Dressing up celebrities and styling editorials may seem like it’s all glitz and glamour, but the MegaStyle team will be straight to the point and tell you this: it isn’t at all what it seems. From last-minute pull-outs to shoots that take the entire day, it requires serious work. We got more tips from celebrity stylist Basia Richard (Selena Gomez and Victoria Justice’s go-to stylist!), who shared some of her tips with Teen Vogue:

I found this funny picture. It was taken after one of the fittings and we went to the ice ring after 😜 Happy Birthday @selenagomez ❤️❤️❤️ #Selenka #selenagomez #happybirthday

A post shared by Basia Richard (@basiamld) on Jul 22, 2017 at 8:37am PDT

1. Get ready for an internship
Starting out with an internship at a magazine or a fashion house will definitely help in getting your foot in the door. Exposure to the industry will give you important on-the-job skills (research, running from fashion house to fashion house, how to network, etc.) that you can’t gain from simply studying about the topic of fashion styling. “A lot of this industry works by recommendations. Intern for a stylist, become their assistant. The key is to develop a relationship with these stylists so they can recommend you,” shares Basia. She adds that recommendations from another stylist is very important, as celebrities tend to be wary of new faces.
2. Build your lookbook
A lookbook—a collection of your photos that showcases your work—is essential to any budding fashion stylist. In connection to Basia’s previous tip, working as an intern will give you a lot of opportunities to work on your own personal portfolio. Slowly but surely, you will be able to work for bigger clients once you’ve added more works into your lookbook.
3. Immerse yourself in the fashion and celebrity world
It would be impossible to survive in the fashion industry if you were oblivious as to what was going on in the fashion and celebrity world. Aside from keeping up with the hottest trends, it is also important to study different celebrities to get to know their personal taste. “As a celebrity stylist you will be working with lots of different personalities and fashion tastes,” shares Basia, adding, “So you want to make everyone happy and make them comfortable.”