Southern Belle Soul, Mountain Bride Heart: Pink and Grey Shabby Chic Mobile (DIY Multipurpose...

Southern Belle Soul, Mountain Bride Heart: Pink and Grey Shabby Chic Mobile (DIY Multipurpose...: Tutorial for this fun multipurpose pink and grey DIY chandelier/mobile! Perfect for a baby's room, bridal shower, baby shower or wedding! ...

Fashion Student to Working Professional

Column marking my last day of my internship.

Link to the online article.

Job Searching in NYC

My most recent article in the Rocky Mountain Collegian. Enjoy

click to link to online article

http://www.collegian.com/index.php/article/2012/03/job_searching_as_a_graduating_senior_in_new_york_city

My Picture is Changing

A little reminder for myself that the big picture can change and it's okay if it does. It just means life is happening!

 

 Then I smile, because change is good.  

These are the current pictures that are making me happy. 

xoxo, Erin

From College Ave. to Madison Ave.: Adjusting to life in NYC

Sometimes I forget I’m living in New York City. Literally, I turn a street corner, and the sight of the Empire State Building startles me. It’s as amazing a site today as it was two months ago when I first moved here.

I haven’t been here long, but I understand what’s often referred to as “the 10-year rule” to becoming a New Yorker. In essence, 10 years refers to the time necessary to get over the shock of seeing iconic buildings, neighborhoods and people. Add to that a dramatic lifestyle change encompassing expensive rent, constant crowds, little natural space and the subway in place of my beloved Subaru, and 10 years seems just about right.

Moving to a new “home” has always felt like a test of sorts –– it’s freshman year in the dorms all over again. I’m nervous, excited, eager and hopeful. But regardless of what transpires, I’m grateful for my resiliency because, at the end of the day, I only have myself at the start of these journeys.

This has been the hardest part of moving to a large city with family and friends 1,800 miles away. I’m not going to lie: The first weeks here were a struggle. I felt ungrounded, alone and a little disoriented. It’s taken two months, but I’m finally finding my footing.

Most Saturdays, I explore the bread shops of Chelsea Market and walk through the cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District. Weekdays, I descend the steps into the crowded subway and head to work. And after work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the Farmer’s Market in Union Square is my “It feels like Colorado!” therapy.

It’s amazing how resourceful you can be when you just trust that life will happen despite not having a definitive path.

My life in Fort Collins was constantly planned. Here, I have tried to be more spontaneous and reduce self-imposed expectations and deadlines. During the past few weeks, smiling has become my go-to resource. This sounds so cheesy and naïve, I know, but the power of a smile is under-appreciated, not to mention under-utilized.

In a way, I’m conducting research on the streets of New York. I wouldn’t mind making a few new friends.

One of my new-found friends and I came to the conclusion that newcomers to New York will inevitably face challenges. And the challenges only become opportunities if you give yourself time to learn.

This week, for instance, I ordered my groceries online to be delivered to my apartment. Major success. Who would’ve known?

My new friend William, the security guard at one of my places of employment, tells me what streets to avoid at night. Advice I’m going to take.

And lastly, my vegan roommate encouraged me to read the book “Skinny Bitch.” Now I’m a vegetarian and a vegan-want-to-be. A mere month ago, I was living off sausage pizza from the corner Pizzeria. Who would have thought!

So I’m going with the flow, smiling, being open and spontaneous, and learning in New York City. Despite all this, I’m still stressed out, just like I was in my over-scheduled life in Fort Collins. I’m starting to think of stress as a good thing; it can definitely motivate.

Two months in, New York has me questioning my lifestyle, values and professional goals, which is horribly terrifying considering that, in December, I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do with my life.

I suppose the more experience I get now, the more informed and savvy I’ll become. I’m outside the Colorado bubble, that’s for sure, and I’m putting one foot in front of the other. I guess I’m on my way.

_Erin Eastburn is a senior apparel merchandising major interning at Tory Burch and working at Victoria’s Secret in New York City. _

Advanced Style

These women are my new role models in fashion and in life! Fabulous!

