Real Talk

Nothing particularly exciting has been going on in the fashion cupboard of late, although I'm kept more than busy every day sorting the clothes [particularly painful as I spent today packing up what I spent last week unpacking!] and generally making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. As they say though, every cloud has a silver lining and not being presented with the opportunity to frequent Hermès, liaise with Patrick Demarchelier and visit the editor's luxury abode- à la Anne Hathaway- has given me the chance to consider what exactly I am letting myself in for.. 
This is an unforgiving and relentless job, requiring extra effort and extra hours- no complaining allowed. Unless you truly love what you do it's unlikely you'll survive unscathed. For some, the prospect of working at a fashion magazine conjures up images of espressos sipped over a celery stick or two, alternated with bitchy comments about the other women in the office- in fact, half my friends seem disappointed that my reports don't match up with their viewing of The September Issue. The reality, however, is that little time is spent eating or drinking [not for want of hunger or thirst] but rather sifting through bags of clothing in a panic stricken state searching for a missing earring! 


I am fortunate enough to live in London, rent free, and am well aware that this is what makes interning possible. So while I may wish for the sudden onset of illness to allow me an extra hour in bed in the morning I know that it could be much, much worse. I spent a month at Fabulous magazine, when it was part of News of the World, a couple of years ago and Penny, the long term intern, is still the most dedicated person I have met in all the publications I have worked at. Penny lived in Norfolk which meant a three hour commute every morning and evening, and with zero wages this was no mean feat. On top of all this, in order to fund her dream job she also spent her weekends working in a shop to pay the rent for her flat. I can only hope that after five years of hard graft I am still as dedicated to pursuing this career as Penny- though if I'm hoping, it'll be for a job within five years! 


I want this blog to be a no holds barred account of what being an intern is all about. Even though I wish it was as simple as "playing with clothes all day", which is what the other half of my friends think I do all day, it actually consists of the more mundane tasks that enable a magazine to appear as professional and stylish as it does. This isn't to say that there aren't rewarding aspects to the job; when you look around the fashion cupboard at the end of the day and see the progress you've made through the mountain of shoes you were meant to return or the one hundred dockets you were told to file in alphabetical order, it's important to take notice of these little achievements. They are what will get you through the day! So cheer up, it's not all doom and gloom and, as is becoming customary now, here is a little preview of what is to come in future issues of Red.. 

These Erickson Beamon necklaces cost almost as much as my tuition fees for one year!