10 truths about being in a fashion job
If there was one thing I wanted to do in life, it was to become the fashion features editor at a magazine.
Oh, how I have imagined myself clippety-clopping in high heels, a dozen glossies in hand and dark shades covering the peepers, storming into office with an urgency to report on fashion like the world was awaiting my judgement on clothes.
No, no, I didn’t want to be Anna Wintour but, ya, this gives you a picture of my ideal job. Right?
Unfortunately none of this ever happened and after a series of desk jobs, I landed as a fashion writer at an e-com site. Well, this place wasn’t a magazine but I was still lucky to work with an amazing set of people who knew the world of fashion inside out.
Here are a few observations about the world of fashion jobs:
You never have enough clothes because your entire wardrobe is sucked into a black hole called the daily pressure to look good (it's quite enjoyable once you get a hang of it).
You get super creative with your wardrobe since your brain starts working extra hard when you are deciding what to wear for the next day. Recycling clothes fashionably becomes a superpower.
You look at fashion as art when you learn things like how many man hours go into one garment (runs into thousands!) and what goes into achieving a couture-standard fit (let's not even get started on this).
You always keep a change of clothes at work since you do not want to turn up at an unplanned event looking like you are a shipwreck survivor.
You pick up strange words as part of your vocab. Then you start throwing in athleisure, skorts, jorts, mandals, frow in your conversations outside work and people roll eyes (like you can blame them).
Your problems are mostly first world in nature, usually restricted to gaining weight. Pimples usually take the second spot. Oh, there could be a tie with shopping budgets here!
You never forget to carry band-aids to fashion weeks, a pearl of wisdom that usually comes from a previous experience of limping back home, thanks to blisters and high heels.
You tend to remember red carpet looks! Among all the info that crowds up your mind space, celebrity fashion at red carpets occupy the largest surface area.
You start recognising designers by looking at clothes while flipping through magazines because you know their hand-writings (by that I mean, recurring elements that define the work of a designer).
You have a prolific Instagram account just by documenting your daily outfits. It’s good self PR.
BTW right now I am not in a fashion job and God knows how much I wish I was. But still, no complaints about the current work place too. It's absolutely delightful! However, I wish I got to dress like this every day at work. In fact, I miss all the pressure to be well-dressed at work some time. More than a pressure, I think it was a kind of a high.
My look:
White shirt: Van Heusen
Faux leather skirt: Zara
Jacket: H&M
Heels: Charles and Keith
The eye behind the lens: The images are clicked by Rahul Rout, a strong-headed, tantrum-throwing man-child, who is also the most reliable person when it comes to taking my pictures. We fight every time there is a shoot but I like how he turns up for the next one, all fresh and kicking. When he's not clicking my pics, he's writing codes or playing the keyboard. He also occasionally plays the guitar and sings songs that he randomly makes up from life situations. He whips up the best tea in the world and is a closet electrician and plumber. Oh, and since I thought this one is a total catch, I married him a few years back. It's been great ever since (gulp)!
