As you may have guessed already just by visiting my blog, I am OBSESSED with everything to do with fashion. Whether it be through visiting my favourite fashion retailer's websites everyday to check what's new, or flicking through each edition of Vogue and ELLE, I consistently immerse myself into all things style related, and I just can't imagine my life being any different. My journey into the fashion industry has just started, and this is where it all began...
I suppose it all started when I was around 8 or 9. I remember visiting Bluewater Shopping Centre on various occasions with my mother and grandmother and being utterly fascinated with all of the gorgeous garments that surrounded me. Being the ultimate 'girly girl' with a very distinctive style from a young age, I found myself gravitating towards everything with a feminine touch, after of course browsing carefully through every rail and display. Let me tell you, I could shop for absolutely hours. This one occasion, a few days after my 9th birthday, I went to spend my birthday money that had been kindly gifted to me from all of my family as they knew that I loved shopping so much, we were there for almost eight hours!! I absolutely loved every single minute, and I knew in my heart that my obsession with fashion was not just a phase, it was something that I would take with me into my teen years, and ultimately straight into adulthood.
Being uneducated about all of the different areas of the fashion industry, I quickly ruled out the possibility of pursuing it for a career, after realising that unfortunately I was absolutely awful at sewing in my textiles class. When I look back now, I want to shake myself, knowing that design is just one of the many career paths within the huge fashion world. Nevertheless, instead I focused on performing arts, because I do in fact adore singing, and performing provided me with an opportunity to escape and feel free from any troubles on my mind. Soon year 11 came, and it was time to apply for sixth form and college, and to say that I found the whole process overwhelming is a complete understatement. I applied for my school's sixth form, however I also applied for two performing arts colleges to study musical theatre. After being accepted to one of these colleges, I was absolutely over the moon, and I was so excited to finally start my career. September rolled around and my life changed completely. Training as a dancer from 9:00-5:00 Monday to Friday was undoubtedly physically and mentally exhausting, however I feel that I learnt so much and admittedly I did enjoy this unique and exciting lifestyle, because it was so different. After the pandemic hit and online lessons commenced, I began feeling like something was missing, and I started to not enjoy my training as much. Singing and dancing had always been my hobby, however I just couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted to study fashion, and this was my sign that I needed to follow my heart.
I stumbled across a college in Central London called The Fashion Retail Academy, which sounded like an incredible place as it provided a course that allowed you to study the business side of fashion as opposed to the design element. I only had to read the course page once and I applied straight away, and before I knew it September came along and it was finally time to embark upon my journey into the fashion industry. After having studied a wide variety of pathways such as buying, visual merchandising, marketing and communications, I was able to recognise my desire to pursue a career in either fashion journalism or styling, as I thoroughly enjoy both. Being at the FRA was such an incredible experience, I made friends for life, I worked with many notable brands such as River Island, Converse and Harvey Nichols, and most importantly I found my passion, which has led me to where I am today.
After having previously worked at both Warren James Jewellers and Sandro Paris as a sales assistant, halfway through my second year at the FRA I knew that I was ready for something new. I was excited to see an opening at an established bridal store for a stylist, and right from the get go I knew that it would be the perfect part time job for me. As soon as I stepped through those doors for my interview, I instantly felt like I was at home, and I was ready to immerse myself into the bridal world. Working as a bridal stylist and helping so many brides to be in the journey of finding their dream dress has allowed me to majorly develop my personal styling skills, and I have also recognised my passion for the bridal industry. I can definitely see myself working as a stylist or a writer for a bridal fashion magazine in the future, and that's why for my final major project I decided to create my own! Tiaras & Tulle is a bi - annual fashion magazine specialising in bridal fashion, because after having experienced bridal styling in a store I noticed that many people would appreciate there being a bridal style guide available for them to purchase in order to gain inspiration and learn which style would suit their body type, so that they feel more prepared for their bridal appointment. Creating this magazine was such an amazing experience, and although it was slightly overwhelming at times as I wrote and styled everything myself when usually a whole team of people would be contributing, it made me realise that I definitely wanted to work in editorial.
So here I am now, a recent graduate, seeking internship opportunities and excitedly anticipating my first step into this sensational industry. I hope you have all enjoyed reading about my journey to where I am today, and if you are to take anything away from my story, just remember that everything happens for a reason, you are on your own personal journey and everything will all come together in the end, I promise!
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