---
title: "How to make a lookbook buyers open: looks, order, size"
canonical: https://withicarus.com/blog/how-to-make-a-lookbook
site: Icarus
description: "How to make a lookbook for wholesale or press: how many looks to include, what order to put them in, and how small the PDF must be to send by email."
---

# How to make a lookbook buyers open: looks, order, size

How to make a lookbook for wholesale or press: how many looks to include, what order to put them in, and how small the PDF must be to send by email.

_October 15, 2026. Written with AI from the sources listed below, and checked automatically before it went live._

![Woman in a cream linen blazer holding its lapel, styled as a lookbook look](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/how-to-make-a-lookbook/woman-linen-blazer-lookbook.png)

_Made with Icarus_

To make a lookbook, shoot one strong image for each look, put [one or two looks on each page](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md), order them so the collection tells a story, and export a PDF small enough to send by email. For wholesale or press, you also have to decide how many looks to show, which one opens the book, which one closes it, and how small the file needs to be for every inbox.

This post covers how many looks to include, what order to put them in, the file size that gets through, what buyers expect to find inside, and how to make every image from one garment photo and one face.

**Key takeaways**

- Fit the number of looks to your line: every style you want ordered appears at least once.
- Open with the look that sums up the season, group the rest by story, and close strong.
- Keep the PDF under the smallest inbox limit your buyers use.
- Put prices and ordering details in a separate line sheet.

## How many looks does a lookbook need?

There's no industry rule for the number. The right count depends on who's reading and what you want them to do.

![Cream linen blazer laid flat on a white background, shot from above](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/how-to-make-a-lookbook/linen-blazer-flat-lay-white.png)

_Made with Icarus_

**For wholesale**, every style you want a buyer to order should show up in at least one look. Buyers tend to forget a piece that isn't in the book. Extra colorways can go on the line sheet unless a color is a selling point on its own.

**For press**, cut harder. An editor flips through fast, looking for one or two images to run. Show your strongest looks and leave out the filler.

To get your number:

- List every style in the collection.
- Mark your hero pieces, the ones you'd put on the cover.
- Decide which colorways need their own image.
- Style the rest into outfits so each look shows more than one piece.

Then work out your pages. Guides advise [one or two looks per page, without cramming in extra images](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md), so your page count follows from your look count. Leave room around each image, because [white space is part of the design](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md). A crowded page reads like a catalog, and buyers take in less of it.

## What order should the looks go in?

First lookbooks often don't give the order enough thought. A buyer makes up their mind in the first few pages and skims the rest. Work through it in this order:

![Woman at a wooden desk turning pages of a printed fashion lookbook by a window](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/how-to-make-a-lookbook/woman-reading-printed-lookbook.png)

_Made with Icarus_

1. **Open with the look that sums up the season.** Pick the image you'd want a buyer to remember if they saw nothing else.
2. **Group the rest by story.** A story can be a color family, a fabric, an occasion or a mood. Each group should feel like a chapter.
3. **Move gently within each story.** Go from light to dark, or from casual to dressed up, so nothing jumps.
4. **Put the pieces you most want ordered early in each group.** Attention drops as a chapter goes on.
5. **Close with a strong look, not leftovers.** People remember the last image almost as well as the first.
6. **End on a contact page.** Add who to email, how to order, and where to find the line sheet.

Keep the same model through each story if you can. When the face changes on every page, the eye goes to the person. When the face stays the same, it goes to the clothes.

## Make every image from one garment photo and one face

A lookbook has to look like one shoot. That's hard when pieces get shot on different days, in different light, or when your model can't come back for a reshoot.

![Model in a linen blazer and wide-leg trousers standing in a sunlit plaster courtyard](https://icarus.b-cdn.net/blog/how-to-make-a-lookbook/model-blazer-sunlit-courtyard.png)

_Made with Icarus_

With [Icarus fashion photography](https://withicarus.com/ai-product-photography/fashion), you upload one photo of the garment and one clear photo of your model's face, then describe the scene in plain words. A flat lay or hanger shot is enough. Product pinning keeps the garment's real colour, print and stitching. [Face locking](https://withicarus.com/features/same-face) keeps the same person across every scene, pose and outfit, so a story reads as one set.

