05/04/2026
For those of you who are new to The Ideal Closet, let me introduce myself. Hi 👋🏻 My name is Katie Ferrell and I am the lead fashion & personal stylist and owner of The Ideal Closet. (Recently (like last week), I also became a Realtor specializing in residential development. Yay! But more on that later…)
I have been a fashion stylist for the past 25 years (wow! That really ages me) with a focus on personal styling for the last 18 years. My journey into becoming a stylist started when I joined Harper’s Bazaar as a fashion intern right after graduating college. Interning at Harper’s Bazaar is nothing like you see in movies or on t.v.- it isn’t glamorous and no, you don’t get to wear the clothing, but it taught me a lot and introduced me to the world of styling. After my internship, I stayed in NYC and worked as a freelance assistant stylist. When the money ran out, I headed back to my hometown and worked with a local photographer on a fashion styling portfolio. Somehow, Neiman Marcus found me and offered me a job working as an assistant stylist in their fashion styling department for their catalog and online team. I said yes as long as I got to be head stylist on some catalogs as well. I was hoping that meant I would be traveling with the crew, but unfortunately that was not the case. All styling was done in the office off-model with pictures and instructions for a set stylist to carry out on our behalf 😔. After spending 2 years in Dallas, I decided to pivot away from catalog styling into personal styling, and I moved to Nashville where I started working as the women’s stylist at J.Crew. That is where a lot of you know me from and where I worked for 8 years until J. Crew did away with offering a personal stylist to their customers.
After losing my job, I sold my home and traveled around the world for a year. It was, without a doubt, the BEST year of my life, and I still can’t believe how much God has and continues to bless me!! When I returned back to the states in 2017, I was without a job, but with the support of my parents, I was able to start my own personal styling & home organization business. Welcome to The Ideal Closet!