Fashion interning : Part 2 preparing to start the internship

This is the second part of a little feature on itsfashionoclock, consisting of my personal tips and tricks, experiences and other stuff all to do with fashion internships.

So, you secured your placement and you have days or weeks to prepare - organisation at this point in my opinion is KEY, this is how I prepared in the weeks and days leading up to my internship... 

A large majority of fashion internships are in central London. If you live central? fab. you know your way from a - z with no trouble. But for the rest of us who rarley go into the big city other than Oxford Street TUBES can be VERY daunting. I have a life saving app for you my friends! 'Tube Map' app on the iPhone is the best invention, I PROMISE YOU it is nearly impossible to get lost using this app, you simply type in your starting tube station and your finishing statement and this beautiful app tells you the colour of the line the direction, everything! panic over. When picking transport into London its worth researching whats cheaper for you - coaches, train, driving or staying there infact, on top of this you need to consider which mode of transport will work with your working times, for example, I was finishing at 5.30 at Closer and by that time my coach at Victoria would have left - meaning I needed to get trains. If you are going by train its also worth making sure when you got your overground train ticket that tubes are included as this will save you a bomb later in your internship if your asked to do returns in other places in London. It also saves money to buy a weekly. If you have friends who have interned or know of people who have ask them which way they found quickest to get to the office. Know your directions well, write them on your phone, save the address and post code of your final destination on your phone or written down incase of getting lost...

SO in short...

1) Research which transport is cheapest and corrolates with your working hours

2) Keep the address of the office on you at all times

3) Make sure you have the 'Tube Map' app installed

4) Buy a weekly train card in advance - if you do buy a weekly you need a passport size photo!

 

[Printscreens of the Tube Map app in my phone... simply click on routing on the bottom right]

Its no secret that working in fashion you need to be well presented. As well as wanting to look fashionable - think practically. Wearing those beautiful heeled chelsea boots for 8 hours work in London isn't a great idea and you are going to be knackered. If you wanna wear them? be sensible and take a change of comfy shoes! Interning in a fashion cupboard means lifting and getting up and down alot, so wear stuff that your not going to be sweating in or its going to get caught on everything. I'd also say to save first day nerves wear something fairly low key so you can scout out the rest of the office and see whats appropriate and whats not - e.g. is everyone in black and formal-esque stuff? or are people rocking crop tops and heels.

[Image: google.co.uk]

RESEARCH find out who everyone on the desk your interning with IS. what do they look like? is there anything they've tweeted about that they hate - that you should avoid, or that they love - you can make conversation .. little bits like this pay off. If you wanna be super organised plan your outfits for the week, I did this and it saved me SO much agro. Set yourself a budget plan, make sure you know what you can and can't spend! Research the magazine in general not just facts and figures but read previous issues, get an idea for the tone and what they do and don't do

[Image: weheartit.com]

Get your outfit out ready for you to step into - right down to the pants and bra your putting on, try it on in the day make sure your 100% comfortable in your choice - then you have no stress at 6am before your commute, pack your bag, make your lunch and set out cosmetics - the less you have to do at ridiculous o'clock the better. Above everything get a good nights sleep! your gonna need it!

.. and finally? 

Are you going to be interning soon? 

Hope this helps!