It is a thankless job with little to no pay, long hours and more experience than you could ever hope to gain in a classroom or retail job. Every semester fashion hopefuls scrounge to get some of the most highly coveted internships in the industry. We all do this with the hopes that adding those few lines to our résumés will mean an entry level position post graduation. An internship at a reputable company is an integral part of securing a real industry job, or so we’ve been told.
So we go in to these companies three days a week putting our best foot forward. You observe the women in the office. How they dress, how they carry themselves, how they speak, their work ethic, and you take notes, lots and lots of mental notes. You try to remember every little nugget of information that your superiors give you, because you just know that it will come in handy. “The fashion world is incredibly small, so don’t make any enemies.” “You can take all the marketing classes in the world, but attention to detail and efficiency are what help you to survive here.” “Ask questions. Better to ask questions than to screw up and have to explain later.” And you hang on to these words, because you’re ever hopeful that you will get the opportunity to put them to use sooner than later.
Never mind that you get overlooked when the account managers are introducing the team. Don’t worry about the fact that you don’t get to eat what everyone else gets to eat of the catered meals. Ignore that your feet hurt from wearing heels to run errands all day. Don’t focus on the fact that you may or may not get credit for your contribution to the overall goal. Stay positive. Be teachable. Always be willing and available to help. Don’t take anything personally. Make a positive and lasting impression. Be a self starter. Take some initiative. Whatever you do dress well.
So, the past couple of weeks have been Market week at my internship. This means that retailers come in to view the next season’s collections and place their orders. What does this mean to little old me? The chance to sit in on appointments and get a firsthand look at the business side of fashion, but it also means free food. The company has catered breakfast and lunch for clients that are coming in to view the collections. and for the fit models. (Yes, they encourage models to eat.) Let me preface this next part by saying that I work with an amazing group of people in my department. Their level of dedication to their jobs is a great example of work ethic and they treat me with the utmost respect.
Since I began on this journey to find my way into fashion I have been compared to quite a few women. Of course moving from Atlanta to Brooklyn, New York I get “oh so you’re like ‘A Belle in Brooklyn.’ When I did a brief stint as a fashion stylist I constantly heard: oh you must want to be the next June Ambrose, but the most frequent comparison has been to the one and only Carrie Bradshaw. The Sex and the City character that stole our hearts years ago with tales of love, sex, and fashion. While I will agree that there are some parallels betwixt the lives of Ms. Bradshaw and myself I want it to be known that my life differs dramatically from that of hers albeit fictional.
There is a love story between New York and fashion, this is mine.
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