Things an Intern Should Know.. and Do!

I made a list of the top 10 Most Helpful Tips for interns. If you are coming to NYC this summer and working in the magazine or fashion business, use these tips to help you stand out from the crowd. An internship can be the gateway to a job after graduation, so every impression counts!

10. Arrive 10 to 15 minutes earlier than asked. This way you are prepared for the day when your boss gets in. The 15 extra minutes really comes in handy when you are running late, want to eat breakfast, or the metro's having problems.

9. Remember what you are told the first time. Business in New York is very fast-paced. Editors don't want to have to take the time to tell you twice. They will notice you can keep up to their pace, and may reward you later.

8. Look for ways to improve your job. If you notice that packing trunks a certain way keeps the clothes in better shape, suggest it to your boss, and if they approve, tell the other interns. Your boss will notice you care about your work, and the interns will respect you making their job easier. Be careful to not take on a know-it-all tone, this only makes you disliked.

7.Know how to get around the city. You may be asked to run errands all over town on the first day. It will make your day so much more stressful if you don't know where you are going! So before you start work, take the time to learn the metro system and your specific route from home to work.

6. Do your work without being asked. If you know that your boss reads her mail every morning, put it on her desk for her so she doesn't have to go get it. If you notice the fashion closet is almost out of hangars, put in an order before you are out. If you notice that your boss is private about certain things, like her mail, make sure you don't invade on his/her privacy.

5. Save your receipts. Most magazines and PR firms I have heard of pay interns' lunch expenses. The cap is normally $10 per day. And they should pay for your travelling expenses if you go on errands. So make sure to save your taxi and metro receipts as well. Your boss might forget to mention that on the first day, so don't be afraid to ask him/her what their policy is.

4. Stay on good terms with people you meet. The fashion industry is not that big. And sizewise, neither is New York City. You are likely to run into the same people throughout your career, so always be nice and stay in contact with people you meet. You never know who you will need a favor from.

3. Dress for the job you want. Most magazines have a laid back dress code, but everyone dresses stylishly. This does not mean you have to go buy a new wardrobe (I know one girl who bought a full closet of Chanel because she thought she could only wear their brand at her internship at Chanel). Just know that your boss will notice if you have good taste. Note: Don't wear short dresses, you will be picking up stuff all day! Don't ruin your nice shoes on the metro either, wear flip-flops to get there, then change shoes a block from the building.

2. Bond with the other interns. You never know when you will be running late and need someone else to get your boss' coffee. (yes, you will most likely do this) Plus it makes work so much more fun if you enjoy the people you are with! They might be your future roommates for when you get your first job, or even your future boss!

1. Be happy! Even if you are having a long day, have a positive attitude. No one likes to work with complainers. And no matter what you say, your attitude shows to your boss what you really think of your job!

Accessories Intern Gives Advice

I did a Q & A with my friend Hilary McCanse that was one of two accessories interns at Glamour last summer. Curious to see what it was like? Read below!

Q: What did you do as Glamour’s accessories intern?
A: I was in charge of sending all the purses, belts, shoes (loved the shoes) and such back to the designers. If an accessory was needed urgently at a shoot I was sent to the designer to pick it up and drop it off at the shoot. I also created accessory storyboards and organized the closet. And I must be honest, many many Starbucks runs.

Q: How did you get your internship at Glamour? Friend, connection or through an application? When did you go in for an interview?
A: The accessories editor is from my hometown. My dad mentioned to a coworker that I wanted a magazine internship and the coworker is a family friend of the accessory editor's family. I asked my dad to get me her email address and phone number. At the time I was interning at Chanel and my bosses there were friends with the accessory editor. So I called her and we chatted about her job, Chanel, etc. She told me to email her my resume. It took many many email follow-ups but eventually I got the internship. And I actually did not interview. Honestly, I think I slipped through the cracks.

Q: What most surprised you about working at Glamour?
A: Everyone is so busy at Glamour; it took awhile to get into the groove of things. At Chanel the office was small I got to know my bosses well. While at Glamour I only got to know my 2 editors well. Otherwise, Glamour was how I expected it to be.

Q: What do you recommend future interns wearing to work?
A: Dress nice. We were told we could wear jeans but I would only try to wear jeans on Fridays, which were half days. Usually I wore a dress or a skirt. You are in the fashion industry, dress like you are. That does not mean your clothes have to be designer or expensive but get creative with what you wear. I love thrift stores and had many vintage outfits. Also, NYC has glorious sample sales. What ever you wear don't look sloppy.

Q: What advice would you give to future interns?
A: Make connections where you can and always follow up with your contacts. And do not be shy. You want your bosses to take notice of you. That does not mean you have to suck up. But really attempt to convey your personality.

Q: What is your most embarrassing or funniest story about working at Glamour?
A: Well it is not about Glamour, but while I was riding the elevator in Conde Nast, Anna Wintour came on. And I literally could not stop staring at her. I think I tried to say something to her and just froze. I came across as such a creeper.

Q: What was your most memorable experience at Glamour?
A: I was featured in the magazine for how to dress a petite. Being at a professional photo shoot was a surreal experience. When I remember the Glamour experience as a whole, I smile. I had such a good time and loved working with the other interns. There is no need to compete or be snooty to the other interns. You are all there for the whole summer, make the most of it.

Q: What's your major? Did you get school credit for the internship?
A:I am a journalist major with an emphasis on strategic communication. No, I did not get credit for this internship but I did for Chanel.

