A women barges into my peaceful coffee shop bubble.  By the hint of age sneaking in under her eyes and by the way she’s dressed she looks to be in her mid forties.  She carries herself strongly, she’s sturdy, but doesn’t quite have it all together.  Does anyone?  It’s fall and winter is starting to bite.  This woman is dressed in dark colors, earth tones.  She looks sharp.  This woman is by no means fat, nor is she one of the artificially sculpted Barbie doll mothers I sweat next to at the gym. She is real. She has dressed her body smartly and she looks wonderfully elegant and struts to the counter like Kate Moss.  I recognize the sleek angular asymmetric blazer from j-crew and I deduce that she must have a decent amount of money.  Her entire ensemble is rendered from quality fabric.  The tweed pencil skirt nips her legs just above the knee where my eyes trace the matte black tights to a pair of lovely leather boots.   She now has made her way to the counter and reaches for her coffee and I notice the wedding ring.  This women is married, mid forties, she probably has kids, and from the time of day, location of this coffee shop and what she looks to be working on, on her mac lap top, she probably works from home or coffee shops at her leisure.  I take this event as another note in a recent trend that I have been noticing.  Women are realizing that they have the right to look and feel their best.  No matter what age, or what occasion women have decided that they want to dress to impress, sometimes no one else but themselves.  The problem I often notice is that for middle-aged women finding clothes that fall between scandalous teen and a gift for grandma is often quite the difficult task, especially at an affordable price.  Here I have developed a need and simultaneously develop a clothing line and an ad and find myself suitable models. They look younger dressed this way, more confident, and most importantly happier.  It becomes an appealing ad to the age range, something that can revitalize them, a new start.  Maybe now they can show their trendy teenage daughter up.  Now they are to dress up even for a quick coffee, because they deserve it.  They deserve to be just as happy as those women in the magazine.  And they can be. 

I am very observant, and I always have been.  I can read people very well; the slightest facial nuance stands out to me.  I understand humans, how they interact.  I have the ability to make those connections between human psyche and business and trends.  Each individual is so distinctly different, yet we can all be so similar in the way that we think and react.  This intrigues me.  How a single ad in a magazine can make me need that hot pink leather handbag.  I hate hot pink, and I’m not a huge fan of leather, but I need it. Why is this? What is it about this ad, about the colors, the models, the placement, the piece that makes me want it? I ask myself as I dissect and analyze the latest issue of Harper’s Bazzar as the women had disinterested me.

The big picture of things excites me and making connections fuels me. I am driven by creativity and challenge.  Fashion merchandising means putting all of my instincts to hard work.  Fashion merchandising means that I can combine my love for shape, pattern, color, and texture with my knack for psychology and strategy. 

I have already gotten a bit of a taste for this world through an internship I have been lucky enough to have with Randi Moxi and Constantine James.  Randi Moxi owns her own production company and Constantine James a very successful hair, make up, and clothing stylist; a pair that no doubt keeps me on my toes.  From walking in runway shows to organizing the madness back stage, to pulling outfits for photo shoots I have collected a bit of experience.  I have been able to prove to myself and my mentors and that I am hard working and resilient.  This resilience and power within my self is something that I found rather recently and I am very proud of it and am sure that it will help me succeed at FIDM in the fashion industry.  And with these characteristics I will be able to eat up every opportunity FIDM has to offer to me.