LIM College

This is unbelievable. I only have one week of classes and then one week of finals left until my first year of college is officially in the record books. I’ve been lucky to experience some amazing things while here for the past year. Some are distant memories, some just happened last week. I’ve always enjoyed sharing those experiences with you and would like to continue to do so right now!

Last week I was able to intern for a freelance stylist. One of my friends who lives in New York City reached out to me and said that her friend from a previous workplace happened to need an intern to help her prepare for a photo shoot that she was working on with another stylist. I was excited at the prospect of experiencing something that I had never experienced before.

I arrived in Brooklyn and was delighted to meet the freelance stylist. The shoot was for an Italian magazine called Amica, and it was a 12-page, September Issue spread! You can probably imagine the sheer volume of the merchandise that we had been sent.

As an intern, I  began by unpacking and sorting everything. Here I was in a Brooklyn apartment with creaking floors, but you would have thought from my excitement that I was in the “closet of all things fabulous.” Seriously. Garment bags from Dior, Prada, Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana, and Louis Vuitton just kept pouring through the doorway. After I got over my little moment, it was time to get to work. I labeled everything I unpacked. It was important to keep the things from New York, Milan, and Paris separate in order to make the process of shipping things back easier. It was a day of unpacking and then re-packing so that we could transport all the “looks” to the shoot location. 

Although I was unable to intern on the day of the shoot due to my classes, I returned the following day to help with the packaging and shipment of the merchandise. One may think that styling is as easy as picking out clothes and accessories and telling a model to put them on, however, I was able to see firsthand that this is not the case. I, along with two other interns and the freelance stylist, actually spent eight hours organizing and packaging the garments, accessories, and shoes from the various designers. It was essential that we accounted for everything we had been given, and that we were particular in the way we packaged it, because these elements ultimately fall back on the stylist if not executed correctly. 

 Many of you may be thinking, “How am I going to move to New York City, attend LIM College and break into the fashion industry?” Trust me. I asked myself the same question. It seems daunting to picture yourself surrounded by so much. I mean, you are in the land of entertainment, fashion, music, and so much more. Not only is New York City itself a mass of streets and avenues, your life is just the same. When you move to the city and begin attending LIM College, you will have different streets and avenues of opportunity that you may lead yourself down. Which route is quickest? Which is the most scenic? Which will lead you to your destination of success? There’s no way to tell. My advice is to go down as many ways as possible. Walk down different streets and different avenues. Experience. You will end up where you are meant to be, and if not, you’ll walk down a different path to get there.

I enjoyed having the opportunity to get to know, and work with, a successful stylist. It was great to hear her view of the industry and learn of her past experiences. She was great about giving me advice for internships, and it was interesting to hear of all the aspects of the industry she actually worked in, until she took the path to where she is now.

Trying new things is essential when learning what you will excel at in the fashion industry and business. I can’t wait for you to experience this city, this school, and this industry. I hope you follow your own street or avenue to LIM College. Before you know it you will have a whole year of experiences, opportunities, and memories in your very own record book.

Until next week, embrace the behind the scenes work, the dirty work. Do something you’ve never done before. It may or may not be glamorous, but it may indeed lead you somewhere special.  Xoxo