Garment Center goes to Washington

Last week local designers Nanette Lepore, Yeohlee Teng, and Stan Herman took their Save the Garment Center fight to Washington. The director and producers for the HBO documentary “Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags” attended as well. There was a special screening of the documentary by Representative Diane Watson and Representative Carolyn Maloney. Following the screening there was a panel discussion open to all members of congress that included representatives from the apparel unions, designers, and Representative Tim Ryan of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus.

We are thrilled to see the Save the Garment Center efforts moving forward. Finally seeing political attention being paid to support the fashion industry and specifically domestic production is wonderful. Nanette Lepore has done an enormous job in increasing Garment Center awareness. To show your support and stay on top on of all of the latest Garment Center happenings join their Facebook page by clicking here.

Fresh Fashion Scoop

— Emaciated high fashion models are nothing new in the industry. Recently the folks in charge of Brazil’s fashion week have publicly voiced their concerns and intent to increase their already structured health requirements for models. Interesting, they blamed the US and Europe for hindering their attempts by encouraging the gaunt aesthetic and embracing models that are refused by Brazil.

— Temperley’s famous winter sale is going on now. Don’t miss a chance to snag some seriously discounted (75% off) designer dresses and separates. At 453 Broome Street by Mercer until 1/31 this is one sale not to miss!

— Thinking about buying a knock-off designer bag down on Canal street? Not only does that hurt the sales of the legit and struggling apparel industry but it supports sweatshop laborers who make these cheapo bags. Well apparently, the city has decided to crack down on the crowded Canal street vendors and raided the street shutting down 16 illegal shops in the process last week.

— What is a nice Jewish boy doing designing swastika handbags? That’s the questions we’d like to ask Marc Jacobs. So who would pay $1495 for some designer Nazi swag?

— Zac Posen is the next big designer doing a diffusion line for Target. While the goods won’t be available until April, the Look Book is out now. So take a peak, here.

5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Fashion Career

flickr image via Flickr image via Noemi Manalang

As an insider fashion blog we have many readers either in school planning for a career in fashion or wanting to attend a fashion school. We get loads of emails asking advice usually: How do I get a job? What is fashion school like? How can I be a fashion designer? Do I need a degree? And we have answered many of these before. However, there are other questions that are often overlooked by newbies that should be asked of yourself before you enter this industry. Here are our top ten questions you should ask yourself before pursuing a career in the fashion industry.

1. Do I REALLY want to WORK in fashion? Yes, it seems obvious, but many people don’t bother to really think about it. If you decide on this career path simply because you love fashion, you may be disappointed. Would you be happier working in a field that pays you very well so you can enjoy luxurious personal shopping trips instead? Fashion as a job means shopping, reading fashion magazines, and traveling all become work related and often the enjoyment you may find now in these things gets lost. When turning a hobby or a love into “work” and into a business the love affair can fade quickly. To succeed you must really have a “passion for fashion” but also a realistic awareness that this includes dealing with factories, haggling over price-points, following others direction, working at a computer for hours on ends, and in the early days perhaps “assisting” ie copying, cutting, steaming, and filing till the wee hours of the morning.
2. Is being a Fashion Designer the actual title I want? Certainly fashion design gets the most attention, but is rarely understood and not the only option. As we’ve mentioned before there are many positions you can hold working in fashion besides design. For example if you prefer shopping to sewing, fashion merchandising or buying, may make more sense for you than design. Or if you love people, travel, and making money then corporate fashion sales may be a smarter career choice.
3. How important is money to me? Of course we all want to make money, that’s why we work otherwise it’d be called volunteering. Better than a job is a career, and even better than a career is a career that employs you in doing something you love while paying you handsomely. Unfortunately in the fashion industry a large paycheck is a rarity. And coupled with the high cost of living in most fashion-centric cities, plus the expensive taste level you probably have, you may be in for a financial shock.
4. Do I enjoy travel and more importantly do I care WHERE & WHEN I travel? Many people fantasize working in fashion will entail fabulous shop-trips to Europe and glamorous Fashion Week global events. While in design at the higher levels shop-trips will ensue, they will be far more exhausting and stressful than fabulous. The majority of travel for design and other positions will be 20+hr fights to China, Hong Kong, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia etc to visit and work in the factories sometimes for weeks at a time. There will also be the oh-so-fabulous trips throughout the South and Midwest of the US, to corporate offices of major retailers to attend sales meeting (yes even design & tech attend these on occasion). And keep in mind that the travel schedule revolves around the factory and retail calendar, so despite the fact that it’s your birthday or even Christmas if the company says go, you must go.
5. How important is my personal life? Sure, right after you graduate fashion school and head to the city being a workaholic seems like a far trade off. You are young and working to midnight, then going out with friends, and still making it into the office the next morning is doable. But what about when you get older? What about when you have a husband that you’d like to see for dinner every now and again? Or having children, there is no paid maternity leave in fashion. Leaving early for a sick kid, or nanny issues is a sure way to get fired. Or have you really thought about how much you will miss spending holidays with your family or attending friends out of state weddings etc. Most fashion companies give 5 days off a year and since they are open the day before and after Christmas and Thanksgiving, you can forget going away for the holidays. Late nights, traveling abroad, no vacation time, those are all part of most apparel companies, so be prepared.

Fashion Blogger Support

We have some sad news to share with our readers today. Janet, the blogger behind the fashion site Je Ne Sais Quoi has tragically lost her husband this week. We’re sure many of our readers have been fans of her blog and perhaps interacted with her online through her blogger id “iheartfashion”. She has two young children and now is in financial need, so for those of you who would like to help, Wendy Brandes has set up a PayPal donation button on her blog which you can find here. Wendy has also come up with another way to raise money for Janet, through purchasing one of her Teeny Genie necklaces for $50, Wendy will donate $35 from each purchase. These adorable necklaces capture Wendy’s unique style and are an excellent way to add to your wardrobe while doing some good. Thank you for your support, our hearts go out to Janet and her family.

Lunch in the Hallway?

Ok, we really don’t even know how to go about explaining this, so let’s just spit it out. Did you know people eat lunch in hallways? No, not just standing around snacking and gabbing with a co-worker, but actually eating at a restaurant in a hallway? Hmm, that doesn’t really explain it either. More specifically, did you know in some freight/service hallways in the Garment Center people are serving up food? Really!

How did we stumble upon this? Well, frankly we got a bit lost on the way to a sample sale and stumble onto a bizarre sight, right on 39th street (although the address is 550 7th avenue). In a loading dock/service hallway there was a counter and a guy frying up food and serving it to customers. It was one of those odd sights that make you think, only in New York. Now, we did not stop and eat there nor did we have a camera at the moment but as soon as possible we Googled the place. What was found online was even more surprising. It’s called Nick’s Place, and had been reviewed by the renowned Midtown Lunch and actually received decent comments. Plus their lunch special, which sounds yummy, costs $9.25, a bit steep for lunch in a freight hall if you ask us.

As if that was not surprising enough, according to Midtown Lunch, this was only one, of several hallway lunch spots in the Garment Center. Who knew? We spent some time on Midtown Lunch following this mysterious trail and found they highly recommend the food at one such spot, called El Sabroso, which serves up delicious Peruvian food. This spot, hidden away on 37th between 7th and 8th Avenues, has a rotating menu and everything is under $7.

So what do you think? Did you know about this? Do you know of any others? Would you eat lunch cooked in a service hallway?