Teen Fashion from Suburbia

Showing posts with label inspirational. Show all posts

Evolution of Personal Style

Personal style develops as you grow and change. In the years we are in elementary school, middle school, and even high school, our style is influenced by society, by our surroundings, and by our friends. At some point, individuals find a style that suits them, and that they feel comfortable in. It doesn’t matter when that happens, it only matters that it does. Naturally, as we grow and develop and move closer to discovering what our personal style really is, we look back on past phases and can be quite shocked by what we used to wear. (Change “shocked” for “horrified” or “amused” if either fits better.)

Trends make the whole personal style thing a whole lot harder. It's expected that you keep up with trends, but it's also expected that you concurrently maintain your own style. How is that stylistically possible? By adapting to every trend that waltzes down the runway, you are, undoubtedly, compromising your style. So I guess, in my opinion, doing both is impossible. Or rather, doing both fully and to the utmost extent is impossible. My advice would be to use the trends to find your style- what you like, what you feel comfortable in, what makes you feel like you- and then once you find that style, only follow the trends that fit those three W's.

The people around you as well as your life situation will always affect your style in some way, but don't let them change it completely. Remember, your style is an outward expression of who you are as a person. Own it.

The Fashion Industry Is Our Hopes and Dreams

I need the fashion industry to live. Stores, clothing, trends, advertisements, photos, magazines… They are my lifeline, my saving grace. People mock the fashion industry as petty and superficial, but really, it’s not.

The goal of the fashion industry is to sell people a better, improved image of themselves. That fancy rolex? It represents that man’s dream to be a top broker on Wall Street in the next few years. That evening gown? It represents that woman’s desire to walk the red carpet for her dream role in a movie. That little pair of baby shoes? It represents that woman’s dream to raise a family and have a happy life. That trendy shirt? It represents that girl’s desire to fit in, even when everything else might be going wrong in her life. Fashion is a lifeline. It shows what people really feel, how they act, or how they want to be shown to the world. What you choose to wear, how you choose to express yourself, that is your decision. It’s your choice. In a world that’s very unpredictable, where anything can happen to you at any moment in time, knowing you have a choice of how to dress and how you want to look means everything. As the queen, Coco Chanel, once said, “Dress shabbily and they remember the dress. Dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”

We are reading the Great Gatsby in school right now, and I've always admired Gatsby for reasons that not many people do. *spoiler alert* He dreams up this whole idyllic future for himself, one where he has Daisy again, one where he can live happily in his mansion with the love of his life and have no cares in the world. He doesn't just sit on that dream and wait for it to come true though, he acts on it. Jay Gatz reinvents himself as Jay Gatsby, first by his look and personal image, by his speech, and then he builds himself a whole new world based off of those first building blocks.

It sounds crazy, but I can see fashion doing that for people. You can go into any store and you see faces lighting up when someone tries on the perfect dress for their date that night, or their power suit for their first day at a new job. Clothes, new or old, offer someone a chance to take up a new personality, or change their lifestyle. Every time you try on a piece of clothing it's offering up thousands of memories you might make wearing it.

I might be romanticizing the whole idea of fashion, but to me that's how it works. Looking through my closet I remember so many special times and people that I don't remember on a daily basis. I guess that's another thing that fashion does, it serves as an existing reminder of the past- that what's done is done, and that there is a whole trove of times waiting to be experienced in these clothes in the future.

Setting Yourself Up For a Future In Fashion: It It Really That Hard?

There isn’t any definite way to set up a solid future in fashion, but it can’t hurt to try! Through my experiences, I am sharing my “To Do” list to make my future as definite as it can be.

1 Make a list of connections.

It may sound like a trivial task, but by talking about your desire to work in fashion with everyone you can dig up some good connections in the industry. The fact of the matter is, when you need to get your first internship or job, these connections are going to help you a lot. When you find out that your cousin’s friend is the CEO of some brand or company, write it down. Seriously, write it down immediately. Asking that cousin to ask their friend if they would meet with you might be an intimidating experience, but without that connection, would you have the chance to talk to that person at all? Probably not.

