A Look Back At My Career In The Fashion Industry

I’ve loved clothes and fashion for as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl, I loved playing dress up and trying on my mom’s heels for fun, wondering when I’d be able to have my own pair. I even posed for pictures in our backyard with whatever outfit creation I had put together that particular day (when I find the photo I’m thinking of I’ll be sure to share it on Instagram 😉). Watching What Not To Wear with my mom continued to fuel my love for fashion and expressing yourself through different outfits. I loved seeing the transformations that these men and women went through just by overhauling their wardrobe; their confidence skyrocketed and they had an entirely new outlook on life, ready to take on the world in style. Seeing that made me feel so joyful and energized that I knew I wanted my career to be in the fashion industry in some capacity.

I was first introduced to The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) through a family friend who attended and had nothing but great things to say about it. I was maybe in middle school at the time and not quite ready to start thinking about college, but I had a starting point for my research. FIDM continued to pop up in different movies/shows that I watched like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Fashion Party and The Hills. It didn’t seem like a coincidence that this school kept making appearances throughout different points in my teens, and I knew in my heart it was a school I really wanted to consider going to. I researched some other colleges like FIT, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Parsons, but they were all farther away and I really liked that FIDM was in the heart of downtown LA and only a 6 hour drive from home. Plus, I loved the variety of majors that they offered.

During the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I attended one of their events called 3 Days of Fashion where you got to take classes from all of their different majors to get a feel for what you enjoyed the most. At this point I still wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do in the fashion industry, whether it was being a designer, working in marketing, or going down the merchandising route. After that program I decided that Visual Communications was the major for me: it incorporated my love for window display design, trend forecasting, and concept design. I read my acceptance letter on my 18th birthday and was so excited for the new adventure I was about to embark upon!

While I attended FIDM, I took on a few different internships that helped me hone in on the type of career I wanted to have in the industry. During my first internship I worked in the product development department for Sue Wong. I worked on sketches for her evening dresses which would then get sent to the design team to start actually making the garment. Her styles were always so intricate with lace, embroidery, and beading, so attention to detail was crucial! I remember around that time in 2011 her dresses were in practically every major department store, so it was really excited to play a small part in the creation of her evening wear. After that I did a visual merchandising internship at Rolling Greens which was an adorable home and garden shop in Hollywood. I learned so many merchandising techniques there and loved their flare for mixing old and new to bring their visual creations to life! As fun as it was, I felt like I wasn’t fulfilling my passion for fashion, so my final internship that I landed was with Nordstrom. Being a Nordy Girl at heart I was floored!

This was hands-down my favorite internship because I was able to learn about the full cycle of the fashion industry: from a designer’s concept and creation of their collection, to showcasing their designs on the runway, then the buyers selecting which pieces to buy for retail, the store receiving the shipment and merchandising it on the floor, and finally selling it to the customer. It was so exciting getting an inside look into how the retail industry worked and most of all, working alongside the customer to help them style the pieces to create fun and unique outfits. An item of clothing doesn’t fully come to life, in my opinion, until you style it in a way that speaks to you and makes you feel beautiful!

I was having so much fun at Nordstrom when my internship ended after my FIDM graduation that I decided to stay with the company when I moved back to Arizona. That 3 month internship ultimately turned into a 7-year career and it was one that I was really proud of. I had worked in 4 different stores across 3 states, lead multiple teams, and met some truly amazing people! But as time went on, my rose-colored glasses for the retail industry faded away and I got burnt out. I also struggled with the worldly emphasis on materialism and the “more is more” mentality. When you’re constantly surrounded by new merchandise on a daily basis and encouraged to always wear the latest and greatest so that you can boost sales, it’s hard to not play along. At the end of the day, I realized that what I wanted more than anything was more time with Freddy and my family. I was done working nights, weekends, and holidays busting my butt and was ready to take my career down an entirely new path into the world of HR.

Looking back on my decade-long career in the fashion industry, I feel so grateful for everything that I learned, and at the same time I also kind of miss it. It’s strange to think about all of the blood, sweat, and tears I gave to my fashion education and career to now work in an entirely different industry. For me, it’s a great reminder that it’s okay for our priorities to change and evolve as we get older, but that doesn’t mean we have to completely give up what we love doing. I love creating content for my blog because it helps me feel connected to this industry that holds a special place in my heart. I don’t think I would ever want to go back into retail, but I’m hopeful for what the future holds with my blog and creating content that is inspiring and meaningful. xo