Writer's Workshop: My Fashionable Life

By the time I was ten my life was planned out - that's what I do. I spent my days drawing clothing, people, shoes, jewelry, and especially wedding dresses {yes, I have those drawings, remember I am borderline hoarder}. I spent my days dressing up and shopping and soaking up the pages of Vogue and Elle. By the time I was done with fashion, no one would even remember Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Karl Lagerfeld or Christian Lacroix. I was going to take over fashion...and perfume...and footwear...and hosiery...and handbags...and sunglasses. I had created a fashion empire...in my mind.

I followed this path, this grand plan right into college. As a Junior in high school I made the decision to attend The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising - FIDM - {long before LC on The Hills went there and made it uber famous}. I reveled in it...I soaked up every minute. I made patterns, I drew sketches, I painted with watercolor, I learned how to really sew. It was heaven! It was the stuff of my dreams. 

Of course {there's always an of course - right!} my dreams were a victim of reality as well. FIDM was located in the garment district, and as a girl who had always lived near L.A. she rarely ventured into it - the BIG city - this was an eye opener. It was dirty, it was busy, it was not quite what I thought it would be. While our main classes at FIDM were in a brand new building, our sewing classes were in another building that was, quite frankly a little scary and quite possible unsafe - yes, I also got to experience an earthquake in this building {that was fun}.

The other issue - the people...there were some seriously cut-throat students in these classes - really at 20 years old +/- how do you become that snide and vicious! I saw plagiarism, I saw students who would buy garments and try to pass them off as their own, I saw students who hired people to make their patterns and do their sewing {Project Runway has nothing on real-life fashion school!}. I always want to believe the best, but that was not going to cut it anymore. I quickly adapted and could not wait to get out of school and get moving on my plan.

After school I landed a job. Oh yeah, baby! After all that time and money for school, I did not expect to come out of the gate with a 6-figure salary, but I expected more than I was making at my retail job. I finally succumbed to a position as Assistant Designer for a small women's clothing company. This was just to get my feet wet of course...my talents would soon be discovered and I would be in a big beautiful design room drinking champagne.

This didn't happen. The first job was, in hindsight, wonderful. That boss was amazing and I realized I left too soon, but it was too late. So where did my dreams, my plans made at ten years old lead me....

...to a second floor design room shared with multiple species of cockroaches. A place where I had to wrap my purse in heavy plastic so I would not take any of the little residents home with me. 

...to a job where I was constantly having to allude the advances of a perverted, disgusting boss.

...a place where we had to bring our own toilet paper because the boss thought some of the workers were stealing it so he would leave 1 roll a day in the toilet for 20 employees. 

...to multiple jobs where my "hot" 20-something self fended off the advances of fabric sales reps (and the like) 20-30 years my senior on a daily, sometimes hourly basis {I may have, just may have, dated one or two of the more successful ones, just sayin'}.

...to job offers that promised 7 days a week of work. The most unbelievable statement I ever heard from a perspective employer, "I had a kitchen built onsite so I could make everyone dinner on Saturday night." Really, You are offering me a pittance of a salary and you want me to sell my soul to you.

When it all came down to it, I choose to work for small companies. I chose a work/life balance {working on that right now with blogging} instead of big time/big name companies and potentially bigger advancements. What I was doing had lost it's luster, and honestly I blame much of that on my experience at the company with the perverted boss {an evil designer also worked there} who really ruined at lot for not just me but for many.

After almost 10 years in the business I left...at the urging of my new husband...to begin a wedding planning career. Now, was it all bad...no. I learned, I grew, I tested my patience and my skills. I became more worldly. I came out of my shell. I learned the ways of the real world a little more. Would I trade it...no...unless, perhaps I was trading it for a fashion line {or two} and perfume and footwear...and hosiery...and handbags...and sunglasses. I think I am ready now.

What were you planning on doing when you were a kid? Are you doing it?

Playing along with Writer's Workshop and prompt #3 "If you had made a career out of whatever you were passionate about when you were ten…what would you be doing?"

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