Fashion Apprentice - I won an Oscar!

Recently it's been quite crazy, harrassing suppliers for samples, moving everything everywhere and keeping on track of everything. Every Monday at work we have a cascade where the whole floor comes together and the director reflects on our sales and we give feed back on any store visits we went to. As well as that there are two awards (fake oscar award look-a-like statues) to acknowledge the hard work that people have done. And this week one went to me for being the only one continously have 100% reviewd products for my brands! Pretty chuffed man! 

Fashion Apprentice - Getting a grip

I've been ridiculously busy since the last post, but I've done my presentation! It went surprisingly ok considering I was under prepared. It was in fact in front of all the buyers and the other fellow BA's. We had to do discuss the trends, colour palettes and visual merchandising as well as doing a SWOT analysis, which is what a lot of people learn at uni. I didn't go to uni so I pretty much had to learn. 

Strengths, what the brand is doing well in.

Weaknesses, what the brand can improve on.

Opportunities, areas in which the brand has latched onto, e.g. eco friendly range, designer collaboration.

Threats, areas which can affect sales such as new stores, recession.

Obviously I was nervous but I tried to stayed focused and be myself. It's definitely something that needs to be done and practised more as doing presentations and talks are a necessity within buying and fashion. If you have any questions do ask!

I went to fashion week and it was all very swift and quick, I will hopefully give a full trend analysis soon!

Work has been pretty full on, I feel like now I'm finally getting a handle on things. Working on three brands does slow the pace of learning but now I'm in that place where I understand how the structure works and I feel more confident in the work place and my ability to do jobs. 

Anyways I'm off to Paris for a brief fashion week on Saturday! Croissants my way.

 Aurevoir!

Sannita. x

Fashion Apprentice - The stress of it.

I've been at Hof for a while now, coming up 5 months ish. Since I've started I've learnt an incredible amount not only about buying but merchandising too as these two go hand in hand. Over Christmas I was left to half run Pied a Terre by myself, this alone was a challenge, slightly daunting but exciting at the same time. As much of a responsibility this was I was going to learn a lot in a short amount of time, I'm a relatively chilled person and never let things get on top of me and this is what I had to maintain over the course of the time. 

For two weeks, I had to speak to suppliers, chase cut dates, sample dates, discuss fabrics and lab dips with the designer and get things approved by other buyers and executives etc. A little intimidating at first but once in the swing of things I felt comfortable, it helps that everyone is really helpful and friendly in the work place. So my two weeks were up, running the brand I managed to complete everything that needed to be done and kept things organised, I proved to myself that I have potential and that I could actually do it.

Since then I've still been working on three brands, which is a lot to juggle, admittedly this is a great test for myself which I hope I can stay on top of. It's difficult, only because I have to know all the collections and keep up to date of each stage and changes the garments go through. It's a good insight learning about three brands which are all so different. 

Lastly i've been given the task of producing a 3 minute presentation to the executives ( I think) in the buyers meeting to explain the two main competitors to my brand (Pied a Terre). The BA is leaving on Pied a Terre so I've been thrown into the deep end and have to do it. I'll let you know how things go...

Aurevoir.

Sannita. x

Fashion Apprentice at HOF - Settling

As you may know I started my new apprenticeship at House of Fraser as a buying assistant for Pied a Terre and Mary Portas. So far I have really enjoyed it. I have my own desk, computer and filing cabinet! Haha! It's exciting so don't laugh at me for mentioning my office equipment, it makes me feel like a grown up.

There are two sides of buying, the in house design brands and the designer brands. At the moment I'm working with in house brands which means we have more say in the design etc, and we can suggest what garments we'd like to be included.

Part of it consists of fittings, which consists of a model trying on the samples, making sure they fit properly and also components and necklines etc look finished and perfect. Sometimes the supplier is with you and you discuss the garment together. A lot of though and effort goes into everything thats made, I never knew that they literally discuss everything from the way the hem sits to the colour of the thread.

I've been ridiculously busy of late and haven't posted in a while but y'know i'm a working girl now. I've now been given another brand to work on which is Untold, there will be a lot of development on this brand as we are undergoing a lot of changes in direction with the design and concept. This now means I have two desks! Oooo snazzy.

The whole team are lovely and it's weird having an actual office job where general office shenanigans happen. I look forward to more experience to the big world of retail and design. Ohhh la la.

Aurevoir.
Sannita. x

Poser #3 First day

After getting my job, I thought it was only natural to post an outfit of what I wore on my first day (ok it was the second day because I was too tired to take a picture).  I really like the background of this picture, its so atmospheric and fashion, well actually I just wanted natural lighting. There's no where really to take photos in my house.

I decided upon an oversized minimal look. I like to mix leather with denim, threw in a bit of neon to brighten it up. Big chunky shoes and a little hat to top it off. These shoes are so comfy, definitely recommend them if you saw them in my androgyny post.

Jumper Forever 21 £3.49

Denim shirt Gap

Skirt Primark £12

Boots Zara £59.99

Fashion Intern to Fashion Apprentice

Ahhhhhh, so basically everything has been cer-razy. I didn't get the Elizabeth Saltzman internship, due to having found someone with more experience, or that was just a nice excuse to say no to me. Who knows? But I don't think I could have dealt with the lack of money anyway. Although I was gutted I had to move on to other things.

So my second interview with House of Fraser went really well, and a couple of weeks later I got a phone call from them saying I had got the job! Hello I am going to be Buying Assistant at House of Fraser! Ehehehe and even better, I get paid a full time wage!! This is obvs all thanks to my dear friend Jemima and cheeky Fashion Enter. 

Now that I'm on a actual wage this means I can quit my saturday job! After four bloody years at the hell hole can now leave and get paid to do something I love...for a year an a half at least (apprenticeship!).

I have a job and i'm being paid.
Oh and i'm moving to London and now will live the dream as a london city girl.