Most of the time when I tell people I am a fashion major they are excited for me. Fashion is something I have always loved. It makes me feel really good when people tell me Its perfect for me! Other people are surprisingly very taken back. I get asked what it entails a lot. Some people don't understand why someone would be crazy enough to study a major like that. I can guarantee there is more to what fashion majors do than what people think.
First of all this major isn't just drawing pictures. I personally have an emphasis on Fashion Marketing. This means I'm not the designer but I do what I like to call "everything else" or "the behind the scenes work". We may strive to have our own store one day or devote our career to helping another company or designer deliver results. We learn how to put together strategic business plans. We also learn multiple mathematic equations to determine profit, estimated inventory, how to break even, predict sales and many more. I can guarantee my major is just as important as any Businesse degree. It is extremely rewarding with a lot of problem solving, and at the end it all comes together just the way it should.
Just because I am in fashion does not automatically make me high maintenance. Sure I have an appreciation for designer merchandise. Being in fashion school has made me conscious about the dollars I am spending. I am sick of buying merchandise created by cheap labor. Those materials will only last me a year if I'm lucky. I would rather invest in something that could last me a lifetime. Name brand or no name, it's the quality I'm after. I'm still not going to go crazy and spend thousands of dollars on one shirt. I love to find a lot of great deals and can't justify spending a lot of money. Thrift shopping is the ultimate Christmas to fashion lovers I can assure you. So if you are wearing something that's thrifted don't worry because we probably are too!
Just because I'm in fashion does not mean you need to be scared I will tell you your outfit looks ugly. I will never say that to anyone. As a creative expressive individual I fully understand that the way every person dresses is a reflection of who they are and their story. We all have different opinions on what looks good. I know why people dress the way they do, so that will never put me in a place where I can say something mean to you. If I am your stylist I will make suggestions to what compliments your features, not try to ruin your self esteem. At the end of the day fashion should be fun for everyone!
Just like everyone else we have days where we look nice and days we don't look as nice. I love wearing sweatpants and some days I don't want to put any make up on. Other days I pick out my outfit to coordinate head to toe. When I dress casual it does not make me any less of a fashion person, and when I dress up I am not trying to act better than anyone else or intimidate them. For some reason girls get so intimidated when they see another girl that is confident in what she is wearing. Can I just make a suggestion that maybe instead of looking her up and down, finding something mean to say about her, we encourage the fact she feels good about herself?
Everyone has something they love and what fashion majors love is fashion. Its a multi trillion dollar industry. If you are not a fashion person that is fine, we all have our interests. In fact multiple industries look toward the fashion industry to get inspiration on trends and design for their own products. Fashion is historical, and it tells a story about who we are and what we do. Love it or hate it because remember, everybody has to wear clothes. ;)