When I decided to pack up my entire room and leave my high school life behind me, I never expected the amazing experiences that awaited me in New York City. In fact, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew is I couldn’t wait to wake up to the sound of the subway train outside my window, the smell of street meat lingering in the air, and the excitement of being in a city with 8.4 million people and endless possibilities.
Although I wasn’t sure how my time in NYC would be spent, I really never expected to land a fashion internship in my first semester of college. I thought, “Most people can barely land one of these after graduating, let alone barely being a freshman!” Despite my excitement and shock, I knew it was an amazing opportunity that I could never pass up.
And so my corporate life began a little more prematurely than I had expected, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. The skills I learned, the amazing creativity I observed, and the time I spent in Midtown Manhattan will forever hold a special place in my heart, and for that reason, I’d like to take you on a journey through a day in the life of a New York City fashion intern.
I awoke at 7:00 AM on a Friday morning to the sound of the 1Train screeching to a halt outside the window of my Bronx dorm room. Snoozing my alarm, I pondered going back to sleep for another eight minutes of salvation. My better judgment told me to suck it up, roll out of bed, hit the “power” button on my Keurig, and hop into the shower. This was my routine every Tuesday and Friday as I got ready to travel 200 blocks into Midtown Manhattan and work as the fashion intern for Topsville, Inc.
After my usual habitual song-and-dance of getting dressed, doing my makeup, and styling my hair, I grabbed my Starbucks tumbler from under the Keurig, checked to make sure I had my MetroCard, and headed onto the 1 Train at Van Cortlandt Park, 242nd Street. The morning commute was always my absolute favorite part of the day. During this therapeutic hour, I could put in my headphones and just people-watch. I never ceased to be amazed by the infinite differences between my fellow commuters. I watched as the hurried mother with two infants tried to pull her stroller onto the train car before the doors closed, the business man in the fedora sipped his coffee while reading the day’s New York Times, the chic business-woman lowered her sunglasses to elicit a sense of mysteriousness, and I felt like I belonged here.
Sadly, the morning commute can’t last forever, and as the train approached 42nd Street, I stood up from my seat and awaited the next stop. As soon as the doors opened, it was a race for the stairwell and a maze through all the hurried fashionistas in the Garment District on the way to my building. I truly never knew what I was going to see on these streets, and today it was a man donning nothing but a speedo, some boots, and sunglasses. Casual.
Arriving on the block of my building, I opened the door, traveled up the elevator, and arrived on the 11th floor to a gorgeous white and silver decorated office. Passing through the glass double doors, I greeted our receptionist, Brittany, and was ready to start my day. First things first: log in to my computer and check our intern email for any upcoming or past news. The first email read: “Sample Sale Next Week!” and I quickly remembered that weeding through the dreaded sample closet would be my task for the day. “Sample closet” has such a glamorous connotation, but trust me, this was nothing like the movies. I stared at hundreds of pieces of children’s clothes, all shapes, sizes, and colors, stuffed into a tiny room with endless hangers thrown all over the floor, and I was determined to conquer this closet.
I worked on throwing away anything with Sharpie marks or cuts for three hours until it was lunch time, my second favorite time of the day. I suited up in my camel-colored peacoat and made my way to Pret for my usual midday meal of an Avocado and Toasted Pine Nut Wrap and soup, all the while contemplating running to Old Navy on 34th Street and grabbing that cute black tote I’d been eyeing for a week. Again, my better judgment told me to save my money, grab a coffee, and head back up to the dreaded sample closet.
“Hey Alex, I need you to run to Urban Outfitters and grab this jacket for me. Here’s the business card, call me if you need any help!”
Ah, my favorite task of all: shopping. Leaving the building again, I make a left onto 36th and waited at the corner to cross onto Broadway. Before I lived in NYC, I had never seen an Urban Outfitters this big. Two floors tall, with a coffee shop inside, this store was a hipster’s dreamland. I traveled up the stairs, found the jacket right away, and was on my way back to the office (and the dreaded sample closet).
Much to my excitement, my bosses had a different task for me when I returned: color cards. It’s simple, really! Cut out tiny squares of this fabric and sticky tape them onto a perfectly sized piece of tiny card-stock, then stick that card-stock onto another piece of card-stock with the colors indicated by funny names and numbers. Simple! … maybe for someone who’s not a perfectionist. My mind wouldn’t let me rush through this task, and before I knew it, it was 5:30, my time to leave for the day.
Once again, I suited up for my departure and headed to the train station, but not before stopping at the only PNC Branch in the City to grab some cash (who wants to pay surcharges, am I right?). Soon enough, I again found myself on my hour-long commute back to the Bronx. This was just a normal day in the life of a fashion intern in Midtown Manhattan, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
