As our guest stylist for this shoot, Nadine Silvestre let us pick her brain about the crazy world of fashion and check out the goodies she keeps in her toolkit:

Q: Let’s start at the beginning, how did you become interesting in styling?

A: I went to Catholic school so I was never really able to play around with my style when I was younger. When I got a job at Urban Outfitters during my teens, I really discovered I could be creative in what I wore.

Q: How has attending FIDM shaped your style?

A: I’ve learned a lot about how fashion relates to life. It’s not just the clothes; it’s learning the history and being inspired by everything around you, from music to movies — especially art. Those two years definitely made me more creative.

Q: Which designers inspire you?

A: I really love Alexander Wang and Helmut Lang. They do a lot of really great basic styles with funky cuts or non-traditional shapes. I love Lang’s use of asymmetrical cuts, it makes everything look much more interesting than a basic hem.

Q: Outside of school, what experience do you have?

A: I have been assisting celebrity stylist Jazzie Bella, which means I help her on shoots, dropping off clothes, styling, basically whatever she needs. It’s a hard industry to get your foot in the door so the more work you can do, the better.

Q: What kind of things do you keep in your stylist toolkit?

A: Since you never know what you might need, I keep everything from heavy-duty clamps from Home Depot (to pin clothes), toupee adhesive that acts as double-stick tape, scissors, a Tide-To-Go stick, lint rollers and safety pins to a notebook and pen, for taking notes.

Q: What accessory are you looking forward to this summer?



A: I’ve been making floral crowns, and those seem to be getting huge right now. I haven’t worn them out yet, but I would love to see someone all in leather with a really girly pink flower crown.