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The Manhattan Trim: Structure, Notes & Study

This page is basically me turning my chaotic learning process into something a little easier to follow.

The Manhattan trim completely changed the way I look at structure, balance, and silhouette, and these graphics are my attempt to organize the notes I’ve been building while learning, practicing, and refining the trim myself.

The live recordings connected to each section show the actual process in real time — including mistakes, adjustments, problem-solving, and the little details that are hard to explain in static photos alone. The graphics beside them are the cleaned-up version of what I’m seeing while I work: angles, measurements, visual guides, and the relationships between different parts of the trim. Mostly because I cannot draw to save my life, so color-coded lines became my solution. 😅

 

A large part of the education and inspiration behind this process came from studying at Kim’s Pet Beauty Academy in Gangnam and through the KKC (Korean Kennel Club). Korean grooming education completely changed the way I think about grooming structure and teaching. There is such a strong focus on balance, proportion, angles, and understanding why a shape works instead of simply memorizing steps.

 

This isn’t meant to be “the one correct way” to do a Manhattan trim. It’s my personal study process and the systems that helped me start understanding the shape instead of just copying steps.My goal with sharing all of this is simple:to document the journey, make the concepts easier to visualize, and hopefully help other groomers learn to see the trim the same way I’m learning to see it.

Overall Process

  • For competition grooming, I personally break the Manhattan trim into four main sections:

    • Rough In — ~15 Minutes

      • This is where the foundation of the trim is created. The clean face, initial shape, major lines, balance points, and band placement are established here. The goal is not perfection — it is creating the structure that everything else will build from.

    • Rounding & Sculpting — ~45 Minutes

      • This is where the trim starts becoming polished. The rough structure is softened, balanced, blended, and refined into the final silhouette. Most of the visual shaping happens during this stage.

    • Ears & Tail — ~15 Minutes

      • The ears and tail are finished separately so they can stay clean and controlled throughout the rest of the groom. This is where symmetry, finish work, and overall style really start pulling together.

    • Final Detail Run — ~45 Minutes

      • The final pass is all about correcting balance, refining lines, improving symmetry, and cleaning up anything that distracts from the silhouette. This stage usually involves stepping back repeatedly and looking at the dog from every angle. Tiny adjustments make a huge difference here.

One of the biggest things I learned through Korean grooming education at Kim’s Pet Beauty Academy and through the KKC is that competition grooming is less about rushing and more about building structure in layers. Each stage has a specific purpose, and each pass improves the overall balance and finish of the trim.

Prep

Prep is probably the least exciting part of the process, but honestly it might be the most important. A bad prep will fight you through the entire trim. A good prep makes the haircut cleaner, smoother, and much easier to balance later.

One of the biggest things I learned while studying at Kim’s Pet Beauty Academy in Gangnam was that we tend to overcomplicate prep. The focus was not on using endless products. It was on consistency, brushing technique, and building a clean foundation before the haircut even starts.

The first stage of prep is fully brushing out the wig before it ever goes onto the model dog. Instead of using a fine-toothed comb, a short-tined stiff brush is used to separate the fibers section by section until the entire wig is evenly brushed out. The goal I was given in Korea was approximately 20 minutes for a full prep brush out.

Once the wig is fully brushed out, it is placed onto the model dog. The legs are banded to prevent twisting while working, and the ears are banded to keep them controlled and out of the way during the trim. The wig opening is then secured closed using zip ties because, frankly, the Velcro does not hold well enough for competition work.

Before moving on, the dog is carefully stood correctly with all four feet flat on the table. Structure and balance start here, not after the haircut begins.

At this point, a long-tined wide-tooth comb is used to comb the fibers outward from the base. The goal is not perfection. Any tiny tangles left behind should be pushed toward the ends of the fibers so they end up in the coat that will eventually be removed during the haircut.

The final prep step is installing the eyes and nose. A rattail comb or hemostats can be used to locate and open the fabric where the pieces need to be inserted. If the eyes or nose do not seat securely, a rubber mallet can be used to gently tap them into place.

None of this is glamorous, but prep determines how easy the rest of the trim will be. The cleaner and more controlled the setup is here, the easier it becomes to build accurate structure during the rough in.

Rough In

The rough in is all about establishing the structure of the trim as quickly and cleanly as possible. This is not the stage where everything becomes polished or perfectly blended. The goal is simply to remove excess coat, establish proportions, and create the major lines that the rest of the haircut will follow.

In competition, the rough in for this trim is intended to take approximately 15 minutes.

One of the biggest things I learned through Korean grooming education is that the rough in is less about “making it pretty” and more about making decisions. You are building the framework of the trim:

Neck placement

Chest shape

Body balance

Rear proportions

Leg placement

Topline

Overall silhouette

 

During this stage, a large amount of coat is intentionally removed very quickly. The trim often looks messy, uneven, or even slightly alarming halfway through the process — that is normal. The purpose of the rough in is simply to create the structure that will later be softened and refined during rounding and sculpting.

The graphics below are simplified visual notes from my own study process while learning and refining this trim. They are not meant to replace hands-on instruction or full demonstrations, but instead act as visual reminders for angles, proportions, measurements, and balance points discussed during the live recordings.

The accompanying YouTube live shows the full rough in process in real time, including the decision-making, adjustments, and problem-solving that happen while building the trim.

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