A step in the door... Life as a 'workie!' - More! Magazine

My time at More! magazine was a.maaaazing & I learnt so much! I worked with two other girls on work experience (workies) & our main duty were returns. For every page, every feature, every shoot, clothes, shoes, accessories etc are ordered in from all over the place, therefore someone has to return the finished with & unwanted products. That's our job. Every day there were bags & bags & piles & piles & suitcases & suitcases, you get the gist, of stuff needing to be returned back to the brands or PR companies they were sent from, so that was our main priority, and I must admit we tackled the mound amazingly & was complemented on it frequently! :-D We also had to do endless photocopying, tidy the 'shoot' cupboards & once I had to organise a pile of like 100 shoes into a line against the wall! Long, but I got the chance to talk to the head stylist, Sophie, who's been with the magazine for 11 years! Turns out she studied the same course as me at a Uni I even looked at & worked up to where she is now! So looks like I'm on the right track to be just like her! :-p

Other little jobs I was sent on were running up tracksuits for the male models at a location shoot in a diner up the road, popping down to Office to collect some shoes & grabbing a ham & cheese toastie for one of the stylists who couldn't get out for lunch! All rather 'minion' like but I loved feeling important, & enjoy mini missions!

By far the most memorable & amazing part of the whole two weeks were the photo shoots!
Every workie gets to go on atleast one shoot but I was lucky enough to be asked to attend two & was by far the coolest thing I've ever done! I assisted Sarita Morales the junior stylist on studio shoots for her feature, 'More for Less' which high lights bargains from the high street each week. As soon as I arrived at the studios I felt like I was on holiday, the sun was beaming & blue skies surrounded the crisp white building, entered to through a courtyard all situated at the side of a canal! It was a lovely yet rare Summery day & it all made the day more glamorous! It was my responsibility to steam the clothes & organise them into the stories in order & with what accessories. I had to keep note of the credits, for example what was worn for each outfit including all jewellery & then type it up the following day. The tricky part was when some garments are sent in without prices or labels so it's my job to phone around & find out so the magazine can publish all the right info. & guess what? My name should be in both issues as the Stylist's Assistant! Eeeeek! Even if it's in teeny tiny small print it's still there :-D
It was such a fun atmosphere all day, chatting & sharing stories between myself, the stylist, the hair & make-up artist & the model - whom, may I add was really nice & laid back even if she made me feel like an ugly fat munchkin! Lol. The photographer & his assistant were really cool too & it was nice when we all sat down for lunch & mingled together. Now, let me tell you about lunch! At around 11o'clock Sarita asked me to go on the computer & pick what I wanted... Basically a website where you click 'add' to whatever you fancy eating & a guy on a bike whizzes it across town & turns up with all of our meals boxed up at 1pm! A true "this is the life" moment. Sooo cool! Apart from the minor stresses & dramas like lighting, make-up issues, making sure the 'big bosses' back at the office liked what we were doing, it was a really fun, relaxed day so I was so excited when I was asked to attend another.

It was the day before my last day & I had turned up to the office only to discover I should of checked my voicemails... Emma, the fashion assistant had left me a message asking me to make my way straight to the studios at 9am to assist on another shoot for Sarita. It was 10:30 when I arrived after a stressful tube journey & hike from the tube station to the studio - my sense of direction is awful & took me forever to find it again.  I felt slightly nervous being late & was very apologetic but Sarita was so relaxed & fine with it & straight away she asked me if I fancied anything for breakfast as she was ordering a bacon buttie! Another amazing day, although a lot 'stressier', & we over ran by like an hour. But hey ho, it's not all glitz & glamour ;-) & I loved every minute of it.
Actually, maybe not the minute when I was on a drinks run, had a tray full of hot coffees & teas, the model was trapped in the toilet, I attempted buzzing her out whilst still holding the tray & laughing... You can guess what happened next. Funny as it was, I had to blow dry my dress & walk around with nasty stains all day, but then again, Sarita did purchase one of every chocolate bar to cheer me up! Lol. Every grey cloud... Haha.

I was quite emotional on my last day, loved the routine of the last two weeks, loved being in Covent Garden every day & enjoyed the excitement. My goodie bag was an amazing surprise though! Gifts are always that much better when you least expect them. & this one was filled with lovely goodies - toiletries, make-up, nail varnishes, hair stuff etc. So chuffed I kept all the contents inside the YvesSaintLaurent bag for weeks :-)

I've always been interested in working for a magazine & really felt like I could truly fit in there, my plan is to get as much work ex. in so that I can be the next Fashion Intern! It's so true when they say it's not what you know but who you know, in the Fashion world more than any other, so contacts & leaving your mark is the most important thing. I hope I return.


Love.
Daniela Dee
More! workie 30th June - 10th July :-p
...! Xx

Versace for H&M!

