New Beginnings::

Where to begin… I got a new job.

Now the backstory….

Over the past few years, I’ve been on a journey to find my place in the fashion world. I came to NYC, got a fashion degree, and immediately started looking for work in fashion. While one wants to find a dream job the reality is that you find work so you can survive. And with this economy you can find yourself compromising a lot.

That said, I spent the past few years working in “technical design”. It’s less about design and more about fit and construction. I will say that I learned a lot and honed my skills, but after some time I realized this was not my dream, and in the end, not what I wanted to do every day for the rest of my life. So I back tracked. I’ve gone back to a world that is more technical, analysis, and project oriented. Gladly it’s still in the fashion industry and I think this will play better to my strengths in fashion & technology and make for a better long term career. And the added bonus, it will also allow me to focus on my own pursuits in my after hours.

What I Learned About The Fashion Game::

I usually shy away from talking about my day job but just this once I’m going to give some tidbits on my experience and share some of the interesting things I’ve learned along the way.

* Fashion really is not as glamorous as tv makes it seem *
Fashion is only glamorous for the head designer, celebrities, and the people in PR & marketing. Everyone else is working, and working hard long hours for no money. Unless you own your company, or are really high up, you make squat. Maybe less than squat. You get no credit, no invites to shows or parties, no love. You have to do it because you love it.

* A lot of people that work in fashion don’t actually like fashion *
To me, fashion is about art. For most, fashion is about what they like to wear. The most amazing thing I witnessed is that people in fashion don’t read the magazines, follow the trends, go to shows, etc. They don’t make their own clothes or craft their own look. They really just like to shop. And somewhere along the way it seems that the only requirement to be in fashion is a good shopping sense and the ability to copy the few people that actually do design from an art perspective.

* Fashion is where insecure people come to roost *
If you have insecurities about your body or your look, you would think that you would avoid a career that focuses on these things. That couldn’t be further from the reality.

* Fashion is filled with a whole lot of nice people, and just a couple assholes *
I try to refrain from profanity in print but that word embodies the sentiment perfectly. In all my time in fashion school, internships, freelancing, and working I discovered that most people in the fashion industry are very nice people. So much so that initially you’ll think someone is playing a trick. For instance, the head designer at my last job was a woman with a whole lot of power and influence but she was an absolutely wonderful person. She could be serious when need be but really pleasant and would hold a conversation with you about any random thing.

Now on the flip side, there are 1 or 2 assholes that can ruin the whole experience. The reality is that they are genuinely awful human beings. Miserably awful people. Awful people who will go out of their way to crap on you because you recognize they are awful people and want nothing to do with them. Like the person that barely talked to me in the first place, that went out of their way to let me know they were giving me the silent treatment because I forgot to say hello one day right after my grandfather passed. Because regardless of what I was going through, saying hello should always be my priority. Yep…that type of awful

So those are the highlights.

I’m happy to say I’ll be able to start focusing on my own work with a clear creative head. I’m really looking forward to it. As I get back into things, you follow my creative process and other random stuff on tumblr, twitter, goodreads, and pinterest.