---
title: Build and send a style guide
slug: build-and-send-a-style-guide
excerpt: "You pick who wears what. They get one link. That's the whole brief — no Pinterest board, no Sunday lost to tabs."
updated: 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z
canonical: https://www.useshutterstyle.com/help/build-and-send-a-style-guide
---
# Build and send a style guide

A style guide is the note you send a family so they show up ready. You pick the outfits. They open one link on their phone. They don't need a Shutterstyle account.

We'll walk you through it.

## Create the guide

Open [Style Guides](/style-guides) and start a new one. Name it for you — "The Millers, golden hour," whatever you'll recognize later. The family never sees that name.

Add a session date if you have one. That's how we know which guides still matter if a piece goes [Unavailable](/help/unavailable-items) later. You can leave it blank and fill it in when the date lands.

There's also an optional client name on create. That's for you, too — it doesn't print on the public page. The public page shows *your* business name from Profile.

On Free you can keep one style guide. If you're already there, we'll ask you to upgrade before you create another. [Plans, trial, and billing](/help/plans-trial-and-billing).

Starting from a finished example instead of a blank page? [Copy an Inspiration](/help/copy-an-inspiration).

## Add the people

Start by adding everyone you're dressing as a Person: Mom, Dad, Baby Girl, whoever's in the session. Age and gender aren't extra paperwork. They filter the clothes so Mom doesn't see baby rompers and the toddler doesn't see adult denim.

*Add everyone you're dressing. Age and gender on each Person tune the picker to them.*

Baby and toddler are different audiences — don't collapse them. If someone is pregnant, mark maternity on that Person so the maternity pieces show up.

You need at least one Person before you can attach a Palette. You can add or edit People later from the People control on the guide. Free accounts can put three People on a guide; Pro and trial are unlimited.

## Attach one Palette

Each style guide carries exactly one Palette. The five colors are the story; the clothes under them are already curated to match. Heart the Palettes you reach for so they sit at the top next time.

*Five colors in the editor. Everything in the picker underneath is already chosen to sit in that story.*

You can change Palettes later. We'll ask you to confirm first — items you already picked under the old Palette come off the guide. [How Palettes work](/help/palettes).

## Pick outfits

Each Person has a row of shoppable pieces filtered to them. Tap a card to add it; it moves up into your picks at the top. Category chips (Tops, Bottoms, Dresses, and the rest) narrow the carousel. Some categories also have a short/long length filter. Tap a thumbnail in your picks to take it back out.

If the carousel looks empty, the filter is usually the reason — switch category, clear length, or you've already placed every curated piece for that Person.

If a thumbnail shows an X, that Catalog product is currently [Unavailable](/help/unavailable-items). Swap it, or keep it and tell the family to skip that piece.

On Pro and during the trial, you can also pull from your [Client Closet](/help/closet-and-catalog) — pieces the family already owns, or studio wardrobe — alongside Catalog picks.

## Review and publish

Review & share unlocks once at least one outfit is on the guide. That's where you choose how the family sees it.

*Look is one mixed grid — the color story as a whole. By person stacks each Person with their pieces in a row.*

Look is the default. You can switch anytime before or after publish; the family sees whichever you've picked, and they can't toggle it themselves.

Drag to rearrange. Hover and hit ✕ to drop a piece without going back to the editor. Preview as your client to see the page without your edit controls.

Publish, then copy the link or email it from the same dialog. The family opens it in any browser. On Free, the guide shows a Shutterstyle banner. On Pro (and during the trial), your branding takes over.

Email the link 10–14 days out — enough time to order and try on, not the night before.

[What your client sees](/help/what-your-client-sees).

## After you send

Unpublish anytime and the public link stops working. You can keep editing and publish again; the URL stays the same after the first publish.

If a piece you placed goes Unavailable, we email you (you can turn that off in Settings) and the editor marks that thumbnail with an X.
