you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl...

Welcome! With the gentle urging of friends and family, I have decided to blog about my long time love of fashion. I hope to share with you the people, places, and things that inspire me the most. Fashion has always been an art form to me, long before I began working in the industry. When most thirteen year old girls were reading teen magazines, I was reading Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. I thought the advertisements from fashion houses were beautiful and so strong. In college, I would cut out my favorite advertisements, and "wall paper" my dorm wall with these images. 

Within six months of graduating college, I accepted a paid Market internship for a well known fashion house in New York City. I planned to stay in the Big Apple for 6 weeks, but my adventure in the fashion industry kept me in New York for over 3 1/2 years. 

After I finished my internship, I accepted a job with another fashion house and worked in Wholesale Sales. The job brought me to Milan several times a year for Market campaigns and the Runway shows. Each selling season, I worked with the top department and specialty stores in North America to bring the best assortment from the collection into their stores. When I was not in Market, I analyzed weekly sales figures, traveled around the country for selling clinics and trunk shows, wrote press credits for magazines, and organized samples for photo shoots. 

Last August, I decided to move back to the suburbs of Chicago. It was a tough decision to leave my job, friends, and New York, but I knew I needed to find a better balance in my life. I continue to work in fashion sales in a slower paced environment and stay connected to the industry. This winter, I began taking Italian conversation classes with a friend through a local college. I have also practiced Yoga and Pilates. It's been fun to try new things that I did not have time for in New York!

Happy Reading!

xxB