As an assistant stylist it isn’t necessary for you to lug around a gigantic kit with you on all of the jobs you assist on — your key stylist will bring his or her kit. However, we do advise that you bring a mini-kit along with you on jobs. Bringing along this kit mini-kit will ensure you are prepared for anything and it will probably score you a bonus point or two with your key stylist.

1.) Lint roller-Nothing is more irritating than lint. Keep a mini lint roller in your bag for emergency lint and other dirty flecks that may crop up on set. Another way to carry around your lint roller is on a string around your neck. Makes for a functional necklace and it will always be handy when you need it.

2.) Mini-sewing kit (with mini-scissors)- When a button pops off, you’d better believe that your key stylist isn’t going to jump at the chance to sew it back on. Don’t even wait for the key to ask, you whip out your sewing kit and start sewing! Try and get a kit with small scissors too, will be helpful is cutting off stray threads.

3.) Safety pins & clips- Safety pins and clips are the savior of any photos shoot. If you think clothes really fit perfectly when they are put on the actors or models, then you are sadly mistaken. Clothing needs to be taken it on the fly all the time. Be prepared with pins and safety pins for these occasions.

4.) Top stick/ double sided tape- Almost equally as important as safety pins and clips … top stick! As stylists’ best friend. You will need this sticky stuff more than you will ever know, so have it handy in your assistant kit.

5.) Pen and paper- Having a pen and paper is crucial. Not only is it vital for taking credits on set but who doesn’t like to be the one who can step up to the plate when someone says “anyone have a pen?”

Any stylist, assistant stylist, intern, or anyone who reads this blog … probably knows about “the kit”. The kit is that magical bag of tricks that a stylist carries around on set . We won’t go into the details but if you want them, click here to learn all about it!

Anyways point of this post is that there is another kit and it’s also called “the kit”. It’s like the other white meat of kits. This particular kit usually resides in the stylists studio or garage and contains a bunch of clothes and accessories. Those items live with the stylist and travel around on shoots on an as needed basis.

What kind of items are in this kit? Well let us break it down for you …

1.) Lingerie- usually kept in a giant bin and contains tons and tons of bras, panties, tights, socks, and stocking. A definite must on set.

2.) Hats- a bin of random hats because you never know when an outfits needs a little extra something

3.) Shoes- again in giant bins. One bin for men’s shoes and one for women’s. The shoes in the kit usually aren’t that special looking, mostly basics like pumps, ballet flats, tennis shoes, etc …

4.) Jewelry- its great to have extra jewelry on  hand, especially cheap little basics that translate well on camera. For example; hoop earrings, pearls, bangles, and fun stuff like that.

5.) Clothes- the more you style, the more random clothes you acquire. It’s great to keep them stored away to supplement the clothes you pull for a shoot. It is also beneficial to buy a few things for your kit like black leggings, jeans, and plain tee shirts.

6.) Accessories- belts, scarves, sunglasses … and other fun add on pieces can save your ass on a shoot.

So there you have it … the other kit :)

Do you go commando? SOS doesn’t — we like undergarments around here — but as a stylist you will come to find out that a lot of actresses, actors, models, and musicians do in fact love going “commando”. That’s all fine and good when it comes to personal lifestyle choices but when it comes to wearing borrowed clothing, not as fine … at all. We will spare you the gory details and just tell you about this cool product that one of our graduates introduced us to (it’s his company actually), Commandos.

Commandos are these clever little liners that you can slip inside your jeans/ pants to protect them from, um, damage. Pretty genius. These would definitely make for a useful addition to any stylist’s kit.

Buy them online at GoCommandos.com