Meet the Stylist: Helen Marion-Rowe
Whether you're looking for inspiration or want one-on-one styling help, our expert stylists have you covered. We sat down with Southcenter stylist, Helen Marion-Rowe on what excites her as a stylist and how digital styling tools are key to serving customers on their terms.
Q. Tell us a little bit about your journey at Nordstrom and how you became a stylist.
I started as a seasonal employee in the kid's department. When I joined full-time I began styling my customers digitally and eventually moved to our market styling team, styling customers through our stylist chat. Customers wanted to shop digitally and in-store, so I joined the personal styling team at Southcenter Nordstrom.
Q. What has the transition into digital styling been like and how has your career evolved?
Digital styling has allowed me to reach customers, however, they choose to shop. Having a stylist Instagram is a great way to reach my customers and share the latest product links—I'm able to scale my communication by posting regularly. My stylist page is such a key part of my job as a stylist.
Our digital styling tools at Nordstrom allow me not only to serve customers from the comfort of their home, but even during an in-store appointment. During an appointment, I encourage customers to make three piles from the products we pulled—the yes, maybe and no pile. For anything my customers are unsure of, I will send them a Styleboard, giving them an opportunity to think about it after our appointment.
Q. Why do you love being a stylist?
I love being a stylist because I get to help people through big life moments. From helping a college graduate who is looking for their first interview outfit to the postpartum mom, it's a huge honor that I get to help people in such a practical way—it's my favorite thing about being a stylist.
Q. What's one style tip that you think everybody should know?
Establish your foundation of good quality basics. The pieces that you were going to like from season. Also, don't be afraid to invest in good quality pieces. From there, your wardrobe can really go anywhere!
Q. Can you describe your favorite customer interaction?
My favorite customer interactions are anytime they tell me, "I would have never picked that out for myself," because that means I've opened their perspective and given them the confidence to try something new.