In March last year one of my favourite people in the whole world, Emma, linked me to a competition Elle had launched called Shopgirl to Stylist. They were searching for the "unsung heroes" in retail who were "styling the nation" and dreamed of a career in fashion. The prize was an internship at Elle as well as the chance to style your own shoot!! So naturally, I ran into my garden, balanced my boyfriend's expensive camera on a mossy window ledge and self-timered a hideously awkward photo of my outfit before work. It consisted of an overly large denim shirt I stole from my mum, a cream Label Lab (House of Fraser) dress, sheer River Island cycling shorts, some grey Primark socks, chain Topshop pumps and a vintage scarf and satchel. Oh and my trusty prescription Ray-Bans, large Bow hairband and hoardes of jewelery and badges...phew!
This was my entry:
And here are the answers I gave:
How would you describe your personal style (max 150 words) *
My look is quite haphazard yet fun.I know what suits me and what doesn't, I'm tall so feel quite uncomfortable in just a jeans and t-shirt, and the idea of all black sends shivers down my spine! I'm quite resourceful, everything I wear is a layered mix of high street, vintage, charity shop, swapped items from friends and things from the back of my wardrobe that I've been able to salvage by turning up hems and ripping necklines. Most of the time I'm overloaded with accessories - I never know when to stop! Hair-bands, rings, bracelets, necklaces, socks, tights, badges, belts, scarves and anything else I can decorate myself with really.
Who are you style icons? (max 50 characters) *
Alexa Chung,Florence Welch,The Olsens&My Friends
Who would you most like to style? *
Lady Gaga
Why? (max 150 words)
Can you imagine?! You could go wild! Not only would she suit any item of clothing/household appliance but think what you would do with the wigs, the accessories and the make-up! I'm salivating at the thought of it...
Which British designer do you most admire? *
Luella Bartley
Why? (max 150 words)
It was hard to pick between her and Ashish but since she's been unfairly hit by the recession I guess I admire Luella the most, fingers crossed something saves her! All her collections have always been fun, with bold prints, oversized accessories and bold hairstyles and/or make-up. Each of her garments work together and they look great separately. Her label is also very accessible, you knew if you wanted to you could save up for a Luella top or dress as they were expensive but not unreachable, celebrities made us familiar with certain ones and places like Urban Outfitters stocked some pieces so it was easy to get your hands on them!
Why do you want to be a stylist? (max 150 words) *
I could project millions of different outfit combinations that go through my head on to other people, with much nicer clothes! Fashion surrounds me so it's not surprising it's the career route I've chosen, my Mum had her own clothing line when I was younger and I used to demand she made me and my Barbies matching outfits! I'm currently studying Fashion, nothing makes me happier than learning how to make clothes! I understand styling is not as glamorous as it seems, I was lucky to meet many wonderful people in the profession as I modelled when I was younger and the stylist was always the one that carried huge bags and really pulled the whole shoot together. My job at Frasers gives me the opportunity to appreciate different labels, I love working on the fitting rooms giving advice and making people feel good, brightens up my day!
Quite embarrassing to read back now and the photo I submitted was actually terrible compared to some others, but it just shows you don't need to be flashy to get noticed!
I say this because about three months later, on my already favourite day of the year (me and my man were on a lovely daytrip in the blazing sunshine to my hometown and I just got told I was getting to look after a very handsome pug for a couple of days) I had a missed call from a London number, when I listened to the voicemail and the girl on the other end mentioned Elle it actually took a few minutes to click, seriously thought I had won a bag on their online prize draws or something! Well, my heart was beating and I could hardly contain myself when I phoned back to find out I had been picked from hundreds of girls to be one of the lucky 25 semi-finalists! I think I screamed then phoned my mum and of course Emma! I was too shy to tell anyone else, I don't think I realised how big the competition would actually get!
Over the summer I recceived an exciting sparkly purple package in the post with a letter from Lorraine Candy - Editor in Cheif of Elle Magazine, a copy of Elle and some lookbooks for A/W 2010's High Street Collections. I also received an e-mail telling me I was soon to find out about the next stage in the competition, nerve wracking!! I don't really know what I expected to happen but when I got another email telling me I was to create a moodboard inspired by an A/W'10 trend I felt quite confident until I read it was to be presented in London...in front of a panel of judges from Elle!! Well I set to work on my moodboard, and then when the fateful date came, I dragged my loyal friend Charlotte on a train to London for some moral support!
I don't know why but I automatically expected to walk into a quiet room with a really serious vibe but it was the complete opposite! I was greeted by the smiling faces of Stacey Duguid, Executive Fashion Editor, Natalie Wansbrough-Jones, Senior Fashion Editor and Donna Wallace, Accesories editor who instantly made me feel relaxed and comfortable. The other girls were thankfully just as nervous as I was! My whole presentation was pretty much a blur, I just remember being very aware of how strong my accent was, my flailing arms and how fast I was talking! I had a bit of fur stuck to my board which kept falling off and the nervous rash I normally get on my chest had somehow made it's way down to my wrists, but after 5 very fast minutes it was over! I got to sit back with a croissant and watch four of the other girls wonderful presentations, and they were wonderful, I remember the first thing I said to Charlotte when I came out was "Well at least when the other girls go home they can say, at least I wasn't that blabbering Scottish girl!". The other girls and I got some lovely goodie bags and wise words of encouragement from the fabulous Elle ladies after having a little chat with each other and some photos taken!
