I remember the very first time it became apparent that I wanted to work in the fashion industry. I was about four years old sitting in my bedroom cutting up the fabric from my clothes and sewing them. My mom walked in and asked me why I was destroying my clothes. I enthusiastically explained to her that I was making clothes for my Barbies. Puzzled, she asked me why I didn’t just ask her to take me to buy more clothes for my Barbies. I thought making them was more fun. Instead of chastising me, she praised me for my creativity.
As a four-year-old, clad in jumpsuits and far too many barrettes in my hair, I had no idea what the fashion industry was or how much it would come to influence my life.
Fast forward to about 12 years old. My interest in fashion evolved beyond being a toddler fashion designer for Barbies. My aunt gave me my first issue of Vogue.
That moment changed my life.
“I read the September Issue of Vogue cover to cover over 20 times– devouring every word, every image any iota of knowledge I could soak up.”
I was exposed to high-end designers like Versace, Chanel, Celine and Louis Vuitton. Even though I couldn’t pronounce them properly at the time, that didn’t stop me from talking endlessly about them to anyone who would listen.
At that point, I knew– there wasn’t a doubt in my mind, that I wanted to work in the fashion industry. I had no idea what part of the industry I wanted to work in. To further complicate things, I was living in a suburban town in South Carolina– not exactly the hub of fashion. I knew I had to make the move to New York City to make my dreams come true.
In high school, I took a journalism class because I thought it would be an easy A. The class was absolutely one of the most rigorous classes I’ve ever taken, but it opened my eyes not only to journalism but PR and many other aspects of the media industry. Taking that class was the single best thing I’ve done for my career. From there I joined the school newspaper and by my senior year, I was the co-managing editor.
Naturally, I wrote for my college newspaper too. I spent two years writing the fashion column for my college newspaper. I enjoyed the marriage of my love for writing with my love for fashion. Being a Communications major in college exposed me to many facets of the industry including PR, Marketing, and Journalism.
After a particularly unfruitful post-college job search, I finally took the plunge and moved to New York on what seemed like a rather impulsive whim. I was looking for any PR or marketing job I could find in a the dismal job market of Virginia, where I moved to be with my boyfriend at the time. I decided it was time to stop putting my dreams and career plans on the backburner for some guy.
With my newfound liberation, I applied to a few PR jobs in the fashion and beauty industry at companies I admired. The very next day, I was invited in for an interview with a nail polish brand. “Wow, that was quick”, I thought. Although, a welcome change after the dry spell I had endured and a confidence booster to boot. I agreed to an interview the following day and packed a backpack with interview appropriate clothes and a bit of makeup. I hopped on the next Chinatown bus to New York and arrived at my grandmother’s doorstep at 6 am. Since she lives in Queens, she graciously had me as her guest so I could commute to the city from her house.
After the interview, I felt exhilarated and excited at the prospect of landing the internship. A few days later, I got the news that I was hired. That was probably one of the top 5 happiest days of my life. The feelings of euphoria wore off shortly when I came back to reality.
“I had a week to make a cross country move with exactly $3.24 in my bank account.”
My first few months of living in New York, I spent living on my grandmother’s couch and giving 110% percent at my internship. Not having a room to myself where I could shut the door and cry after a particularly rough day posed its own challenges. That’s a topic for another post. I did what was necessary to have the career I always wanted. I am much happier now that I am doing what I love to do.
“One of my best qualities is my ability to take a seemingly impossible situation and make it happen.”
My life motto is “Work with what you’ve got to get what you want. Make that money don’t let it make you.” Now that may or may not be a Bubba Sparxx quote, but it still applies in this situation and many other situations in life where you have to be resourceful and work your ass off.
Working in the fashion industry requires more than just a surface level interest in fashion. Many people think “Oh I like to shop so I should totally work in fashion!” Wrong. One has to really love and respect it for the art form that it is. There are so many moving parts to make the fashion industry work. To be a part of that is amazing, and a privilege not many people get to experience.
You need tenacity and thick skin. You need to be willing to work hard. Sometimes that even means *gasp* physical labor.
“Prissy girls afraid to break a nail need not apply.”
Let me know if you want me to do a separate post about my first year in New York City and getting my start in fashion. Thanks for reading. If you got this far you are a trooper!
-Maya
