Week 1, Intern

I never thought I could physically be so tired. I spent 6 hours organizing a shoe closet today before picking out sunglasses for a 1950's Vogue photo shoot then mailing sample clothing to Elle and Nylon magazine. After I finished this task I was immediately pushed toward another duty that was assigned to me. I printed out a book filled with the last resort and holiday wear, put all 300 pages into cover sheets, divided the categories then created labels for each divider. The day felt as if it would never end.

The first thing I learned this week about public relations is that it isn't all celebrity fittings, red carpets and backstage a

t fashion shows. It is serious labor, even manual labor (moving and organizing boxes of clothing, carrying racks of clothing across blocks etc.) I also learned that there is never a dull moment. An hour may pass with not a lot of work but the next 4 hours will leave you sweating with a stressful glaze over your face. While the pink walls and orange carpets help to create a beautiful and calming environment, but nothing can calm you down when you have 3 magazines asking for the same fall item and only one

sample to give them all.

Considering how I am writing my research paper on morality in the public relations industry I found myself struggling to even find content to include, take note of or research. My first experience happened this past Tuesday. Tory has a sample sale after each season of clothing is sold to stores and they began working on the next season (currently holidays). These sample sales sell merchandise to employees for anywhere between 20 to 40 dollars. You only have a limited number of hours to buy the items before they sell out.

I asked my manager on Tuesday when he thought the sale would began, he brushed me off saying he didn't know. Needless to say I ended up finding out that the sale had started for interns that morning at 8am. He lied to me in order to keep good products for himself and other employees from being bought by all the interns (their are 30+ of us). Cut-throat. Mean. Vindictive. At that point I thought, "how am I ever supposed to trust, believe or respect these people again?"

This is my first fashion experience and my first PR experience. So far its hard, busy and most of all competitive.