I have a document on my Google Drive that is shared with both my parents, so if anyone of us learns of a connection, we can write it down and all the references are compiled in one place. I would suggest writing down whom you know personally, what their relationship is with the contact and the contact’s name and job. For example:

Connections:

-Joe Smith (cousin) friend is Gloria Smith- CEO of MadeUp Brand

2 Talk To Everyone

Whenever you get the chance, talk to people. This is the key to Item 1 above:meeting new people and making contacts. If you are able to go to an event at Fashion Week, or a conference, or any place where there are people who work in fashion, you have to talk. Introduce yourself, make conversation, and give them a reason to remember you. Personally, I know that it can be scary, especially as a teenager, trying to talk to adults and get them to talk to you as a professional, not as a child.

Important: Try to have a brief ‘speech’ prepped about the one thing about you that will help people remember you. For me, it’s my blog and the experiences I have gotten from having a blog, like going to Fashion Week. Once you figure yours out, it makes starting and holding a conversation a lot easier.

3 Take Advantage of Opportunities

Adults always tell teenagers to take advantage of the opportunities given to them. In all honesty, it’s good advice, although it pains me to admit that.

If you get the opportunity to listen to a speaker from the fashion industry, make sure you introduce yourself. If you can’t introduce yourself after they speak, try to get their contact information to thank them for speaking and let them know that you learned something from them.

If you take classes about fashion, whether it’s at a university or at your high school, keep in touch with your professors. They have a lot of knowledge and possible industry contacts that may come in handy for getting that first job.

There are so many possible opportunities that may come your way, but let me just say this: be prepared so that if you end up in an elevator with Anna Wintour, don’t let her leave without knowing who you are and having your contact information.

4 Write your Resume

Even if you have job/internship experience, making a resume can be a daunting task. First, your resume should have a simple, organized design. Don’t pull an Elle Woods with pink scented paper; it won’t actually work to get you that internship (and most are submitted by email now anyway).

Second, all resumes should have your basic contact information, which would be a phone number, email address and home address. Most resumes have different sections to categorize the information being given. Mine, for example, has Education, Experience, Activities and Skills.

Under the Education section, I listed my high school, graduating year and current GPA, as well as all the precollege classes I have taken at FIT.

Under the Experience section, I listed my internship and what I did for the company I worked for, the shows I have covered at New York Fashion Week, my blog and the tasks required in the production of my blog.

Under the Activities section, I wrote down the clubs and sports teams I am a part of, and how long I have been involved in each. Tip: If you don’t have a lot of job experience, focus on this section. Group sports and clubs can show dedication, teamwork and other important skills that employers look for in the workplace.

Under the Skills section, I listed the different computer software I am proficient in (Microsoft Office, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, InDesign…), and the character traits I have that I feel will be most translatable into the workplace.

Basically…

I wanted to share this with all of you, because as teenagers, it can be really hard trying to get internships or get noticed. Hopefully these tips will help you out in some way! Let me know if there is anything else you have done to set yourself up for a future in fashion.

xx,

Emma

Simply Stylist Convention New York

A few weekends ago, I went to the Simply Stylist Convention in New York. It was hosted by E! News host Catt Sadler, and had keynote panels, a shopping and networking time and breakout sessions. There was an Entreprenuer panel, a Blogger panel, and an Experts panel.

The Entrepreneur Panel

This panel featured Allison Beal, founder of StyleSaint, and Sarah Boyd, founder of Simply Stylist.

Allison Beal- StyleSaint

The goal of StyleSaint is to cut out the retailers, so the shoppers are buying clothes at wholesale prices. It was created after Ms. Beal realized in her own company, that the retail price markups were excluding a whole market of women who would love to wear the clothes she was selling, but could not afford the prices.

Tips:
-Don't waste your time while trying to make connections and network. Sending out a thousand emails will not do you much good in the long run, and will take an insane amount of time.
-When you develop a relationship with someone where you can provide some sort of value to them, then there is a two way relationship and it benefits you more.

