Fashion designer school is for people that have a passion or extreme interest in all things fashion. Fashion designers will be taught to sketch their ideas, draw and cut patterns, create simple garments, fit and modify finished garments, arrange showings for press as well as buyers, compare merchandise to that of competitors, learn how to keep current, and how to visit textile showrooms when they attend fashion design school. These skills will all contribute to helping someone with a passion for fashion develop their skill and utilize it in the real world.
Most fashion designers are self-employed and simply design for individual clients. A great way to learn how to create your own methods of creating great clothing, accessories, or jewelry is to become a designer's assistant. Some fashion designers work for larger firms and this may be a great way to get a fashion designer education when you get out of fashion designer school, as well. These firms or corporations typically have a head designer, which is responsible for most of the creative aspects and supervision of the design room staff.
Assistant designers are often hired by firms and often make the first patterns and help the head designer oversee creative and personnel issues. There are also specialty designers that may be hired by corporations that will work with other designers to help create limited or special lines of clothing. Special designers will often have a specific article of clothing or accessory that they work with and often they design for a specific market or country and can play a vital role in a large design company.
There are also theatrical costume designers that create costumes or articles of clothing and accessories for plays, movies, or other theatrical productions and these designers may work on contract. The work environment for every designer varies, as some work in very professional settings while others work in very cramped and rushed environments. If you are looking at working for a firm, be sure to ask hard questions about the work environment and schedule.
Just because you just graduated from fashion designer school doesn't mean that you should be subjected to less than comfortable working conditions! Freelance fashion designer work can also be done outside of your own job so that you can slowly create your own client base away from your corporate job.
Many designers make more than $20 an hour and the average salary for a designer is more than $57,000 a year!
A. The World of Fashion
Introduction
Fashion industry is seeing a steep rise all over the world. As a result the career opportunities and competiveness between the people associated with the fashion industry are also increasing. There are various career options available in the fashion arena like fashion designing, marketing, merchandising and fashion consulting. There is an increased demand for skilled and talented people for the above mentioned positions in the fashion world.
Acquiring a fashion degree is an easy task as there are many institutes who offer the training, degrees & diplomas. Fashion market is continuously evolving. The trends change seasonably. Fashion is never stagnant, it is never stable. Although to achieve success in fashion industry is not an easy task it requires lots of struggle, hard work and patience.
Being in fashion field is purely business whether you are a designer or a ramp model. Fashion is not everyone’s cup of tea as it puts forth long hours of working, unpredictable work culture and stress for meeting the deadline. There are lots of career opportunities available here like- modeling, fashion-designing, retailing, marketing, planning, and distribution. Many technological advancement tools are being developed for fashion industry like CAD/CAM, e-fit, etc.
B. Fashion Theory - How To Calculate Your Clothing Budget
I suggested to Aisha, a recent client, that she invest in a durable leather handbag. Aisha argued that she simply couldn't afford to spend upwards of $300. The remarkable thing about this was that once we analyzed her recent clothing purchases we realized that she was spending about $300 monthly on clothing! The end result was that her closet was essentially bursting at the seams with discount and poorly constructed clothing.
Establishing a budget is a very difficult question to answer from a general perspective because everyone's financial and clothing situation is different. If you have a job that allows you to work in a casual environment where some of your everyday clothing can be incorporated into you daily work outfits, I would estimate the overall clothing allowance to be somewhere around 7%. Keep in mind, this budget should include the costs of alterations and professional cleaning services.
Example 1: Aisha works in a business casual environment. Her salary is $37,000. Her clothing allowance is: $2,590.
Example 2: Elaine works in a professional business environment. Her salary is $85,000. Her clothing allowance is: $8,500.
1. Invest in Investment Pieces: Investment pieces are just that - "investment" pieces! For classics, I recommend shopping at a formula store. A formula store is typically a specialty retail store that stocks key basics. Some great formula stores are Gap, Ann Taylor LOFT and The Limited. The great thing about a formula store is that once you find the sizes and styles that suit you best, you can shop there season to season with little difficulty. These are great stores for purchasing a classic a-line skirt, trousers, jeans, button-ups, and tees, tanks and camis of variety.
2. Don't Be a Label Whore: When it comes to beautiful dresses, handbags, shoes and scarves there are some designers that are simply ahead of the par, however to simply focus all of your efforts into collecting clothing that has a designer label tag regardless of how flattering or well-fitting the item is - is simply not a good option.
3. Do Apply The Cost-Per-Wear Concept: To get back to the example I gave previously of Aisha spending $300 on a leather handbag. If Aisha carried this handbag for just six months her cost per wear would be $50. If you're carrying a lot of debt (particularly from past shopping activities) you really need to think long and hard about plunking 7-10% of your income towards clothing. A simple rule of thumb I often use is "Don't buy it unless you can afford to buy two." The amount of your clothing budget should match or exceed the amount you are saving or applying towards debt repayment. Here are two great ideas for actually staying on budget.
Low Tech Option: If your budget allows for $200 to be spent a month on clothing. When shopping for clothing only spend what is in the envelope. Once this amount is gone you have exhausted your clothing budget for the month.
High Tech Option: Set up a separate checking account (I suggest an ING Orange account) and have a specific amount deposited into your account periodically; for example $50 a week. When shopping for clothing only use the debit card associated with this checking account.
