Spending your day styling, dressing models, and pulling high fashion clothes sounds like every girl’s (or boy’s) dream. Savvy stylist Lindsi Lane was able to turn her love of fashion into a blossoming career through hard work- at 23 she was the youngest personal shopper in the history of Barneys New York. Now represented by Ford Artists, we chatted with the well-heeled trendsetter about her road to success.

You started in the industry at a young age, please tell us about your earlier positions and how they helped you land at Barneys New York.
Going way back now, weirdly enough I was not a fashion major in college! With that big decision, but knowing that my heart was set on fashion, I vowed to devote my summers to interning in the fashion industry, and that meant working for many people, for large companies, and for free! For four summers until I graduated, I interned at Gucci, Michael Kors, Lizzy Grubman, and ELLEMagazine, all of which led me to Barneys New York. Everything I was taught in those internships definitely landed me my positions there, all because I knew after all of these amazing experiences that it was styling people that was my calling and what I was always meant to do.

What prompted you to pursue styling over other paths in the fashion industry?
I had interned in Women’s Sales at Gucci and Michael Kors for two summers so when it just wasn’t doing “it” for me, I dove into PR at Lizzy Grubman but something was always missing…that feeling of being in love with what I did! After I had the amazing and unbelievable opportunity to be the Stylist Intern at ELLE Magazine, I had come close to finally falling in love with what I was doing, except magazines had little wiggle room for growth. I wanted big success at a young age and I believed that I could achieve it all if I kept my eye on the prize. When I landed two assisting positions for two personal shoppers and then was promoted to my own office as the youngest personal shopper in Barneys New York history at age 23, I can honestly say I knew right then and there in that moment that this was exactly where I was meant to be.

How do you approach pulling looks for an individual vs pulling items for a fashion shoot?
Pulling looks for individual clients vs items for a fashion shoot are completely different things and I have a totally different mindsets going into both scenarios. Depending on the situation of course, individuals are sometimes very body conscious and have many specific needs, all of which I need to pay very close attention to to achieve the looks they want and to make them feel beautiful, inside and out. Pulling for a fashion shoot encourages more risk-taking and stepping out of the box when it comes to my ideas. I really use my imagination and try to be creative and as crafty as possible to create beautiful photos. One thing I know that is the same for both…I don’t think there is any better feeling than making someone look and feel beautiful or seeing the results of the beautiful images you created.

Please name some of your go to designers.
Oh wow! There are just way too many to count! To name a few, I absolutely adore Matthew Williamson, Rag & Bone, The Row, Jill Stuart, Givenchy, Marchesa, Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, and Helmut Lang.

Lastly, what advice do you have for aspiring fashion industry hopefuls?
The absolute best advice I can give to people is to know who you are, believe in yourself, never dumb yourself down for others, keep your eye on the prize, and network network, network! Being signed with FORD for a year now has been a dream come true and more than I could have ever asked for myself in my career. I can truly say because of all of these things above, I finally have the career I have always wanted and knew I would eventually be in love with and just like the feeling I had at Barneys, I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be, right here in this moment.

Stellar advice and we love your designer picks, for more on Lindsi visit her official website and follow her on Twitter @LindsiLaneStyle.