Sarah Boyd- Simply Stylist

Simply Stylist was started to make networking and meeting people in the industry easier, and more fun with the conferences in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Tips for Networking:

-Find the top ten brands you want to work for, make a list, and work towards that. Make it your goal.

-Be nice, and follow up after meeting people.

-Once you are their friend, they want to help you out.

The Blogger Panel

This panel featured Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam, Alba Garcia of Sunkiss Alba, and Danielle Bernstein of We Wore What.

Jordan Reid- Ramshackle Glam

Jordan Reid was a neuroscience major at Harvard. Yeah, neuroscience. Yeah, Harvard. Talk about a smart lady. She gave up on a failed acting career in LA in 2006, then went to the print journalism industry, which imploded in 2007. In 2010, she started her blog Ramshackle Glam. Jordan covers all things from personal life to fashion to food. In Spring of 2014, her book about tips for new mothers (such as herself) is coming out.

Tips:
-While fashion is a creative industry, it is important to remember that it is a business as well.
-Consistently try to exceed expectations.
-Give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge that most things are the result of a collaboration or a joint effort.
-Connect with your readers and fans.
-Ignore the negative comments as best you can.
-In the beginning, work for free with the companies you like.
-Instead of prioritizing SEO (search engine optimization), put genuine readership first.
-Stay true to your content by not reading too many other blogs.

Alba Garcia- Sunkiss Alba

Sunkiss Alba is a Youtube channel run by Alba Garcia, focusing on style advice for moms on the go. Being bilingual, she also has a channel in spanish, running the same content to reach more potential viewers.

Tips:
-Create something that is original and trendy- something you think will do well
-Focus on the details
-Let your viewers know that you love what you do
-Be nice to the haters, they don't know how to respond to that
-Let people get to know you personally

Danielle Bernstein- We Wore What

We Wore What started as a street style blog to provide girls who didn't live in the city with the constant style inspiration that it provides. Eventually, it developed into a personal style blog. While still at FIT, Danielle was a regular in the front row at Fashion Week, with the blogging superstars like Bryan Grey-Yambao and Garance Dore.

Tips:
-Learn how to say no to brands and people if you don't want to work with them, or do not have a similar style as their brand.
-Be organic and stay true to yourself.
-Be a strong networker
-Cross-promote over all your social media networks
-Find your niche
-Reach out to brands you like when first starting, don't wait for them to find you.
-SEO and monetization are important when you want to make blogging your job.

The Experts Panels

This panel featured Catt Sadler of E! News, Sasha Charnin Morrison of US Weekly, Laurel Pinson of Stylecaster, and Polly Blitzer of Beauty Blitz.

Catt Sadler- E! News Correspondant

Tips:

-Sometimes it isn't about who is more skilled or experienced, but who is nicer to other people.

-Learn every part of the industry you are in

-Know the jobs of everyone around you

-Show up and don't act like a brat

Sasha Charnin Morrison- Fashion Director US Weekly

Tips:

-Don't be disrespectful when you are trying to get what you want

-Listen and learn

-Your past helps develop who you are

-Learn from your experiences

-Take the opportunities that you can grow from

Laurel Pinson- Stylecaster

Tips:

-Don't let stereotypes control you: if you work in fashion, outside people assume you are ditzy or dumb

-Anticipate that some people might not take you seriously

-Prove yourself

Polly Blitzer- Beauty Blitz

Tips:
-It's always good to be humble
-Be open to more information
-Don't be a know it all
-Don't call yourself an expert
-You are your own advocate
-Use social media, especially twitter, to talk to people you admire. It gives you a way to contact those you look up to or want to work with who used to be inaccessible.

My Outfit

Delia's sweater, Coach bag, H&M pants, infinity scarf from a small store in Hoboken, Madden Girl nude heels, rings from another small store in Hoboken, bracelet from my Grandma

The Shopping

The shopping time was so fun, and the booths had some amazing smaller brands. I would recommend checking out these brands if you haven't heard of them. Personally, I thought the jeans at Dittos were really well made and well priced for quality jeans, and that the bustiers at Rad + Refined were very interesting. I got a floral headband from TMG, so expect to see that showing up in style posts soon.