recording-1_2024-05-21_18-40-55

The Fashionably Late podcast, hosted by Sammie Webster, aims to explore various careers in the fashion industry and provide advice to aspiring fashionistas. Sammie shares her own journey, starting with her internship at Kleinfeld Bridal, where she eventually landed a permanent role as the assistant buyer for accessories. She then transitioned to a corporate role as the assistant buyer for downtown denim at New York & Company. Sammie discusses the different aspects of these roles, including styling brides and attending fashion shows, as well as the administrative tasks involved in buying for multiple stores. She also shares a memorable moment of meeting Sarah Jessica Parker during her time at Kleinfeld. Welcome to the first episode of the Fashionably Late podcast with me, your host, Sammie Webster. For this first episode, I want to introduce my goals for the podcast as well as introduce myself and where I'm at in the fashion industry. I came up with the Fashionably Late idea because this is something I wish I would have had when I was in college. I knew for a very long time that I wanted to go into the fashion industry because I loved watching shows like Say Yes to the Dress and What Not to Wear. I would say that those two shows led me to want to become a celebrity stylist, which is what I went into school thinking I would be doing. I also loved Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. I just loved her life in the city and all of her designer shoes and clothes. And I also loved the more realistic life that I saw from Lauren Conrad from Laguna Beach. So going into college to go to fashion school, I honestly didn't really know all of the different avenues there were in the industry. So my goal for this podcast is to have conversations with people who work in the fashion industry so we can discuss what they do, how they got to where they are, some of their favorite moments in their career, maybe some future goals that they have, and definitely hand out some advice to future fashionistas or to the fashionistas that are looking to change paths in their career. So now to meet me, I have been in the fashion-related industry for about 10 years. Where did it start? Well, it started with once I graduated with my bachelor's in fashion merchandising from Mercyhurst University. So something I wasn't totally aware of throughout my time at school was interning. I just knew that we had to intern at least one time our senior year. So I graduated. The next day, I flew to Paris with my fashion club, and I was there for eight days. And two days after we got home, I then packed two suitcases and had a one-way ticket to New York City where I'd started my three-month internship. I got accepted to intern at Kleinfeld Bridal, which is where TLC's Say Yes to the Dress is filmed. And I got that through a connection I made in college. A girl that was a couple years older than me and who I hope to have on this podcast really helped me out and got me an interview. And my dad and I took a seven- or eight-hour bus trip from where I lived to the city. I interviewed for probably 10, 15 minutes, got accepted on the spot, and then my dad and I hung out in the Macy's upstairs because we were so tired until the bus was ready to leave. So I accepted the internship to be a bridal stylist intern. Basically, what you did is you worked one-on-one with the bridal stylist, assisting in pulling gowns and styling the brides, which is really fun and can also be a little overwhelming. When you go back to the stock warehouse, there are hundreds and hundreds of dresses to choose from. So I really learned a lot about styling a bride. You know, you have to ask, you know, is your wedding in the summer, in the winter? Do you want long-sleeve, short-sleeve, strapless? Do you want a mermaid gown? Do you want a ball gown? There's just, there's so many things that I learned about specifically styling brides, which was awesome. But a month and a half into my internship, I was actually approached by one of the head chief consultants, and she was asking if I needed a job. And of course, that is something you always worry about when you graduate college is like, okay, now how do I get my big girl job? So I was like, yeah, like, I have no plans, like, I'm definitely looking for something. So during my lunch break that day, with no preparation, she pulled me aside and had me go meet her boss, and I interviewed with her, and then I interviewed with the owners of Kleinfeld, and that day, I was offered a permanent role for my first big girl job as the assistant buyer for the headpieces and accessories department. So that was probably one of the best days ever, like, I was employed for TLC's Say Yes to the Dress, Kleinfeld Bridal, as my first big girl job. So in my role, we did a lot with, we bought jewelry, handbags, shoes, headpieces, so it's like veils, tiaras, that sort of thing. And like, our main goals were building relationships with designers, going to vendor meetings, attending bridal markets and fashion shows, which was really fun. So not only would we go to market and look at all the accessories and stuff, but we would also attend the shows showing the gowns, because we would kind of collaborate with the gown buying team, because you want to get accessories that are going to match with what they're bringing in for the season as well. So that was always so fun, I loved attending market. It was my favorite thing, it kind of made me feel like the most fashion, fashion-y job you can think of, like, you ride around in a Mercedes and you go to these different markets, you sip wine or champagne and you shop around for stuff for the showroom. So like, that was super fun. And then some of the, I don't want to say not fun, but more of the