing luxury brands isn’t enough; to look stylish, confident, and successful, you must first know your body shape, colour palette, and ideal personal style, and only then style by occasion, location, season, and time of day.
Contact us today to save headaches, time, and money – it’s time to dress like a confident, successful gentleman of exquisite fashion taste –Â the first styling assessment is on us!