After seeing shows like What Not to Wear and Ambush Makeover, the term “personal stylist” instantly pumps horror and panic into the hearts of the fashion-challenged, including myself.
According to Victoria Wreen, who makes a living by making other people look good, the Reality TV-era spin on her profession is more skewed towards the drama than the style – and gives viewers the wrong impression of the process.
She is working diligently to reverse the trend of preconceived notions that are now applied to the fashion industry, stylists in particular.
“‘A stylist’ is something that people have become afraid of – there’s now this negative stereotype that goes along with telling people that you are a stylist,” Wreen said.
“They automatically assume that you are going to ridicule them and rip them for their fashion choices, but great stylists are people who can pull from someone’s closest and make them look good.”
Wreen, a graduate of Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design, is also an acclaimed fashion designer and visual artist. She often uses her eye for art and applies it to the ensembles she works closely with her clients to create.
Her approach is the antithesis of what we have come to know and fear from the tactics of Bravo and the Style network.
“Wear what you want to – how about that?” Wreen said with a fun sense of authority. But she uses her professional expertise to help clients develop their own sense of style based on personal preferences, in a sort of fashion democracy experience.
“The first thing I ask them is, ‘What is it that you want to see different about yourself?’” Wreen said. “And we sort of go from there.”
Wreen proclaims that fashion is necessary, but has transitioned into a necessary evil in the minds of women fearful of upgrading their style status.
“In your most important moment, what you are wearing is crucial; it can make or break you,” Wreen said.
She’s right. Whether it be dressing the part for a job interview or catching the eye of someone of the opposite sex, looking good has its benefits and can be the deciding factor with respect to a first impression.
Unfortunately, fear and reservations based on what has been seen during television episodes have held people back from seeking help to channel their inner fashionista. But Wreen is on a personal (and professional) crusade to return beauty to fashion and style.
“Fashion is not supposed to be a soliloquy,” Wreen said. “It’s supposed to be a surprising moment of triumph.”
“A stylist can give people an amazing boost of energy that can only come with people looking in the mirror being happy with what they see.”
Dressing in a recession
Wreen says that being mindful of bank accounts in this time of economic woes doesn’t mean that you have to shortchange your style.
Wreen says that if anything, a tighter budget can inspire an elevated sense of creativity when it comes to personal style.
“With this recession, people are starting to become more excited about what they already own,” Wreen said.
“They are looking in their closets and seeing price tags and figuring out how to incorporate those pieces that they never wore into regular wardrobe lineup.”
According to Wreen, recycling is the biggest fashion trend for 2009, whether it’s wearing something that had been tucked away or jazzing up an outfit with funky accessories.
More than ever, the concept of fashion these days is about taking the old and making it look new – making a stale outfit look fresh.
Mixing inexpensive, trendy garments with signature pieces, purchasing off-season items and purchasing at resale and consignment retail shops are just a few of recommendations Wreen offered.
“People who love fashion are finding a way to shop and be fashionable,” Wreen says. “Because of the economy, people are having to be inventive and creative and enjoy the shopping process – and that’s a good thing.”