It's a new year with a whole new beginning. Amongst your New Year's Resolutions is surely to spruce the old the resume and get some fashion experience! I have talked extensively about pursuing an
internships in New York City, (which if you have any interest in I highly suggest you go for it!) but what if you plan on staying in the true, north, strong and free land of Canada? Well lucky for you there are oodles and oodles of opportunities to dip your feet in the fashion pond! Read on my friend and feel inspired!
1) Volunteer!
The best way to gain some experience in the fashion industry is to volunteer and be prepared to work for free! Like or not, that is just the way it is. There are tons of fashion events and charities that occur in Toronto that are great way to get your hands wet, especially if you do not have a lot of fashion experience to begin with. Some places to try are the
Toronto Fashion Incubator, who regularly look for volunteers, contacting
LG Fashion Week and signing up for Magnet Creative's, a Toronto-based fashion marketing company's,
intern newsletter.
2) Work in retail!
Many of you may already do this and if so I suggest you take full advantage of it. If you love the fashion industry, you would be surprised by how much you can learn working in retail. Use your part-time job as an opportunity to
really get to the know the clothes by observing new trends, fit and quality. Ask your managers about events or new things happening with your company and grill your district managers whenever they make store visits.
3) Intern!
There are many fashion-based companies in Canada that offer fabulous internship programs with great, priceless opportunities that you will use for the rest of your fashion career! Places to contact are luxury department store, Holt Renfrew which offers corporate-based internships and Toronto-based fashion designers. If the magazine world is something you want to conquer, I highly suggest applying for an internship with
FASHION,
FLARE or
ELLE Canada. These are each highly respected and highly fabulous magazines that would surely teach a lot to any editor-in-chief in training. And here's an insider tip if you want to intern at a magazine, apply
EARLY, like yesterday. Magazine internships are highly competitive and fill up faster than you can say, Christian Louboutin.
4) Be Aggressive!
The fashion industry is competitive so if you
really want to get your foot in the door you must be determined to never give up. If you want to learn more about a certain company and opportunities they have for you to partake in, I highly suggest calling or emailing them directly that way you will be able to hear right away what your options are and if the company is right for you. Also don't give up if you don't always get the response or the experience you were hoping for, remember when one door closes another doors opens!
5) Study!
Whoever said that fashion was for the absent minded was sadly mistakenly. Before applying for any job, it is important to know a thing or two about the company, that way you will know what you are getting into and you will be able expand your knowledge of the fashion world. It is also really important to keep up-to-date on what is happening in the fashion industry from trends to events to insider news as well. Fashion is constantly changing and it is important to keep up with it so you are not left in the dust. Some of my favourite sites to visit are,
Style.com,
Fashionista.com and
Styleite.com. You can also sign up to some really great newsletters from,
Flare.com,
WhoWhatWear.com and the really fabu' Canadian job website,
StyleNinetoFive.com. Or you can always visit
www.AmandasFashionSpot.com! I am more than happy to fill you in on all the fashion information you need!
So now that you know how to conquer the Canadian fashion world (keep in mind these tips can be applied to wherever you live) get up and get out there! Time is not moving any slower! Good luck with your fashion endeavours and come back to let me know how everything goes in the comments,
Facebook or
Twitter!
Enjoy and happy new year!
Amanda
amandasfashionspot@gmail.com
https://twitter.com/AFSpot
