Nursery School Stilettos?

The fashion industry has caused plenty of pain (which we’ve written about extensively) for women from the pressure to be thin, to painfully tight jeans, to frumpy plus size options, to inequality in the apparel workplace. Now it seems the fashion business has targeted young girls. No, we are not talking body image issues for once but actual physical pain. For example, the pain that comes from squishing your foot into a hot new pair of heels despite the inevitable blisters and lower back pain that will ensue. These are things that a child should never have to feel let alone a toddler. Unfortunately, as you can see from the photo above, the country’s’ most fashionable and famous 3 year old, Suri Cruz, is setting a new trend, high heels. For us, wearing heels may add a much needed few inches, but toddlers are supposed to be vertically challenged. For us, a pair of sexy stilettos will arch our backs accentuating our chests and our lovely behinds, but what exactly is a 3 year old accentuating?

Several years ago, one of our writers was designing for an intimates company who among other categories manufactured girls underwear. When the company requested the designers create a small line of thongs for girls 4 to 6X the design staff vehemently opposed the concept. Thongs for little girls, holy inappropriate, right? Well, apparently not! Because a few seasons later, after begrudgingly creating a line, buyers from stores across the country began placing orders. Our writer soon found out, thongs were not the beginning of the sexualization of young girls, but rather a reaction to it. You see, the retailers were requesting low-rise thongs because the children already had a wardrobe of tight fitting low-rise jeans. Apparently, droves of mothers were now looking for compatible under garments that would show no pantie lines and sit low, on the not yet developed hips, of their young children.

High heels, thongs, low-rise jeans, what’s next for our little girls? Being a woman is painful enough, why would we willfully push our children into it? Oh yeah, as if there is not enough wrong with that photo, rumor is that 3 year old is sporting $1,100 custom made Louboutins.

Shoe Candy

We have some delicious little treats for our readers today. Some of you may be fasting now for the Yom Kippur holiday, with food out of the question, we thought we’d provide some scrumptious shoe candy for you to feast upon. Considering the number of offices and local businesses closed in the area Monday, we hope that many of you are enjoying a restful day off. So, take a look at the photos below and let us know what you think. Would you wear any of these? Are they innovative or just silly?

Thirsting for more? Join in on our forum and share your fashionable thoughts today.

No, it isn’t a Halloween costume these creepy feet are designed by Comme Des Garcons. Pedicures not required!

These winged wedges have been the talk of the town over fashion week. Thanks to Vivienne Westwood!

Jealous of your kid and their light-up shoes? Well, thanks to Jimmy Choo you can enjoy the adult only version whose heels light-up when you walk!

Atalanta Weller took platforms to an all new sky-high level. Wearable or not, they’d certainly add inches to your frame.

Can these even be called shoes? Seen at the Aminaka Wilmont show. These heel only contraptions certainly aren’t made for the NYC sidewalks

Do I NEED to go to Fashion School?

image via flickr cjJohn

Having happily become a source of all things fashion industry related, we are constantly bombarded with inquiries about working in the business. One of the most common questions we get from young people is, “Do I need to go to college to have a career in fashion? Well, the short answer is, yes.

It’s our unanimous opinion that college is absolutely necessary. Now certainly there are a rare few who succeeded without it, but even for them a degree wouldn’t have hurt. There are many famous designers like Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, and Donna Karan who never finished school, but one thing to remember is, for them years ago a college diploma was not the prerequisite that it is today. Not to mention they all began by working for other companies and designers, whom today all require a Bachelors degree even for an assistant level position. Regardless of your career path, a college degree is, at the very least, something to fall back on. Should you change your mind in a few years and want to switch careers paths or attend grad school, a degree gives you options. In the US today a college degree is what a high school diploma was 30 years ago. According to the US census bureau, over the course of their life a college grad earns one million dollars more then their high school diploma counterpart! So all fashion industry intricacies aside, we will always recommend higher learning. Additionally, since many of our readers and the majority of fashion industry professionals are women we feel even stronger in pushing education. Women have enough battles for equality in the workplace; a lesser education should not be another.

Now, the second most common question we get is the follow up, “Do I have to go to a fashion school like Parsons, FIT, FIDM to get a job?” To that we would answer, no. However, if you are absolutely certain about a career in fashion and you can afford these often expensive universities, we would recommend them. There are certainly benefits to a well known fashion school that is unparalleled. For example, you will have in-depth training in your field far greater than a “major” at a traditional college. The equipment, from sewing labs to CAD labs are often much more extensive, the resources at your disposal are priceless. And of course, the networking and relationship building from attending these schools, along with the prestigious name on your resume can not be overlooked. That being said choosing a school is a very personal choice and there are many cases were a traditional Bachelors degree is actually better than a fashion school. Receiving a well rounded education is always a sure bet and at age 17 or 18 this may be a smarter move, leaving more options open to you in the long run. Additionally, it depends what you want to do in fashion. If you want to be the next CEO of the Gap or be VP of Sales and Marketing for Macy’s a traditional four year University plus an MBA program is your best bet. Even for those in the more creative fields a University with a strong fashion major and perhaps an art minor will certainly be respected. Keep in mind that in the fashion industry people have a wide variety of backgrounds and especially here in NYC your future co-workers will come from schools all over the country as well as the world.

Finally, we would just like to give our personal opinion as most of us have hired people (usually in design) before. First, when an ad is put out we receive hundred of applicants, as fashion design is a very coveted and competitive field. We are busy and certainly don’t have the time to interview or examine everyone’s portfolio. So step one for an entry level position, if your resume does not contain a college education and classes or major in fashion it goes out with the garbage. Second, we don’t really care about GPA’s or school awards, we’d rather see strong skills (pattern making, foreign languages, CAD, etc) and an innovative portfolio. Third, we’d like to see a portfolio that goes beyond just a few sketches, show us you have more abilities than any random joe with a fashion sense who can draw. Lastly, while the fashion industry may be known for its diva behavior, recent grad needs to check the attitude at the door, and be gracious. It is always shocking to us how many newbies forget that last point because even the best degree won’t overcome a bad attitude.