We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Gisondi-Little recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stephanie, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
From an early age I enjoyed interacting with people immensely and in elementary school, I loved helping my grandparents with their seasonal garage sales. They let me keep the money from everything I helped rehome and taught me to negotiate with fairness, that ultimately it was more important that a person should have the item than charge them more for it.
I was drawn to earning my own spending money in high school but an environment where I could be of service to people in some way felt most natural. I loved working in the Recreation Department of an old age home, hearing personal stories and having time to engage on a slightly deeper and personal level. I also worked retail and I think because I did not work on commission, I learned from my superiors that in the end it was better to be honest and build a trusting, ongoing rapport with customers rather than sell them something they would regret later. Also, I am a terrible lier known for zero poker face.
Coming to understand that I could be of collaborative and authentic help to clients of all kinds, becoming a sounding board and confidant has been a hallmark across my garment, entertainment and now personal styling careers. There is nothing as satisfying as a positive result reached through attentive and caring means. It’s something I can feel good about ongoingly and as with my retail experience, it has created repeat business that ultimately earns me more than the quick sell approach ever could.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Since 2015, I have worked exclusively as a personal stylist and closet organizer for clients of all genders. Being that I am based primarily in LA, I usually qualify ‘personal stylist’ by saying I work for people that buy their own clothes (as opposed to those that borrow looks for red carpet events or for film and TV). Having worked in the retail and wholesale garment industries (the latter for noted designers Emanuel Ungaro and Nicole Miller), I learned the client and buyer facing sides of the business, as well as having direct access to the design side. This taught me about construction, pricing, materials, trends, the power of buyers and working collaboratively across departments and with domestic and international clients.
I identify as a ‘Fashion Therapist’ because the work I do is about so much more than shopping, which I think is so often immediately linked with the job of personal stylist. My agenda is not sales commissions but rather meaningful time spent with clients identifying their current needs across all aspects of life, their favorite vision for themselves in the world and educating them on how clothing can enhance their every day experiences. That said, I simply love clothes! I enjoy demystifying fashion and trends for clients, helping them figure out what they like, giving them tools to shop more consciously, and style themselves no matter what the day (or night!) calls for whether it’s with what they already own, new items and most often, a strategic combination of both. Travel and special event planning are a favorite aspect, too. Seasonal wardrobe shifting and garment care are also powerful tools that maximize a wardrobe exponentially, and I introduce the concept to clients frequently.
I also very much enjoy creating easy-to-maintain systems into the closets of clients with the goal of minimizing daily decision fatigue and finding joy in what we DO have to wear, whether the client loves or loathes clothing and getting dressed. Figuring out pain points and streamlining life around getting dressed is my jam! It’s a fun and necessary aspect of life, but it is by no means the most important thing a person will do in their day. I like to set clients up for ease and confidence in the way they dress which automatically raises the bar on success, no matter what they have on the calendar.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. An ability to intuit and connect with different kinds of people and adjust to their specific emotional and service needs. Some of this is instinct, some of it is learned from experience. Part of what makes my job so much fun and keeps it interesting is the broad spectrum of people I get to work with, and their varied needs and perspectives. I am not about creating an army of people wearing the same things; I want to help clients be their favorite selves and learn how to interpret that now and as it inevitable changes over time.
2. An obsessive attention to detail. This I was born with, but can be learned to a degree. For example, to translate this skill, I often ask clients to reframe the way in which they envision an outfit based on their style inspirations. Recently it was, ‘ How would Ines de la Fressange wear it’? This creates a framework to stave off overwhelm and creates a lens that is both fixed and changeable as need be.
3. Understanding that in fashion there truly are no rules, no wrong or right, as with creative arts of all kinds. It is not an exact science and focusing on the feeling clothing projects to the wearer as opposed to what’s simply on trend is what cultivates and expresses true personal style.
As for folks early in their styling journey, make use of every day you are out in the world as well as your own closet to appreciate what you are drawn to, how clothing affects your mood and productivity, how it serves as a means of expression for better or worse. Once you understand this about yourself, you can translate it more easily to others.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
My ideal client feels overwhelmed by the need to dress / their wardrobe space whether it’s daily or otherwise. People are so busy these days, and the average person spends eight hours a month thinking about what to wear. That can easily be reduced!
Whether you love or hate clothes, shop rarely or all the time, you no longer know how to dress for your current job/body/budget, have a ton of clothes but ‘nothing to wear’, want to establish a ‘uniform’ or capsule wardrobe, or simply want to focus on taking care of yourself for a change, I am here for it.
If you have a special event, trip or want to gift a me as a service to a friend or loved one, whether in person or virtually, I can be of service.
My clients are of all genders, occupations, and personal tastes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.composedco.com
- Instagram: @Composed_Co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ComposedCo/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniegisondilittle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh6YUdPU5Cw&t=3s
Image Credits
Kate Jones Photography Rachel Shelter Photography