administrative duties that I did in this role was entering purchase orders, doing inventory management, doing quality control of the accessories coming in for the brides and for the showroom. One thing that I'll compare, so my second job, which I'll get into, I worked at New York & Company at their headquarters, and I was also a buyer there. But at Kleinfeld, you were only buying for one showroom. So we would buy one sample piece, and those pieces were made to order. So we would take the, once the bride was in her fitting downstairs, that's kind of when we would try to accessorize her look, and if she ended up liking our pieces, then those were made to order. And we could also, we had relationships with the designers that if the bride wanted to change some things, like change a stone or something along those lines, like we had the relationship that we had the ability to do that. So that was also really awesome and fun for the brides because there was a couple times that the designer named the piece after the bride. So that's also like a fun moment that we got to experience. What I'm going to be asking the people that I speak to is one of their favorite moments from their job. And so my favorite moment at Kleinfeld was when I found out that Sarah Jessica Parker was launching a shoe line called SJP Collection. I was on a website and found that she was doing this, and I told my boss, I'm like, this is something we need in our showroom. Like brides come here because of the show, but I also think a lot of them like also would love like Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw. So we have to get Sarah Jessica Parker's line in here. So we ended up finding out her team's information, and we had a meeting with her team, all the ended up saying yes to being a part of Kleinfeld, and we did get a couple exclusive shoes for our showroom. So with that being said, we obviously meet with the team multiple times. Like we look at what they have, talk about what we're looking for, especially when we're doing the exclusive line, all these things. So we had worked with them many, many times, but never once had we actually met Sarah Jessica Parker. So one Wednesday, which was our dress down day because the showroom was closed, my boss and I showed up to work in the exact same basic outfit. We had on a white tee, blue jeans, and Converse. Literally same outfit. We did not plan it. And it just so happens that that day, we had a meeting planned with Sarah Jessica Parker's team to talk about like their new shoe line, like their new launch that they had, and we were coming to see what they had and pick what we wanted, so on and so forth. So we're walking to the showroom, and I'm like, Daniela, watch this be the day that Sarah Jessica Parker's there. And we're like laughing, joking about it. Whatever. Get on the elevator, go up to the showroom, and I knock on the door. Next thing I know, the door is opening, and Sarah Jessica Parker is extending her hand and says, hi, I'm Sarah Jessica. I have never been so starstruck in my entire life. I have met several celebrities and never in my life have I felt this way. I literally felt like a deer in headlight. I think I forgot my seat belt. I think I forgot my name for a minute. I put my hand out, and I said, hi, I'm Sammy, I think. It was the most amazing moment of my life. And once we got in the showroom, we were trying on shoes with Sarah Jessica Parker. We were talking about the line. It was the most amazing day of my life. I got to try on shoes with the Carrie Bradshaw Sarah Jessica Parker. So that kind of wraps up my client fault experience. I spent two years there, and from there, I kind of wanted to take a different path and go more corporate. So I applied to a couple of different places. I applied to Kohl's. I applied to New York and Company. I applied to Marvel Studios. And I ended up getting a call back from New York and Company. And I accepted the role as the assistant buyer for downtown denim. So we did all the buying for jeans, the pants, the shorts, denim skirts. That was all in our realm. So it was a lot different of an experience from Kleinfeld. Because New York and Company, we were buying for 300 plus stores. Whereas at Kleinfeld, we're buying for one showroom, one sample, and having it made to order. So this was totally different. And New York and Company really opened my eyes to what buying really is with a corporate point of view. Because it is way more numbers-based than what I had experienced at my other role. And that was a total shock to me, kind of, which is silly. Because when you think of buying, obviously, there is a mathematical factor. But when you're buying for over 300 stores, there's a lot to consider. So you're considering how many pieces you need for each store. So you actually collaborate with a lot of different teams. So we would collaborate with the planning department and the allocation department. You know, what sizes, the size break you want per store. And then we also did a lot of competitive shopping. Because we are competing with similar stores. Whereas at Kleinfeld, you are still competing with other bridal shops. But this is just, it's a lot different. So we would competitive shop stores like Zara, American Eagle, H&M, Madewell. We'd also do trend forecasting. So we would actually go to the stores and try on their denim. We would bring it back and kind of see the wash, the feel. Maybe the embellishments they're using. And so we do that. We still also attended markets and meeting with other vendors. Because we would see what they would have to offer. But we also had an in-house design team as well. So sometimes it would cost more money for our design team to make a specific jean. So that's when we would go to a vendor. And then sometimes there were