Why I Will Never Want a Career in Fashion

One of the most-asked questions I receive from family members and strangers is if I would ever want to pursue something fashion-related as my full-time job. In fact, when I was a senior in high school, people would often ask me, or even assume, that I would want to study fashion in college. Obviously, I took a very different route by studying criminology and geography. I started college wide-eyed and undeclared, but I always knew fashion was on the list of things I did not want to study. When people asked me again during my Graceful Rags tabling event last week whether or not I wanted a career in fashion (or if I would ever blog full-time, if the opportunity presented itself), I was not surprised to find that my answer was still a quick and unequivocal “no”.

Why, then, would someone who loves fashion as much as me—a near-adult who still frequently hosts fashion shows for herself in her closet and who spends her free time obsessively logging cost per wear in an Excel spreadsheet—pass on a career in fashion?! It seems like a dream job for me, right?

Wrong. The answer has always been very simple: I have never wanted to pursue a job in fashion because I don’t think it would ever be challenging enough.

Don’t get me wrong—fashion blogging is very difficult. It’s way harder than it looks and takes significantly more time and strategy than simply posting a picture of yourself online every once in a while. Heck, if fashion blogging was easy, I would be way more successful at it. And while I’ve never had a real job in fashion, I can only imagine that the selling, buying, and forecasting that occurs in fashion merchandising jobs are also very difficult. In fact, the industry is notorious for being cutthroat, and I highly respect anyone who works in fashion. It’s just not the right kind of challenging for me.

Of course fashion-related jobs would present their own set of difficulties, but I guess I just can’t imagine myself in a career completely unrelated to the sciences. I’ve always been very curious and enjoyed school (for the most part, even if I say otherwise), and in high school, I was convinced I wanted to study a hard science like biology or chemistry. I quickly realized those majors would be way more stressful than what I was wanting, but I still consider myself a scientist at heart—always looking to problem solve and approach even day-to-day dilemmas through the lens of the scientific method.

I just happened to fall in love with criminology my freshman year, but I also realized it was too fluffy for me—I wanted something more concrete and testable than the wishy-washiness of the social sciences. That’s why I added geography (which yes, is still a soft science) but at least it involves chemistry, biology, and physics when studying topics such as the composition of the atmosphere, biomes, and remote sensing.

Who knows, maybe I am not giving fashion enough of a chance. Perhaps there is a job out there that would perfectly meld my love of clothes with my need for the scientific method. But even then… part of me fears that having a job in fashion would ruin my love for it. A passion for clothes is something I will always be able to pursue, every morning, when I wake up and get dressed. If I turn that into a job that becomes something stressful and necessary to pay the bills, would I look at it differently? Even my blog, which I started as a way to share my love of fashion, has some days turned into nothing more than a demanding to-do list item.

That’s not to say I haven’t imagined myself in various fashion positions over the years. Watching “The Bold Type” made me dream of working at a fashion magazine, and the thought of styling celebrities for red carpet events is exhilarating, to say the least. I could be happy in any fashion-related job… but I do not think I would be satisfied.

I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be blogging, but it will likely only be a few more years—I can’t imagine myself getting married, having kids, and sharing the whole journey on the internet. There are lots of things I would like to remain private, and I am becoming increasingly tempted to delete my social media altogether and return to my status of living under a rock. I will make that leap someday. But I also know it will feel like a part of me is missing without my blog.

So no, I never plan on pursuing a career in the fashion industry, nor do I ever plan on blogging full-time (if I ever even made enough money to do so). I have always and will always love fashion, but it belongs as a hobby in my life. I look forward to starting a personal styling side business eventually, like when my kids are young and I want to spend most of my time at home with them, but even that would only ever be a side business—a hobby that just happens to make a little bit of income.

What about you, have you ever considered a job in fashion? Would you want to or do you already blog full time? I completely understand why other influencers are so drawn to that dream—it seems like a really fun job and I commend them; it’s just not for me.

Be sure to join this week’s linkup above! Sorry for missing it again last week… Sheesh.

And lastly, I want to say a quick word about this outfit. This Cabi sweater cracks me up because my mother sent it to me my freshman year of college, which was absolutely shocking. She has a very modest style and would not approve of this outfit or cropped items—which begs the question, why did she send me the most cropped sweater ever?? She said she saw it at a Cabi trunk show layered over a chiffon tank top (which she also got me). That layered look is… unusual, to say the least. Yet it’s also difficult to wear this sweater alone because it is so cropped. I had only worn it twice before, but my cost per wear spreadsheet was screaming at me to wear it more. I decided to style it for class on Tuesday with these grey jeans and black accessories for an edgy look. I love how the outfit came together, but that sure is a lot of very pasty stomach on display! Definitely out of my comfort zone.

As always, thanks for stopping by the blog. I’d love to hear your thoughts on today’s topic below!

Miles of smiles,

Grace

Black Cropped Sweater: Cabi, $89 | Grey Jeans: Express, $19, last worn here | Black Knee Boots: DSW, $100, last worn here | Sunglasses: Sungait, sent to me by brand, last worn here, buy exact here | Snakeskin Belt: Francesca’s, $9, last worn here | Black Fringe Purse: Gift, $50, last worn here