Carol PerezI have a super unique work from home opportunity to talk about.
Virtual Stylist!
If you consider yourself fashion-forward, and you enjoy working with people in a more service-based role, this could be the opportunity for you!
If you’re also someone who has a blog, a full-time job, or some other business, virtual styling could be a great addition or a possible side hustle!
Let’s go over all the details including what a virtual stylist is, how you can become a virtual stylist, and how much you can make as a stylist.
What is a virtual stylist?
A virtual stylist is someone who helps people one-on-one (via consultation) with their fashion needs. Virtual stylists usually give style advice, outfit and accessory recommendations, and can help people define their “personal style”.
Virtual stylists can also be called online image consultants, online style consultants, and virtual fashion stylists!
How to Become a Virtual Stylist
Interested in becoming a virtual stylist? There are a few ways that you can start a new job as a stylist: you can get hired by a company, be partnered with a company (through direct sales), or you can go into business for yourself through your own platform (website or Instagram).
Let’s talk about all these things:
Companies That Hire Virtual Stylists:
Monthly Clothing Subscription Boxes – Companies like StitchFix, Trunk Club, Bombfell, and Keaton Row hire at-home stylists to help put together outfits for their clients.
With all of these companies, virtual stylists are used to putting together a collection of clothes for clients according to the client’s preferences.
Jewelry Subscription Boxes – Similar to clothing box subscriptions, there are companies that work with virtual stylists to pick out jewelry and accessories for their clients. Companies like Rocksbox, Bijoux Box, HangSquad, and Emma & Chole all hire virtual jewelry stylists.
Find More Virtual Stylist Jobs – You can search places like ZipRecruiter and Indeed to find companies who are hiring virtual stylists!
Direct Sales Clothing and Jewelry Companies
If you’d like to move more in the direct of having your own business (instead of being employed by someone else), you could join a direct sales company as a consultant and make money by selling products (with no cap on income).
Here are some of the direct sales companies you might be interested in:
Direct Sales Clothing Companies
- Avon – Avon is one of the biggest direct sales companies in the US. They sell makeup, skincare products, clothing, and accessories. You could earn a 25% commission.
- Cabi – Cabi is a contemporary clothing and jewelry store. They also carry extended sizes. You can earn 25% commission.
- J. Elizabeth – Sells contemporary t-shirts and customizable t-shirts. You could earn 20% commission.
- Piphany – Piphany sells limited edition clothing styles (and had extended sizes). {iphany went through a sort of rebrand and restructuring, and they no longer require their consultants to keep an inventory on hand!
Direct Sales Jewelry Companies
- Avon – Avon is one of the biggest direct sales companies in the US. They sell makeup, skincare products, and clothing and accessories. You could earn a 25% commission.
- Azuli Skye – Sells contemporary jewelry and accessories. You could earn a 25% commission and an extra 5% bonus depending on your sales.
- Magnabilities – Sells magnetic personalized jewelry and other accessories. You could earn a 30% commission and there are no minimum monthly requirements.
- Premier Designs – Sells jewelry in a variety of different styles. Premier Designs is focused on people instead of profits, and they’re also a member of the Direct Selling Association and follow the DSA’s Code of Ethics. You could earn up to 50% in commissions.
- Stella & Dot – Sells contemporary jewelry and accessories. You could earn 20-40% commission and get weekly payments.
Start a Virtual Stylist Business
Okay so maybe you aren’t interested in being employed by a company and you don’t want to limit yourself to only selling clothes from a particular store. Got it.
What about going into business for yourself? You can create your own platform, get your own clients, and style them from any pieces you can find online!
Sound good?
There are two main ways you can go about it, you can create your own business through your own website, or you can start on Instagram, build a following, and then start offering services.
Let’s talk about both of these options..
How do you start your own virtual stylist business?
If you’re interested in starting a virtual stylist business, you should watch this video by Lauren Messiah. She’s a virtual stylist that has her own website and helps clients of all body sizes.
If you’d like to be like Lauren, the first thing you need to do is create your platform. Start your website and show off your style! You can add outfit of the day pics, and blog posts about fashion and style, and you can create a page where you offer your virtual stylist services.
Once you have your website up and running, you can find clients by posting on social media or asking your friends or other people in your social circle.
You could offer some virtual stylist sessions for free (or a lower cost) to start building a portfolio and getting testimonials!
Keep building your portfolio and networking to help grow your business!
How do you become a virtual stylist on Instagram?
If you’re not ready to invest in a website or you want to take advantage of a platform that already has an audience, you can become a virtual stylist through Instagram!
Being an Instagram stylist can be as simple as posting outfits worn by celebrities and then pointing people to where they can get the same or similar pieces, or it can be as in-depth as offering styling services to clients through Instagram. Up to you!
If you’re interested in becoming a stylist through Instagram, check out this video from Harper’s World where she goes into the ins and outs of her virtual stylist Instagram business:
How to Make More Money as a Virtual Stylist
Once you get started as a virtual stylist, there are some things you can do to increase your income!
The first thing you can do to help increase your income is going into business for yourself. If you’ve decided to start by working for a company, it can be hard to make money because you’re most likely paid hourly and can’t increase your income unless you get a raise or a promotion. Definitely try to work for yourself.
Once you’re working for yourself you can “stack” your virtual stylist business with other businesses to help increase your income.
Think about if you combined your virtual stylist business with a blog or a Youtube channel (or both!) you could make money from your virtual stylist consultations and get money from ad revenue or affiliate links!
Conclusion
Being a virtual stylist can be a great side hustle (or a full-time job!) Take a look at all the resources I’ve mentioned above, and watch the video by Lauren and the video by Harper’s World to see if being a virtual stylist would be something that’s fulfilling for you.
With virtual styling if you start on Instagram, there are almost no costs, so you can start today and could start making money the same week!
Frequently Asked Questions About Being a Virtual Stylist
How much do virtual stylists make?
According to ZipRecruiter, virtual stylists make on average $46,217 a year.