EXCLUSIVE: Erin Walsh, Celebrity Stylist, Presents 'The Art of Intentional Dressing,' a Manual for Harmonizing Style with Self

For Erin Walsh, renowned celebrity stylist, fashion has always transcended clothingits about expressing and aligning your inner self with the world. Her forthcoming book, The Art of Intentional Dressing: Your Essential Style Guide for Manifesting a Magnetic Life, condenses twenty years of experience working with high-profile clients into a structured approach for using fashion as a tool for self-awareness and personal empowerment.

Central to the book is Walshs Create method, a six-step system representing Clarity, Ritual, Editing, Alignment, Truth, and Expansion. Although she developed this method organically throughout her career, it fully crystallized as she sought to imbue fashion with greater intention and purpose.

Many people view fashion as a luxury, Walsh explained. But as my friend Jenn Hyman reminded me, fashion is essentialjust like brushing your teeth, everyone has to get dressed each day. This method is about harmonizing all aspects of life by approaching fashionand life itselfwith intention.

Instead of teaching trend-following, The Art of Intentional Dressing reimagines style as a daily ritual to foster confidence and self-connection. Walsh encourages readers to consider not just what they wear, but how they want to feel. Whether someone is preparing for a routine meeting or a landmark event, the key question is, How do you want to feel? Fashion choices become meaningful when they reflect your authentic self, she said.

Walsh, who has styled celebrities like Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez, notes that people often face style blocks when their wardrobes no longer resonate with their identity. Closets can become cemeteries of past selves, she observes. Her guidance: begin from within. As Diane von Furstenberg advised me, define the person you aspire to be first. Then curate your wardrobe to reflect that vision, so each item reinforces the person you want to embody, Walsh said.

Her philosophy extends beyond clothing to include practices such as music, movement, scent, and gratitude, which help cultivate energetic alignment before choosing outfits. Alignment is about living with integrity, honoring your highest self through your choices. Everything improves when you approach life intentionally, she explained.

Featuring a foreword by Anne Hathaway and visual guides for self-reflection and wardrobe editing, The Art of Intentional Dressing will be published by HarperOne in May 2026. Walsh emphasizes that the book is designed as an ongoing journey rather than a quick fix. Reading this book doesnt automatically transform you. True growth requires commitment to yourself and continually returning to your intentions, she said.

Author: Noah Whitman