Work in the beauty/fashion industry

“My first few shows were brand-sponsored, and the company asked me to pick up all of these products for four shows I was doing the next day. My friend and I had to pick up two suitcases full of products and [carry them into] my fifth-floor walk-up. The next day, I had to bring my kit and these two suitcases to the show — mind you, I was doing all of this for free, had just moved to New York and was so poor that I could barely afford a Subway ride. I walked outside, where there was snow up to my knees, and I just started bawling, thinking, “What the fuck am I doing?” You go into these shows, and there’s one lead hairstylist and 20 assistants, and you don’t know anybody. It feels like the first day of high school again: You just set up your station and hope that [whoever sits next to you] likes you.”

“The excitement from the first few days wore off when my responsibilities included running to three different supermarkets to purchase a very specific bar of chocolate for the boss, lugging bags of ice down flashy streets of London to stock up the office freezer, and being made to feel out of place by the other interns (all of who were much older, much whiter, and at the time, seemed much more glamorous). Being made to feel out of place, included sly comments made about my clothes. It made me beg my mum for a shopping trip that weekend. The side-eyes were given as I grabbed my pasta salad and went on a lunch break. It made me hide my lunch, and scoff it down in a quiet room, so no one would see.”

“I’ve worked as a luxury personal shopper, sales manager, luxury buyer (all categories), fast fashion jewelry buyer, and now i work remotely for a large luxury retailer as a stylist. [...] There are really cool creative things about fashion that I love, but the industry as a whole is competitive and I was astonished at how many girls in the industry are very privileged. Rich girls wanna be in the fashion industry and the industry is classist in many ways that people don’t talk about so I find it relevant to mention. I don’t care about clothes now in the way I used to when I was surrounded by it everyday. What you wear and look like does not matter, it’s who you are. You will need to be reminded of that if you go in the industry. It can be ugly and beautiful at the same time.”