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TV puts zip in fashion consultant's career

By Farnoosh Torabi | Special to amNewYork

October 30, 2006

Every week 4.5 million people tune in to watch TLC's hit show "What Not to Wear," an hour-long reality show where two styling gurus raid a fashion delinquent's closet and trash the culprit's "mom" jeans and rainbow-sequined vests.

What typically follows is a radical head-to-toe makeover that leaves the episode's "project" crying tears of joy and viewers watching with envy.

It is this media madness and frenzied push to look our best that has fueled the success of Amy Salin-ger's fashion consulting business in just five years.

"I have all types of clients from 30 to 60 [years old]," the 27-year-old said. "Both men and women want their lives to be easier while looking good. ... I've even had several teenage girls and done a couple of proms."

Salinger's services include offering advice on one's wardrobe, showing what to use and what to lose, and, of course, personal shopping.

"[All my clients] usually have some level of disposable income," Salinger said. Still, she often shops for men and women on a strict budget: "Looking fantastic is not about price tags, it is about how you put [the outfit] together."

Salinger launched her consulting agency in Chicago while in college, supplementing her income by moonlighting as a waitress. The business has grown steadily ever since.

This past year, she earned enough to move to New York to find more clients -- a task, she admitted, that has been the most challenging part of her business.

After all, even with the media hype and the growing obsession with fashion, "hiring a stylist is often not high on many people's to-do lists," she said.

But thanks to word-of-mouth marketing and serving as her own publicist, Salinger has grown her customer base to a level where she can now live 100% off her fashion consulting.

"I am my best promoter!" Salinger said.

Her multimedia Web site, www.amysalinger.net, is added proof.

There, one can watch Salinger's numerous TV apperances, where she is a featured guest on shows like NBC's "Today" and TLC's "The Makeover Story."

"Television appearances give me a credibility that I would not achieve elsewhere," she said. "People need more than advertisements and paper marketing to convince them that it's a worthwhile purchase. ... They need to see your talents before the referrals come pouring in."

Prospective customers can expect a more coaxing experience than TLC's "What Not To Wear." Salinger's approach is less dramatic but just as promising.

She won't necessarily burn your Guadalarja poncho, but she may help you rediscover a more stylish look that already exists in your tiny New York City closet.

"There is no such thing as having nothing to wear," she said, "And I'm not here to change your look. I'm here to upgrade it."

Farnoosh Torabi is a video correspondent for thestreet.com. E-mail her at amSmallBusiness@gmail.com.