And then came the biggest wait ever! Until I looked at my phone in class and saw a missed call from a London number again!! My heart actually sank. I hadn't heard anything for months and all the other girls in my group were so good I was pretty sure it was going to be a "Sorry you didn't make it call", so I phoned back and burst out crying like a total drama queen when I heard a "Connnggrraattuullaaatiiiooonnnsssssss!!!" WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! Charlotte was with me and we started jumping around the carpark at uni squealing and crying like complete lunatics, final 10 baby!! I think I floated through the rest of the day.
WELL, then I was in Elle. How amazing is that! ELLE! My mum was so proud and my Dad even had his friends in South Africa buying copies!
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| HIYA |
And then there was the final...
I got to London and got a taxi to my hotel, now I knew I would be getting put up in a nice hotel but when it pulled up to The Mayfair Hotel and a man in a fancy coat and hat helped me out the taxi and opened the huge glass doors for me I could have hugged him, I felt amazing! The hotel was unreal, my room was amazing, could have fitted about 5 people in my bed and I had...wait for it...a tv in the bath!! Well I passed out and woke up at 6am the next morning with ridiculous butterflies in my belly! I decided to wear my vintage denim shorts (with a patch covering a rip on the bum - very classy Tammy) with some black tights, a kind of cheesecloth white top, some cream wool socks and a kind of cheesecloth white top from all from Topshop and my faithful little shearling boots from Urban Outfitters. I wore my scissor brooch and a key one Emma gave me for good luck and a little heart necklace too. On the way downstairs I recognised the one and only Lauren McBride, another finalist, and instantly hit it off with her, yeah we sang the Bed Intruder song in our chauffeur driven car on the way to the finals, what of it?
Well, I could write a whole load about the actual final but thankfully there was a video taken, which describes it so much better than I ever could! We were asked to dress a model in 45 minutes, using a randomly assigned rail to create our own take on the current 70's trend. It was so scary with Lorraine Candy and Ben Grimes watching! Not to mention all the other Elle ladies, models, photographer and assistants!
I look so scared and serious, I couldn't stop talking the whole day but every time the camera hit me I froze.
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| My moodboards! |
I was quite happy with my final look until I looked around and saw everyone else's! I think going for a floral vibe actually quite restricted me because there was only one floral item on my rail, but you learn from your mistakes. My look was pretty predictable some of the girls were so innovative and thinking completely out the box that I felt completely out of my depth, I mean look at them! Saying all that, I don't regret any of my decisions, style is such a personal thing, what's right for me may not be right for someone else, there's always someone out there who you can aspire to be and people around you who are there to inspire and guide you in the right direction. Looking at all the other girls I honestly cannot believe I got that far in the competition, everyone had so much more experience in the fashion world and just seemed totally tuned in to what was going on, I kept on thinking it was a fluke that I was there! But you know what? It wasn't! ELLE saw something in me, they gave me the unbelievable opportunity to meet so many amazing people and gave me a taste of the life I could live if I keep working hard! Tv in the bath, that's all I'm saying!
Well I'm so late in posting but congratulations to Lizzie Black, who is probably the most effortlessly cool girl I've ever met, I'm so excited to see the shoot she does with Elle in the near future, pretty sure she's going to bring an unusual and fresh twist to their glossy pages! And congratulations to Sarah and Katie, the runners up, who were the cutest wee girls ever, I would happily put them in my pockets and bring them out every time I was shopping for style advice! Also need to mention both the Ellie's for being such good company and of course Lauren for being my Mayfair buddy, we dined like kings! And thanks to everyone at Elle and TalkPR, especially my super amazing mentor, Donna Wallace! And Lorraine Candy of course! And thank-you so much to everyone who supported me at House of Fraser - you all made me feel like a right superstar!
How ridiculous is it that my second ever post is this hideously long?! I promise to never post anything like this again, but I just needed it to be somewhere, even if it's just so I can look back on it in a few years time and remember how lucky I've been!
Check these out!
The Official Shopgirl Website
A Write-up In The Skinny
House of Fraser Blog
And go follow:
Lauren McBride
Ellie Wilcox
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| Me and my lovely model |
Well I'm so late in posting but congratulations to Lizzie Black, who is probably the most effortlessly cool girl I've ever met, I'm so excited to see the shoot she does with Elle in the near future, pretty sure she's going to bring an unusual and fresh twist to their glossy pages! And congratulations to Sarah and Katie, the runners up, who were the cutest wee girls ever, I would happily put them in my pockets and bring them out every time I was shopping for style advice! Also need to mention both the Ellie's for being such good company and of course Lauren for being my Mayfair buddy, we dined like kings! And thanks to everyone at Elle and TalkPR, especially my super amazing mentor, Donna Wallace! And Lorraine Candy of course! And thank-you so much to everyone who supported me at House of Fraser - you all made me feel like a right superstar!
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| Shopgirls! |
How ridiculous is it that my second ever post is this hideously long?! I promise to never post anything like this again, but I just needed it to be somewhere, even if it's just so I can look back on it in a few years time and remember how lucky I've been!
Check these out!
The Official Shopgirl Website
A Write-up In The Skinny
House of Fraser Blog
And go follow:
Lauren McBride
Ellie Wilcox
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