Hilary’s final bit of advice:
No matter how outrageous a contact is, make sure you e-mail or call that person. For example: if your brother's girlfriend's dog-walker's cousin works for a fashion magazine, contact her. And have fun. You are in the best city, working in fashion. Don't stress out but enjoy yourself!

Love Fashion Photography? Read This

Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion
Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. $75.00 ISBN: 978-0-8478-2924-8

Sarah Mower interviewed the best stylists in the business for the book "Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion." Mower gives a one page biography of each photographer and explains how their work has influenced the fashion industry. She then proceeds to let their work speak for itself: the book is 90 percent photography.

Each stylist's section includes a compilation of their most well-known work. From Grace Coddington's Alice in Wonderland photoshoot to Andrea Lieberman's work on Gwen Stefani's music video, this book shows every type of media stylists delve into. Featured stylists include: Grace Coddington, Tonne Goodman, Andrea Leiberman, Carine Roitfeld, Karl Templer and Joe Zee.

This book isn't just for future stylists, it is also inspiration for future editors.... Roitfeld, Zee, Coddington and Goodman have all gone on to manage major fashion publications. If you're smart, you will use these stylists tips of success to start off your own fashion career.

Check it out!

I put together a slideshow of all my pics from my summer 2007 internship at Glamour.

Click on any of the "Glamour Days" pictures and it will take you to flickr.com where you can read captions that will describe my Glamour days' experience!

There is information about a photoshoot I assisted on, walking in on Mariah Carey's shoot, the work I did in editorial, and even about my own modeling experience in the Nov. '07 issue. (that's me in the left-hand corner!)

France Follows Spain's Model Law

France's National Assembly approved a bill that would make it illegal for anyone - including fashion magazines, couturiers, and advertisers - to incite extreme thinness. The bill will be reviewed by France's other house of parliament, the Senate, in the upcoming weeks.
According to CNN ,if Senate passes the bill, it will be the strongest bill affecting the model market because "inciting extreme thinness" is such a broad term. Spain passed a law last year saying a model's BMI could not be lower than 18. France is following in their footsteps to change a market that accepts, and even encourages, anorexia.
Some couture houses aren't happy that the government is trying to regulate what is or isn't considered beautiful.... including protruding hip bones.
Personally, I think France is going in the right direction. But it is going to take a whole lot more than a bill to change the body image here! It seems like almost everyone you see on the streets has twig-like legs and flat stomachs. These parisians subsist on coffee and cigarettes!
I head back to the states in a week... and I can't wait to get away from the mini-meal atmosphere over here and pig out on all the foods that makes America great (or fat...): fudge brownies, queso and hot tortillas, massive Starbucks muffins, and REAL coffee!

Hemingway's Parisian Masterpiece

"A Moveable Feast"
by Ernest Hemingway
211 pages. Simon & Schuster. $11.00
ISBN 0-684-82499-X

Thirty years after leaving Paris, Ernest Hemingway writes about his life in the city of love during the 1920s. A Movable Feast, written late in Hemingway's life, is made up of a series of anecdotes that describe his neighborhood hangouts, his eccentric group of friends, and the difficulties of being a poor, young and unknown writer.

Many of the stories take place in famous literary cafes, such as Les Deux Magots in Saint Germain des Pris, where Hemingway went to write. He uses his signature style of simple, terse language to describe his writing process: “After writing a story I was always empty and both sad and happy, as though I had made love, and I was sure this was a very good story although I would not know truly how good until I read it over the next day”.

A Movable Feast touches on many of the relationships Hemingway has with other writers of the time, including Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Hemingway tells about the time spent in Stein's apartment, talking about love, sex and writing. Stein regarded Hemingway as a friend, but also as someone she imparted wisdom to. She tells Hemingway that he is of “the lost generation” from World War II and educates him about sex, homosexuality, and how to buy good art.

Hemingway briefly recounts his run-ins with Joyce, the Irish novelist who was already known as one of the most influential writers of the day. Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, lived in a run-down apartment with their infant son, whom they call “Bumby”. They did not have money to spend on dinners, or nice clothes. Hemingway and his wife are on there way home one day when they see Joyce inside an expensive restaurant eating happily with his big family. He comments to Hadley that he aspires to reach the literary success of Joyce, which in retrospect is quite interesting to hear from one who would become one of the most famous writers of the twentieth century.

A significant part of the book is dedicated to Hemingway's love-hate friendship with Scott Fitzgerald. Hemingway recounts a humorous car trip from Lyon to Paris in a convertible in the pouring rain. He also talks about Fitzgerald’s literary masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, and how he could have written more if it wasn’t for his destructible relationship with his wife Zelda.

The whole theme of Hemingway's book is based on one phrase:
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
The book offers no official story line, yet it accurately depicts what it must have been like to live in Paris in those heady days. Reading A Moveable Feast is like tasting a piece of that great city without ever leaving your couch. This is Hemingway’s terse literary style at its best. Give yourself a couple hours to read this gem, because you won’t be able to put it down.

Elle Fires Famous Fashion Director

WWD reports that Elle Fashion Director Nina Garcia has parted ways with the magazine. But why? Elle was the gateway to stardom for Garcia, who is also a Project Runway judge and author of The Little Black Book of Style.

WWD, Gawker, and TMZ barely give any information about why the editor was fired.