For a full collection, [bulk product photos](https://withicarus.com/features/bulk-product-photos) let you drop in all your garment photos at once, then write one shot per product and make the set together. You can also save your setting once as a studio, with its light, background and mood, so every look has the same scene.

Here's a prompt you can adapt for each look:

> The model wearing the linen blazer and wide-leg trousers, standing in a sunlit plaster courtyard, soft late-afternoon light, full-length shot, calm expression

Try this prompt in Icarus: https://withicarus.com/dashboard?prompt=The%20model%20wearing%20the%20linen%20blazer%20and%20wide-leg%20trousers%2C%20standing%20in%20a%20sunlit%20plaster%20courtyard%2C%20soft%20late-afternoon%20light%2C%20full-length%20shot%2C%20calm%20expression

Cost is easy to plan. On the AI we start you on, a 2K image that holds a saved product costs $0.05. You see each shot's price before you make it, and every price is on the [pricing page](https://withicarus.com/pricing).

Hold each result up against the real piece before it goes in the book. Check hems, buttons and print scale. A buyer who orders from the lookbook expects the delivery to match it.

## What file size should a lookbook PDF be?

Small enough for the strictest inbox on your list. Each email service sets its own limit:

| Inbox | Attachment limit |
| --- | ---: |
| Personal Gmail | [25 MB](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6584) |
| Outlook client, internet accounts | [20 MB](https://www.palisade.email/learning/max-size-for-email-attachment.md) |
| Outlook client, Exchange business (default) | [10 MB](https://www.palisade.email/learning/max-size-for-email-attachment.md) |

Source: [Gmail Help](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6584), [Palisade](https://www.palisade.email/learning/max-size-for-email-attachment.md)

The file size on your desktop isn't what gets sent. Email encoding makes attachments bigger, so [a 25 MB cap leaves you about 18 MB of actual file](https://www.palisade.email/learning/max-size-for-email-attachment.md). Go over the limit in Gmail and [it swaps your attachment for a Google Drive link](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6584), which some buyers won't click. And [most email servers reject attachments over 25MB](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md).

Many wholesale buyers use company email, so aim under the 10 MB business default. To get there:

- Export images at screen resolution for the email version, not print resolution.
- Save photos as compressed JPEGs before you place them in the layout.
- Use your layout tool's smallest-size PDF export and check the final file.
- Keep a separate high-resolution version for press who need print files, and send it as a download link when they ask.

## What buyers expect to find inside

A press lookbook can be all pictures. A wholesale lookbook has to help someone place an order.

Label every look. Wholesale lookbooks [carry style numbers or names for each piece](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md), so a buyer can note what they want without emailing you to ask. Keep the label small, in the same spot on every page.

Keep the numbers in a separate document. [A line sheet carries pricing, size runs, SKUs, fabric compositions and ordering information](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md). The lookbook sells the mood and the line sheet closes the order. Send both, and make sure the style names match exactly.

Before you hit send:

- [ ] The opening look is your strongest image
- [ ] Every style you want ordered appears at least once
- [ ] Each look carries a style number or name
- [ ] Names match the line sheet
- [ ] Same model and light within each story
- [ ] Every image checked against the real garment
- [ ] PDF is under your target size
- [ ] Last page has contact and ordering details

You can shoot your next collection this way in Icarus, starting from one garment photo and one face.

## Questions

### How many pages should a lookbook be?

That depends on how many looks you show. Guides suggest [one or two looks per page](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md), so count your looks first, then add a cover and a contact page.

### Do I need a line sheet as well as a lookbook?

For wholesale, yes. The lookbook shows the clothes styled and worn. The line sheet is the document with [pricing, size runs, SKUs, fabrics and ordering details](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md), so buyers usually ask for both.

### Can I make a lookbook without a photoshoot?

Yes. In Icarus you upload one photo of each garment and one clear photo of a face, describe the scene, and it shoots the look on that model. Check each image against the real piece before you publish.

### What format should I send a lookbook in?

A PDF works for most buyers. Keep it small enough to attach, since [personal Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6584) and business inboxes often allow less.

## Sources

- [Gmail Help – attachment size limits](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6584)
- [How to Create and Share a Digital Fashion Lookbook](https://www.fast.io/resources/fashion-lookbook.md)
- [What is the maximum size for an email attachment?](https://www.palisade.email/learning/max-size-for-email-attachment.md)

---

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