New Decade. New Site. New Logo. Old School Blogging.
Welcome to 2020, I'm excited to introduce the new and improved Shabbily-Shic.com, re-designed entirely by mwah! I just realized I graduated college 3.5 years ago! Wow, it's like my last semester of senior year, but of life. Recently, I started really thinking about my career path past and present. What got me to where I am now and what I want for this next chapter moving forward. I decided to start my journey with a full rebrand of my logo & website so I could finally get back to OG blogging.
I always loved writing and my dream job looking back was to be a fashion editor at Vogue, a big thanks to The Devil Wears Prada and The Hills for the unrealistic expectations! Working in fashion was allll I wanted 3.5 years ago and the crazy thing is I achieved all of my goals in the first six months I lived in NYC. No, not the Vogue Editor dream obviously, although I did run into Anna Wintour in a public restroom at a charity gala, so maybe that could count! To clarify I moved to New York two weeks after graduating college with no job, no internship, and no clue what I was doing. I majored in Retail & Consumer Sciences but had NO intensions of ever working in corporate or in-store for a brand. During college I did however intern for a number of fashion brands, companies, and magazines, which helped direct me to the idea of a future in fashion. So instead of resorting to a stable career at Macy's or Nordstrom like my peers, I decided to take the "struggling creative" route and break into the famed fashion industry.
So how exactly did I achieve my so called "dreams" in my first six months living in NYC? Let me explain...
Now as many of you know, it's all about who you know and not necessarily what you know. Although I don't always approve of this reasoning it did sort of help me in the beginning. A friend of mine from a previous internship referred me to an editorial stylist who needed some help on her team. I jumped at this opportunity because styling was something I always felt very passionate about. During one of my internships at contemporary fashion brand Ramy Brook, I assisted on a few photoshoots so I was confident this was my "big break." I started working on the styling team for Elin Svahn, honestly still one of the most talented stylists I've ever met. To name a few, I worked on shoots for things like Vogue Italia, hairstylist Guido Palau, and Interview Magazine (RIP but also HELLO again) <- if you know you know! To speed this along basically through another mutual contact I landed a job as a fashion freelancer at Interview Magazine.
This job was both insanely creative & insanely terrifying! I can't legally disclose everything I witnessed, but I swear it felt just like the movies, but that could also be due to the lack of sleep.
Maybe I'll write a book about it one day! Although I loved editorial, I was wanted more PR experience so I started interning 2 days a week at a boutique fashion PR firm and freelancing the rest of the week (weekends included). Now I was building up my styling and brand coordination skills building but I was still missing the most important part of editorial, the writing. So naturally I found another internship. I joined InvitedNYC as a contributing editor covering events in the city. My boss let me cover all the fashion events, which lead to me building up my current blog. I actually attended my first NYFW seven seasons ago by covering shows and events for the site. Since then, I've been consistently invited every season since as Jenna (well as Shabbily Shic)!
Now I was freelancing at Interview, interning in PR, writing for a website, and also taking on some other freelance projects on the side. I felt like I was finally getting where I wanted to be by combining all of these experiences at the same time. Also, somehow during all of this I started dating my now ex-boyfriend so I'm honestly still unsure how I was functioning. Everything was moving along, but soon my freelance contract was ending and I had to make my next move! I really loved styling I felt it embodied everything I loved about the fashion industry, it had creativity, innovation, story-telling, self expression, and so many more synonymous descriptive words. Through yet another reference I met in the industry I started trialing with another styling team. The head stylist was moving to LA so this job would be bi-costal babyyy! It was then, right around this time 3 years ago I started contemplating my life and career path, just like I am now. I was was excited, but I was nervous.
Freelancing basically means your next job, paycheck, and workweek schedule are all unpredictable.
I decided I wanted more structure and security at my next job, so I reluctantly did not continue pursuing the styling position. A girl in my sorority from another school posted on our Facebook page about a PR position open in the fashion/hospitality group. I got the interview and the job offer the next morning, in a complete panic, I accepted! I left Interview Magazine a few weeks shy of my contract ending with a new career and a new perspective on where I "thought" my life would be going. I had essentially achieved all of my dreams of working at a magazine, being an editor, and styling for editorial and celebrity shoots. I met a ton of incredible people along the way and learned valuable skills that have continued to carry over throughout the rest of my career journey.
The following 2.5 years I spent at my next company wasn't as exciting tbh. I worked in public relations assisting both the medical and hospitality teams before being asked to join the company's newly formed digital creative agency. I worked on so many accounts I can't even remember them all but some of my favorites would be Dyson, Keds, European Wax Center, Delta, WebMD, and NYLON Magazine just to highlight a few. I learned a lot over my time there, both positive and negative. Hey, sometimes learning what not to do as a company is just as valuable as learning the right things to do. Luckily through this job I made some of my best friends so I really am grateful that good things came out of it! Last February I decided to leave my full time job and focus on blogging, freelance consulting for companies in the digital space, and working as the creative & digital director of a music management startup. Looking back I honestly didn't expect to come full circle back to freelancing. Maybe it's a cycle, maybe it's what I'm meant to be doing, it's still unclear.
However, if there is any advice that I have from all of these past experiences it's to never only focus on one thing at a time. Shocking right! I feel like everyone always tells you to pick something you're good at and stick to it, or to focus solely on your one current job. Remember not everything you do will be the only thing you do forever. I never would have made it as far as I have if I only focused on my current position. You gain experience through experience so always keep an open mind, continue to take on jobs or hobbies you are passionate about, and never stop learning. It's important to have long-term goals and sometimes one place won't equip you with all the skills to reach that goal. Now I'm not saying you need to juggle 20 jobs to get where you want to be, but I do recommend not putting all of your hopes, dreams, and talents into one sole thing.
If you're a fellow creative who lives in NYC like I do, I feel it's so important to always be thinking entrepreneurially.
There is so much opportunity in a city like New York and you never know where an encounter, a connection, or a project may lead.
After looking back at everything that shaped me into the person I am today, the real question is now what? Well, truly, I guess I'm still figuring out the what. This year I really want to focus on making Shabbily Shic a community for creativity, entrepreneurship, guidance, and innovation. I have so much in store for this platform, I want to diversify it, and provide you with the type of content that launched this industry. My first steps... re-group, re-launch, and re-energize. Keep following along, I can't wait to share what's next with all of YOU!
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