Stylist Lingo You Need To Know

Every industry has their set of vocabulary words. The words "pull", "test", and "book" have a completely different definition to stylists than they do to the outside world. When you first start out it might be intimidating to be around others speaking in industry jargon, but that ends today. Here are some keywords and terms you need to know as a stylist. 

1. Pull

A pull refers to the action of gathering clothes for your job. You're literally pulling a bunch of clothes from the racks of a showroom or store, in accordance with the mood board/style direction. You grab as many pieces as you're allowed and later create outfits out of them after you're done with all your pull appointments. Depending on where you pull from, there may or may not be a fee. Some showrooms are free of charge, provided you have 2 credit cards on file in case you lose or damage the showroom's clothing. Other places have a "pull fee", which is a percentage of the total cost of the clothes/shoes/accessories borrowed-MUCH better than paying full price for everything, amirite? 

2. Book

This is another word for your portfolio, which is a compilation of your styling work. Nowadays a digital book is more common than a physical one of printed images or magazine tears. Tip: Keep your portfolio on your tablet, so if you meet a potential client, you have your work neatly organized and easily accessible. 

3. Kit

This is where you keep all your styling tools and take with you on every job. That means your clips, pins, pasties, pre-threaded needles, and everything else that makes your life as a stylist easier. If you don't know what to include in your kit, start here. 

4. Test Shoot

This is a collaboration between a team of creatives to build everyone's book with new content. Test= no pay, so don't expect any big bucks from this type of shoot. It's an opportunity to experiment and really show off your skills as a stylist, plus the beautiful photos never hurt. 

5. Call Sheet

This is a sheet sent out before a job that details all of the information for that shoot. It includes the location, entire crew's names, position, phone numbers, time of arrival to set, which leads me to...

6. Call Time

This is the time given on the call sheet of when you are expected to be ON SET-not parking your car-but on set doing what you're there to do. Be sure to always arrive 10-15 min before your call time to find parking and unload all of those garment bags from your car.

7. Showroom (aka PR) 

This is the place where you will borrow clothing from for photoshoots, red carpets, and editorials. Showrooms do public relations for a variety of designers who they represent. There are showrooms for clothing, shoes, jewelry, and showrooms that specialize in just one area such as fine jewelry, couture dresses, or streetwear. The more experience you gain through interning and assisting for a more experienced stylist, the more you will be exposed to these amazing places. The showrooms are your best friend as a stylist, they're literally the gatekeepers to these amazing pieces available at your disposal. Stay on their good side with these tips. 

8. LOR (Letter of Responsibility) 

"How do I borrow clothes from showrooms" you ask? Well, I'll tell you the first step is getting a LOR aka Letter of Responsibility also aka Pull Letter. When you want to borrow from a showroom or designer, sending this letter states that you as the stylist is claiming full responsibility for the clothing you borrow. This makes showrooms and designers much more willing to let you borrow their items. You can typically get the pull letter from the photographer or if it's a job for a big magazine, it will come from the editor on official letterhead. 

9. BTS

This stands for behind the scenes. With the popularity of social media, everyone wants to capture photos of themselves during the process. Just make sure you get the OK from the photographer or producer before posting any BTS. 

10. Jumping In

When you're on set of a big job, the last thing you want to do is jump in front of the camera to adjust the talent (model or celeb) while the photographer is snapping away. Instead, tell the photographer that you are "jumping in" and they will gladly pause for you to do what you have to do whether that is a dress that needs to be clipped tighter or you notice a cuff needs to be rolled up. Whatever it is, do it quickly and let the photographer keep doing their thing. 

Are there any stylist terms you've heard that left you scratching your head? Comment below!