Being A Fashion Major Isn't What You Would Expect

The best part of college is that we can choose whatever we want to study. We have the options of nursing, engineering, business management and so much more. I chose something that not everyone thinks about as a major to study. I chose fashion design. I chose it because I wanted a challenge. And surprisingly, fashion gives me that. You may not think fashion as a hard subject, but it can be to whoever doesn't put enough effort towards it. It can be fun, yet very demanding. So, yes, I'm a fashion major, but I have a few confessions to make.

I don’t spend every minute of every day looking at clothes.

To some of us, that would be a dream come true, but we don’t focus just on clothes. We study how to produce them and how to sell them. We learn how to design from scratch, how to make the pattern pieces on paper and on the computer, sewing the garment itself, and then how to sell it in stores. It’s not just about shopping, studying the latest trends or “what colors go with what."

I don’t necessarily sleep as much as an average college student would.

We can’t help that our projects are sometimes done at the last minute. Sometimes the printer doesn’t work when we are trying to print our fabric. Sometimes the sergers are broken and we can’t finish the hem of our skirt project that’s due the next day. Bad planning can be our fault, but not when things happen out of our control. Our projects aren’t quick; which means we have to sacrifice our time during the night, and not just the day. We won’t sleep until it's all done because we know it will be worth it in the end.

I can’t just “make” anything on the spot.

I had to learn the basics before I made anything for school. It takes a lot of practice to make it perfect and mastered. I was taught clever ways on how to sew something a little faster, but that doesn’t mean I can sew anything that you ask within a given time, at least with no experience anyway.

I don’t wear the most fashionable clothes.

You are lucky if I even wear leggings to class, never mind real pants like as jeans or dress slacks. You will be blown away if I even come close to wearing a skirt, or (dare I say it) dresses. If I look like a decent human, please know that this look means: I either barely had any homework due and actually had time to care about my appearance, or I had a presentation and would lose points on it if I didn’t look professional.

I don’t know who every designer on earth is.

There is an enormous amount of fashion designers. Some more popular than others such as Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, and Coco Chanel, but all are unique and special, even if we don’t know their names. We may learn about them eventually, but we will not know who you’re talking about if it’s on the label of your favorite sweater.

I don’t always like being where all the fashion industries are.

If you aren’t a big city person like me, you’ll understand that fashion can be overwhelming when it comes to thinking about jobs in New York City or Boston or Chicago or Los Angeles. It’s scary, but it's still a fun place to be every once in a while.

It doesn’t mean it’s easy.

I have heard so many people say that a fashion major can get amazing grades because it’s “easy”. Fashion is the opposite of easy. You have to work harder than anyone to prove you deserve to be on top. You can’t give up no matter how much you want to because this business doesn’t wait for anyone.

I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

If you have a love for sewing or the dream of becoming a stylist, you do not have to worry about what other college students are studying. You have the choice to learn whatever you want, as all college students do.

So, please give us a little credit. We work harder than you think, and we are so proud of the work we do. We can use fashion in so many ways and it is something that is always changing, but always in style. So when you put on your favorite shirt, remember the process of that shirt. Who designed it? Who made it? Where did you buy it? You may not know any of these questions, and that’s completely okay, but remember there was one designer who worked unbelievably hard to make sure you look good in your favorite shirt.