Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life of a BENTO® Stylist
So, you’ve completed your style quiz. What happens next?
There’s a reason M.M.LaFleur’s BENTO® styling service has a 4.9/5 customer satisfaction score, and it’s not that we have some advanced algorithm that synthesizes your preferences and spits out recommendations. In fact, the magic of BENTO comes from good old fashioned human touch—specifically, a team of pro stylists with an eye for outfit-pairing, a deep understanding of fit, and a dedication to helping women feel amazing in their clothes.
So how do these wonderful stylists turn the answers from your style quiz into a shoppable BENTO lookbook specially tailored to your needs? I sat down with stylist Mahrukh Qamer to learn what goes on behind the scenes. Read on to meet Mahrukh and learn what goes into the styling of a BENTO.
Meet Mahrukh
Age: 25
Originally from: Canada
Favorite thing about living in NYC: “It’s very fashion focused. That’s my career and what I studied in undergrad, and living here is so inspiring. I love how creative the city is, and I love being creative in it.”
Go-to weekend pastime: “One of my favorite things is going café-hopping with my friends or coworkers and people-watching in fashion neighborhoods like SoHo and the West Village.”
A Day in the Life
Getting to know new clients
“Each morning, our team of seven stylists starts the day by divvying up new clients who have filled out the BENTO quiz. We typically take on about five to 10 clients each, depending on how many people have signed up.
For each client, I take time to read their surveys, learning their preferences, their body type, their measurements, and what they’re looking for from their BENTO experience. If they’ve shopped with M.M. before, I also look at their customer profiles and past orders.”
Curating BENTO lookbooks
“Next, I reach out to my new clients via text to introduce myself and ask follow-up questions. Usually, the surveys have a lot of detail, but I still like going in with a few personalized questions. Each stylist is different, but I often ask something like, ‘What have you seen on our site that interests you?’ to get a sense of their overall aesthetic, or questions about silhouette, such as, ‘How do you feel about wide-leg pants?’ to gauge if there are any strong preferences I should keep in mind.
Once I have a good sense of the client, I’ll start putting together her BENTO lookbook. In addition to her style preferences and needs, I always keep her budget in mind. My goal is to give options while ensuring the experience is never overwhelming. Depending on what she’s looking for, I’ll suggest anywhere from three to 13 pieces.”
Chatting with clients
“We also do virtual styling sessions to help clients make the most of the pieces in their BENTO. Sometimes, a client will make a purchase and then come back to me a week later, and say, ‘I want to keep this top, but I don’t know how to style it.’ For those customers, I’ll either assist them via text or schedule a virtual session over Zoom to help them style their new pieces with something they already have in their closet. The funniest thing we get asked is, ‘Is this AI? Are you real?’ so it’s really nice to connect over Zoom face-to-face.
We also stay in touch with our past BENTO clients via email and text. It’s a really personalized relationship.”
Who Is BENTO For?
“The reasons I see people requesting BENTOs most often are wardrobe updates for seasonal transitions, special occasions or events, and life changes like a new job. But really, it’s for anyone who needs convenience. Many of the women we work with have demanding careers and busy lifestyles. Having someone who can put outfits together for you makes life a lot easier, helping you save time and look your best without the stress.
It’s a great service even for people who are particular about what they wear, because you only buy what you want and can even add styles to your order that weren’t in your original lookbook. When I send a BENTO lookbook, I always ask, ‘Hey, what do you think of this? I can adjust it.’”
The Heart of BENTO
“My favorite thing about my job is that I get to help other women feel good. It’s really hard being a woman in general, plus sizing is so weird these days, making it difficult to navigate online shopping. We get a lot of postpartum moms and women who have changed sizes or are going through life transitions, and we get to help them feel confident and special.
Even if a client is only purchasing one or two pieces, we always tailor the experience to her needs, follow up, and work with her one-on-one for as long as she’d like. It’s really about making women feel empowered and excited when they look in the mirror. The best feedback is when a client says we’ve changed shopping from something stressful into something that feels personal and fun.”
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