Omg, I am soooooo excited for November 17th when the Versace collaboration launches!
It'll be sold in 300 H&M stores worldwide & online, so even if it isn't in Southampton store & I'm too scared to face the madness that I expect will be in the London stores... I will deffo be checking out the website at the crack of dawn! :-D
Donatella looked back at the house archives to reinterpret classic Versace designs from 1978 to the present for the collection and she described it as "iconic Versace pieces from iconic Versace moments."
It'll consist of 400 pieces for womenswear plus a 200 piece range for men & homeware items! I'm thinking pimp out my room in pillows & bedspreads!
I think it's really good top brands create collections for the high street, & I don't think it ruins the exclusivity of High Fashion at all. It's not like it'll be sold on the High Street constantly, it's a limited edition taster.
I loooove the bold, crazy, flamboyant style of Versace & actually have butterflies thinking about what the shoes will be like!

Could you imagine?!

Also, it launches two weeks before my birthday... The boyfriend has been given a heads up ;-)

Love,

& excitement!

Daniela Dee

...Xx!

Tube Thoughts...

During my time in London I've had to get accustomed to the wonder that is London transport - the underground aka the Tube. At first I felt a bit weary thinking I'd get confused & lost but to be honest it's pretty straight forward & I quite enjoy it now.

People - Watching on The Tube is pretty fun. Wether it be a loved up couple sat opposite each other, catching each others eye & smiling, depending on my mood I'd either find it cringe or cute. Lol. The lady attempting her mascara while looking into the back of her phone, the business man continuously checking his watch, & then there's the endless amounts of newspapers rustling, magazines turning, & the amount of diverse music playing from all corners of the carriage. Although, I'll never understand why anyone wants to blast their music out of earphones thaaat loud.

I always find my mind drifting when I'm on The Tube. Random thoughts. This morning I was thinking about technology...
Looking around, everyone's either flicking through The Metro (newspaper) or a book, then there's the ones scrolling through iPads, smart phones & Kindles. But when I glance down at their screens it's not games their occupying their time with - they're reading.
Not articles, but full on books. Tapping the screen to flick through the pages. Mental how far technology has come. & I'm only 21. Just think, when I'm 40 I'll bet newspapers wont even exist. I'll bet everyone will have some kind of smart gadget thing which they scan at newsagents or perhaps an electronic swipe device which automatically uploads the daily news straight on, then they can delete it straight after. Think about how less paper would be used in the world. Trees would be safer, forests healthier & our environment happier. It's win, win!
Glossy mags have to remain tho, obviously ;-)

One thing to remember about The Tube is how unpredictable it is. You could get on the same train at the same time everyday & yet one day could be ridiculously busy like sardine jam packed, busy enough that you'll prob want to wait for the next one, then the next day, at the same time, there could be hardly anyone around at all. A comfortable journey that you can move between trains at a nice pace. So that's why it's always important to leave that little bit extra, just incase, after all it's always better to be early than late, for anything :-)

That's all on The Tube, for now.

Love.
Daniela Dee.
...Xx!

LondonLove...

Somehow I've never spent much time in the capital. Not sure why as I love everything about the city, but other than the odd family day trip to Madam Tussauds or London Dungeon, I never really did the whole save-up-and-go-on-a-shopping-spree-to-london kinda thing growing up. So when I organised a four weeks worth of work experience at More! magazine & Warehouse head office I was sooo excited to spend almost a month living in London!

Someone once said to see London, is to see as much of life as the world can show. & now I can safely say, he was right.

For the past three weeks I have been staying with a friend in North London while I gain some much needed experience in my much loved field of Fashion!
I've just finished my first week at Warehouse head office & two weeks experience at More! magazine, where I had the most amazing time! Being in the office from 9:30 till 6 everyday then coming home to a house full of girls.. I have been so busy & entertained, I found no time to blog. But here I am, alone in bed on a Sunday eve. The housemates have either gone home for Summer or are on holiday, so after a weekend of visits from the boyf & 'rents I thought I would post about my new found LOVE for London!

London is known for it's buzz and fast moving pace however I just loved it! I love the busy rush of life, as annoying as it is, people pushing, bikes whizzing past, vans here there & everywhere, most cars forgetting to stop for you at zebra crossings, office workers grabbing their Starbucks, it all just screams out people on a mission, life and excitement. All these people have a story & I just loved being apart of it.

The More! offices are situated in Covent Garden & I just couldn't help smiling walking around & taking it all in. Surrounded by the most amazing shops (all my favourites!) from Kurt Geiger to American Apparel, Aldo to H&M, and then the new ones I somehow have never heard of before, Apple Tree, Rokit Vintage Clothing & Destiny Shoes. I love cute boutique-ey shops that stand out with their bright exteriors so I was literally in heaven!

I've never really seen myself as a 9-5 office job kinda woman but to be honest with you, if it's in this city, in this field of work... I would love waking up every Monday morning to make a start on another busy week in the hustle & bustle of London's city life.

After all, London is the UK's New York so I shall have to tackle this city first ;-)

Love.

Daniela Dee.

. . .Xx !

P.S - I'll blog more about all the juicy details about both my work experiences soon, don't worry ;-)