things that we wanted that no vendors had. And so we would do it in-house with our design team. So that was something that was really fun. Because at New York & Company, we collaborated with all of the different departments. So buying team was collaborating with design, planning, allocation, visual teams, social. It was fun to experience that teamwork. And how much really goes into launching products for a new season. Some of my main responsibilities were preparing samples. Working with the color analysis team. Creating mood boards. Preparing samples for the CEO to show at our meetings. So we would try to pitch what we wanted for the season. And we also attended model fittings. So we would actually sit in with model and design team. And see how it was fitting on her. How the inseam was. How the length was. How it felt. And the model would give us her input on her likes and dislikes. And that also really helped. Because she could also be viewed as a consumer. So it was a lot different than my experience at Kleinfeld. And I think... I don't have like a favorite experience from New York & Company. But if I had to say my favorite perk about being a buyer in general is free samples. I don't really know if I should be saying that. But at both jobs, I got really awesome free samples from being a buyer. So I was gifted at Kleinfeld a couple pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes. Which made me feel like in my Carrie Bradshaw moment. My very first pair of Jimmy Choo's was a black pair. And it had black and silver glitter on them. And my second pair was navy blue with a tulle bow. Oh my god, I love those. I still have them to this day. And then at New York & Company, I just so happened to be the sample size for our denim. So once we were kind of done with that product. It was going into sale mode. We would be able to get rid of some of our samples. So I would have a lot of free denim in my apartment. Overflowing my drawers. So I also spent about or I spent about a year at New York & Company. So in total, I spent three years as a buyer in the city. First experience being with more of a quote unquote mom and pop shop. Second experience corporate. Some perks. I don't want to say perks. Some likes and dislikes with mom and pop versus corporate. Something I loved about working at Kleinfeld. It was very kind of like family oriented. You were definitely known as someone. Everyone knew you. It was just family life. Like you walked in, you're like, I'm so excited to be here. When I worked in New York & Company, it was more of you walk in at 6 30 in the morning. You run reports and analyze them, which is something I didn't mention. Like I said, my experience at New York & Company was very mathematical. And I did a lot, a lot of analyzing numbers and sales reports, especially on Mondays. When we would analyze the reports, we would look at things such as obviously how much of each item sold. So like what, what was working and what wasn't working. Then you'd look into the ones that aren't really working. And you'd, you'd ask the question, why is it the placement in the store? Is it the placement in the store? Is it the gene? Just as it is, like, is it, is it just not a trending gene? Like, is it the color? Is it the embellishments? You know, what is it? So we, I would run those reports because I was a little man on the totem pole. And it was stressful. I'm not going to lie. It was a lot of Excel work. And that kind of like drove me out of not wanting to be a buyer. And also kind of what brings me to this podcast. Because I only interned one place and then that turned into my job. And then that led me into the only role I ever knew was buying. And I'd wished I would have known what else was out there because I just really didn't. So then also while I was at New York & Company at Leinfeld, I also did a couple side hustles because I realized, like, I need to see what else is out there. Because I think buying is just not really my lane. Like, I don't know what else there is. I need to do something else. So I did do a side job. It was just a couple days with an influencer. Her name is Bridget. And I worked with her on a handbag. I guess, like, I don't really know how to explain it. It was like a handbag content creation. And I got to hold a Birkin. And it was also maybe the second or third coolest thing I've done in my fashion career. And then the other side hustle I did is I found out that The Bachelor's Kayla Quinn was moving to New York City. I followed her on Instagram and I'd seen that she was moving there. And I also saw she was trying to launch a blog. And I was like, this is my chance to get into styling with celebrities. And so I slid into Kayla Quinn's DMs and essentially said something along the lines of, like, hey, girl, I saw you're moving to the city. I'm a fashion stylist. I would love to help you style some of your blogs, whatever. I shot my shot and I fully did not expect to get a response. It honestly might have been, like, a couple weeks or even a month or two later. And I checked my DMs and Kayla Quinn responded to me and said that she would love to work with me after looking at my Instagram. And she wanted to meet at Starbucks just to talk about what her goal was for her first photo shoot. And I couldn't believe it. Like, I was so skeptical that it was actually her. So I called my friend. I'm like, oh, my gosh, you're not going to believe this. Like, Kayla Quinn responded to me and wants me to help her on her photo shoot. But she wants to meet at Starbucks first. And I'm scared. Like, I don't think it's her. So I made my friend go to the Starbucks with me. I went inside and my friend stood outside just in case it was, like, some weirdo that hacked Kayla Quinn's Instagram. And sure enough, it was her. My friend