Sunday, May 29, 2011

First Days in the City.

I've been doing a lot of walking and sight seeing, taking it all in.
It's such an amazing city!

NYC from the Top!

Grand Central Station.

SOHO.

Times Square.

Bryant Park.

Rockefeller Center.

Central Park.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

How To Get A Fashion Internship in New York.

I'll start off by telling you how I landed my internship.

It was easier than I thought! For two months, I dedicated my free time to search online for internships in the fashion industry specifically in NYC. I landed on a great site called FreeFashionInternships.com where LOTS of amazing opportunities from legitimate fashion companies are offered. I sent emails with a cover letter and my resume attached to the companies I liked. I also went on the website of my favorite fashion companies (such as Net-A-Porter, Barney's, etc.) and sent e-mails to their Human Resources Department.

Within a month, I got my first internship offer at Showroom Seven. I was smart enough to keep sending my resume out to other companies even as I was in the middle of corresponding with Showroom Seven. I was already making plans to intern with them but the deal fell through because I couldn't fly out there soon enough for an interview.

 ;(

These things happen, so be ready.  None the less, a month later I saw a freshly published internship offer at FreeFashionInternships.com for a public relations company that I really liked. I emailed them immidiately and within the day I got a reply. We set up a phone interview and VOILA! My summer internship was secured.


Tips to Help YOU Land a Fashion Internship:


- Don't get overwhelmed!! Believe me, I thought working at a design house or for a fashion magazine  was reserved for people with established connections. IT'S NOT! Just calm your butt down and write thoughtful cover letters, polish that resume and start searching for opportunities.

-Set aside at least one day to dedicate to the searching of internships and sending of emails. Great sites for you to start are: FreeFashionInternships.com, Internships.comEd2010.com. Also, go to your favorite company's site. Go all the way to the bottom, you'll surely see a link that says "Careers" or "Work with Us" or something along those lines. If they have internships available, they'll post it there. And don't forget to check in with your school/college counselor! They may be able to share companies of your interest, where previous students have interned.

-Email the company as soon as you can! Some internship opportunities are filled at a first-come-first-serve basis, so get to it!

-In your email make sure to include when you are available- how many days per week and for how many months. The company you like might hire you just based on if you have good availability, even if you don't have much experience, and they'll be willing to help you and teach you along the way.



Those are just a few of my personal insights, if you need more help on the basics of writing cover letters and resumes... GOOGLE IT.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

New Beginnings.

In three weeks I'll be starting an amazing fashion PR internship in the city of my dreams: New York City. 

Photo Credit: -somethingwicked


I've been consciously aspiring to work in the fashion industry since I was 15 years-old and the wheels are finally rolling-big time. Technically, I've been working in the fashion industry for four years now- in a privately owned boutique as a sales associate and in a nation-wide trendy chain as a visual merchandiser and accessories specialist- but as much as I have learned about clothing + commerce, all that feels so mundane compared to the opportunities that are about to come from this internship in Manhattan.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no fool. I know that this isn't going to be glamourous, air kisses all around type of opportunity. Chances are that I'll be getting coffee for some higher-up every morning. Chances are I'll be given the straight up Ugly Betty treatment. But what if every so often I get to go to an event? What if I get to help out in the back-of-house for a designer during Fashion Week? I think it'll be all worth it.


Worst. Case. Scenario.
But she turns out OK at the end.. right?
Photo Credit: uglybettycaps

In any case, I started this because I couldn't find any other fashion intern blogs. Sure, there are the ones in teen magazines' websites that give tidbits on interns backgrounds... there are general internship blogs that give tips on what to wear and how to write a cover letter... are you still awake? Yea, that's how much those blogs interest me as well.

I'm going to keep this blog as my internship diary, not just for me to laugh at later in life, but for you as well. You, who are interest in the fashion industry and wanna know what it's like to start from the bottom, from the mouth of an insider, because you haven't gotten a chance to do it for yourself- YET.

I'm keeping it anonymous because the PR firm I'll be working at is a MAJOR player in the fashion industry- not just in New York, but also in Los Angeles, Paris and Milan to name a few. This firm has it's hands on everything.. from putting on shows at Lincoln Center to grand openings of designer boutiques on 5th Avenue. In short: They're kinda a big deal and I don't wanna get fired if I call one of their clients a bitch.



I hope you stick around to read about my adventures :) and don't worry, I'll post original photographs too to make this a more personal visual story.

Oh, and if you have been an intern in the fashion industry, no matter what department, feel free to send me tips and stories about your experience. I'll take all the help I can get!

Til' next time,

The NYC Fashion Intern
(well, one of the two million of 'em)