A client says she wants to feel funky and sexy. That sounds clear until the stylist starts looking at hundreds of possible clothes.
The stylist has to find out what those words mean to this client. Does sexy mean a close fit, bare skin, a strong colour, or simply feeling less hidden? The answer comes from conversation, a few well-chosen examples, and the client’s reaction to them.
Susan Savini, founder of Susan Padron Stylist, calls herself a Style Translator. Her process shows how a feeling can become a practical clothing choice without putting words in the client’s mouth.
Start with the person
Susan asks about the client’s daily life, how she sees herself, and how she wants to feel in her body.
“I need to know who they are as a person, and who they’re trying to become,” she says.
The client’s routine sets practical limits. The clothes still need to work for her job, budget, body, and day. The conversation about identity helps Susan decide which options are worth showing within those limits.
Show a few possible meanings
For the client who wanted to feel funky and sexy, Susan searched secondhand sites for unusual pieces. She showed her crop tops and tops with corset details.
Those clothes gave the client something specific to respond to. She could say whether she liked the shape, the amount of skin, the unusual detail, or none of it.
The first choice does not have to be perfect. Its job is to make the conversation clearer. Two clients may use the same word and want completely different clothes.
Let the client change the recommendation
Another client received a brighter colour palette than she felt ready to wear. Susan did not push ahead with the original idea. They agreed that the client would try unfamiliar clothes in the darker colours from the palette.
That response showed Susan what needed to change. The client was open to new shapes, but she wanted to move more slowly with colour.
A useful styling brief can change when the client reacts. Record what felt wrong and what made the next option easier to try. That is more useful than treating discomfort as a simple no.
Pay attention to what gets worn
A fitting tells the stylist what the client likes in the room. Daily life shows which clothes truly work.
Susan listens for messages about the pieces clients keep reaching for, the compliments they receive, and how they feel while wearing them.
“It’s the best to hear how confident, comfortable, and like themselves they feel,” she says.
A piece worn every week gives better evidence than one that received praise at the fitting and stayed on the hanger. Add that information to the client record. It helps the next set of choices feel more like her.
The answer will not stay fixed forever. Susan says, “My style needs to reflect who I am, and since who I am changes, so does my style.”
The stylist’s job is to keep listening as that meaning changes.
Susan Savini is the founder of Susan Padron Stylist and shares her work at @susanpadron_stylist.