4. Maximize Your Budget: A pair of Jimmy Choo shoes is no longer $500. EBay and consignment stores are a great source for stretching your clothing allowance.
Most fashion designers are self-employed and simply design for individual clients. A great way to learn how to create your own methods of creating great clothing, accessories, or jewelry is to become a designer's assistant. Some fashion designers work for larger firms and this may be a great way to get a fashion designer education when you get out of fashion designer school, as well. These firms or corporations typically have a head designer, which is responsible for most of the creative aspects and supervision of the design room staff.
Assistant designers are often hired by firms and often make the first patterns and help the head designer oversee creative and personnel issues. There are also specialty designers that may be hired by corporations that will work with other designers to help create limited or special lines of clothing. Special designers will often have a specific article of clothing or accessory that they work with and often they design for a specific market or country and can play a vital role in a large design company.
There are also theatrical costume designers that create costumes or articles of clothing and accessories for plays, movies, or other theatrical productions and these designers may work on contract. The work environment for every designer varies, as some work in very professional settings while others work in very cramped and rushed environments. If you are looking at working for a firm, be sure to ask hard questions about the work environment and schedule.
Just because you just graduated from fashion designer school doesn't mean that you should be subjected to less than comfortable working conditions! Freelance fashion designer work can also be done outside of your own job so that you can slowly create your own client base away from your corporate job.
Many designers make more than $20 an hour and the average salary for a designer is more than $57,000 a year!
A. The World of Fashion
Introduction
Fashion industry is seeing a steep rise all over the world. As a result the career opportunities and competiveness between the people associated with the fashion industry are also increasing. There are various career options available in the fashion arena like fashion designing, marketing, merchandising and fashion consulting. There is an increased demand for skilled and talented people for the above mentioned positions in the fashion world.
Acquiring a fashion degree is an easy task as there are many institutes who offer the training, degrees & diplomas. Fashion market is continuously evolving. The trends change seasonably. Fashion is never stagnant, it is never stable. Although to achieve success in fashion industry is not an easy task it requires lots of struggle, hard work and patience.
Being in fashion field is purely business whether you are a designer or a ramp model. Fashion is not everyone’s cup of tea as it puts forth long hours of working, unpredictable work culture and stress for meeting the deadline. There are lots of career opportunities available here like- modeling, fashion-designing, retailing, marketing, planning, and distribution. Many technological advancement tools are being developed for fashion industry like CAD/CAM, e-fit, etc.
B. Fashion Theory - How To Calculate Your Clothing Budget
I suggested to Aisha, a recent client, that she invest in a durable leather handbag. Aisha argued that she simply couldn't afford to spend upwards of $300. The remarkable thing about this was that once we analyzed her recent clothing purchases we realized that she was spending about $300 monthly on clothing! The end result was that her closet was essentially bursting at the seams with discount and poorly constructed clothing.
Establishing a budget is a very difficult question to answer from a general perspective because everyone's financial and clothing situation is different. If you have a job that allows you to work in a casual environment where some of your everyday clothing can be incorporated into you daily work outfits, I would estimate the overall clothing allowance to be somewhere around 7%. Keep in mind, this budget should include the costs of alterations and professional cleaning services.
Example 1: Aisha works in a business casual environment. Her salary is $37,000. Her clothing allowance is: $2,590.
Example 2: Elaine works in a professional business environment. Her salary is $85,000. Her clothing allowance is: $8,500.
1. Invest in Investment Pieces: Investment pieces are just that - "investment" pieces! For classics, I recommend shopping at a formula store. A formula store is typically a specialty retail store that stocks key basics. Some great formula stores are Gap, Ann Taylor LOFT and The Limited. The great thing about a formula store is that once you find the sizes and styles that suit you best, you can shop there season to season with little difficulty. These are great stores for purchasing a classic a-line skirt, trousers, jeans, button-ups, and tees, tanks and camis of variety.
2. Don't Be a Label Whore: When it comes to beautiful dresses, handbags, shoes and scarves there are some designers that are simply ahead of the par, however to simply focus all of your efforts into collecting clothing that has a designer label tag regardless of how flattering or well-fitting the item is - is simply not a good option.
3. Do Apply The Cost-Per-Wear Concept: To get back to the example I gave previously of Aisha spending $300 on a leather handbag. If Aisha carried this handbag for just six months her cost per wear would be $50. If you're carrying a lot of debt (particularly from past shopping activities) you really need to think long and hard about plunking 7-10% of your income towards clothing. A simple rule of thumb I often use is "Don't buy it unless you can afford to buy two." The amount of your clothing budget should match or exceed the amount you are saving or applying towards debt repayment. Here are two great ideas for actually staying on budget.
Low Tech Option: If your budget allows for $200 to be spent a month on clothing. When shopping for clothing only spend what is in the envelope. Once this amount is gone you have exhausted your clothing budget for the month.
High Tech Option: Set up a separate checking account (I suggest an ING Orange account) and have a specific amount deposited into your account periodically; for example $50 a week. When shopping for clothing only use the debit card associated with this checking account.
4. Maximize Your Budget: A pair of Jimmy Choo shoes is no longer $500. EBay and consignment stores are a great source for stretching your clothing allowance.
0 comments:
Post a Comment