texted me. She goes, oh, my gosh, Sammy, Kayla Quinn just walked by me. It's really her. And so I sat down with her. She is so, so, so, so super sweet. And we planned what we were going to do. And I helped her for two days on her photo shoot. And it was the coolest thing I'd ever gotten to do. And it, like, confirmed that I love styling. But again, each time I did a styling gig, it was only a couple days. And so I, to this day, have still never gotten that full experience. And it's still kind of a dream that I have. But then life kind of took me in a different direction. So after my three or four years in New York City, I ended up moving to Los Angeles. And after my three or four years in New York City, I ended up moving back home, which, where I'm from, there is not much fashion going on. There is not much citying going on. So I was a little lost on what I was going to do. So in that time, I ended up getting my master's online in fashion merchandising. Because later in life, not right now, but later in life when I am tired, I would really like to be a fashion professor. I'd like to take my knowledge and give it to those who were as hungry and thirsty as me to be in the industry. And so I did that. And not to toot my own horn, but I graduated early with a 3.9 average. And also, then while getting my master's, I fell into an interesting job at home that was going to be the closest to fashion that I would get around here. So I ended up accepting a role as a visual merchandiser for Ashley Home Store, which is a furniture company. And I was like, OK, this is kind of cool. It's styling, just not on people. And I've actually been working for Ashley Home Stores now for this will be my sixth year. And I truly, truly love it. It's not, you know, fashion and people, but it is kind of fashion for your home. And I really love it. So what I do is I go to I have my own showroom. And then I have a couple other ones that I'll travel to sporadically. And I basically accessorize all of the looks. And we have like different different vibes. So we have a more vintage country vibe. We have a contemporary section. We have an urban boho mid-century section. We have a traditional section. So it's cool to kind of dive into the different styles. So I do that. And then also this past year, I became the accessory buyer for all of our showrooms, which I believe at this point we now have 18 or 19 that I buy for. So I buy all the wall art, lamps, rugs, tabletop, pillows, throws, greenery. I provide all those for our showrooms. I'm trying to think of what else I do on a daily basis. I do things like definitely reporting. We try to see in each category what's trending. We do do a little competitive shopping. I would say that's more for the furniture side of things, not really the accessories. We do work a lot with our sales team, kind of educating them on how to sell a whole look. Trying to think if there's anything else. I mean, I guess that's really the gist of it. I also help with opening new showrooms, which is so fun. I love doing that. One, a lot of work goes into it, but it's so fun seeing your work pay off once the store is set up. I mean, we do everything from getting the blueprints to planning the merchandise on the floor, like specking it out. And then once we've got the furniture pulled together, then we pull the complete look together. So we create a PowerPoint and go group by group, section by section, and accessorize it on our spreadsheet. Then we order all the products. And once our playbook is done, we bring that to the new showroom, and we come in as a team and unload trucks, open all the products, assemble all the product, push it to the floor, and then accessorize it until it's a new, beautiful showroom ready for opening. So that's definitely my favorite part of my job, is seeing a blank slate turn into this beautiful showroom. So that's kind of like the core of my job. So that's kind of like the quick roundup of my journey so far. So my experience is definitely in buying and visual merchandising. Something I'm going to ask my guests at the end of every episode is if you could give a piece of advice to future fashionistas, you know, what would it be? And mine is intern, intern, intern. I cannot say it enough because I wish someone would have told me that. I believe that you want to intern once or twice every year you're in college. So freshman year, intern once or twice, sophomore year, once or twice. And each time you intern, I highly suggest interning in a different area of the industry. One time, do it in visual. One time, do it in buying. One time, do it in PR and marketing. Even try wholesale, like selling. And you could also even take it a step further and try bridal, try children's wear, try menswear, try swimwear. There's just so many avenues that I was unaware of. And not only will you gain so much experience, but you will learn what you enjoy and what you don't enjoy about certain jobs or certain areas of the industry. You'll grow your network and build connections. And you'll also be building and growing your resume. And seeing all of that will definitely land you an awesome first job. And you will be so knowledgeable and have so much hands-on experience. So that is my advice to you. And I wish that's what I would have known. So intern, intern, intern. So I guess that's how I'm going to close out this episode. I'm really excited to see how this podcast goes. I'm very excited for some of the guests that I have lined up. And I'm really hoping that you might be able to reach out to some of these women in the industry and make connections with them as well. And I'm just really excited that you're here and you're listening. Even though I'm showing up to the podcast game a little fashionably late. I'll see you all next week. Bye.