Nicole Miller - Fall 2012

Nicole Miller - New York Fashion Week

All photos are by Me

Mixed prints - love this trend. Also, the shoes in her collection are hot!

©

Wonderful jacket.

©

Floral prints!

©

I am always a sucker for sexy leather jackets with a fur trim!

©

For some reason this look just caught my eye.

©

Fashion, Photography and NYC

  Random Fashion Photos from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week - NYC

Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue,  socializing at the Alexander Wang show Saturday night. Photo by Erin Eastburn

The crowd of photographers surrounding Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, and Grace Coddington, Creative Director of Vogue Saturday night at the Alexander Wang show. Photo by Erin Eastburn

Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere looking super chic coming out of the Lincoln Center Wednesday morning. Photo by Erin Eastburn

Jay Manuel and Jay Alexander from America's Next Top Model coming out of the Ports 1961 show Wednesday at the NY Public Library. Photo by Erin Eastburn

Woman wearing fancy pants at the Ports 1961 show Wednesday. I need to get me some of these! Photo by Erin Eastburn

Women leaving the Antonio Azzoulo show at Milk Studio Sunday. Great jeans and cute little dog in a Tory Burch bag. Adorable! Photo by Erin Eastburn

Braving NYC Fashion Week

http://www.collegian.com/index.php/article/2012/02/fashion_intern_braves_nyc_fashion_week

The time on the face of my Michael Kors watch glares at me. My legs shake with impatience. I sit helpless in the back of one of the million yellow cabs in Manhattan.

I am seven blocks away from the Tanya Taylor fashion show and 20 minutes late. To make matters worse, Sarah, the Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) photographer I’m supposed to be helping, calls me asking where I am. Panicked, I search for a faster route.

As the stoplight turns red, I am fed-up and believe the traffic is moving slower than I can run. Deciding this is true, I ask the cab driver to pull over. I throw a $10 bill at him, jump out and start running.

It’s Mercedes Bends Fashion Week in New York. This is my life as a fashion intern, and I love it.
Fashion Week, ending in New York this Thursday, is filled with beautiful clothes, fabulous people and an incredible opportunity to build connections in the fashion industry.

A model's makeup is touched up at the Chris Benz show before doors open Monday at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
Photo by Erin Eastburn

As an intern, I’m not guaranteed a spot in the shows I’m assigned. It’s up to me to talk and smile my way in. WWD gives me a media pass but no show invitations. Once inside, I search for WWD photographers, sometimes as many as four, and once the shows end, I sprint their memory cards back to the office for online publication.

The smaller shows are easier, since representing WWD gives me instant credibility –– they want WWD there. At the larger shows, such as Alexander Wang, they’re not so easily impressed. You’re left with your powers of persuasion and only the most skilled succeed.

During the Ohne Titel show Monday, a model struts the runway showing off a deep plunge back sweater at Milk Studios in Chelsea, Manhattan. Photo by Erin Eastburn

Once the gatekeepers are passed, you’re safe. Opportunities abound to network with others who “belong.”
I head to the photography pit –– the best spot to see and be seen at all the shows. As a college fashion student I’m dressed well, but during fashion week the style bar is raised.

All shows routinely start late, so I use the free time to join the professional photographers snapping photos of socialites, celebrities and editors taking their front row seats.

Members of the band Die Antwoord are bombarded by photographers going to their seats at the Alexander Wang fashion show Saturday evening. Photo by Erin Eastburn

After growing up in Colorado, having the opportunity to attend shows and spot fashion icons feels like an out of body experience.

The camera flashes surrounding these fashion moguls are blinding, extending the distance between their lives and mine. I understand now why they’re constantly seen in sunglasses with the flashes that abound.

I’m on the sidelines now fighting to just get in, but someday, hopefully I’ll have my own invitation.

Erin Eastburn is a senior apparel merchandising major who is currently interning for Tory Burch and Women’s Wear Daily in New York City.

Someone To Love the You, You Love.