Pencil skirts, A-line gowns, V-waists, peek-a-boo blouses. Have you ever wondered why the tides of fashion seem to favor one cut over another? Why is one article of clothing suddenly de rigueur, while another perfectly decent one falls from grace? The secret machinations of taste and style are shackled to trends and kitsch. For the curious there is but one choice: to enter the belly of the fashion beast.

The best way into this brave new world is to get your papers in order. Short of a degree from a prestigious fashion design academy, the aspiring fashionista should pursue a degree in fashion merchandising. This will pave the way to reasonably exciting careers in specialty stores, boutiques, national department stores, discount chains, wholesale apparel dealers and clothing design studios. A graduate will have to endure a hectic lifestyle: constantly on the go, meeting new clients, fabric venders, seamstresses, models, buyers, and more. This will entail long hours, constant travel, and incredible amounts of stress. The sobering reality is that success or failure depends on the quality and attractiveness of any given collection and any given season.

The best fashion merchandising academies include rigorous courses designed to familiarize students with the various types of retailers, direct marketing strategies, and consumer buying trends. It is essential that fashionistas understand the psychology of consumers, as well as the sociology of buying, not to mention the history of fashion as it relates to popular purchasing trends. It’s a reoccurring word for a reason, and a word can make or break all fashion houses and boutiques: trends. Understand the trends, and you can look forward to a long and prosperous career in fashion.

With more than a million retail stores and boutiques in the United States alone, a highly motivated and skilled fashionista has the pick of the litter when it comes to making a decent wage. They enjoy careers as apparel buyers, personal shoppers (for executives and celebrities), specialty managers, manufacturer representatives, fashion directors, and fashion stylists. The key is not to get locked into any one role, but to understand the totality of this fickle industry.

The projected earning power of a degreed fashionista, according to Salary.com, is somewhere in the range of $28,000 and $60,000, depending on location. The U.S. Department of Labor claims retail managers and merchandisers have the potential to earn a medium salary of $72,000. High-end boutiques in New York, London, Paris, and Los Angeles will pay more handsomely, of course, than stores in Middle America, but making the right impression always includes having the right degree. Take the right degree, a nose for trends, and mix in the X factor of determination, and you have all the building blocks for fashion success. It’s a tremendously competitive industry and navigating its murky waters is not for the faint of heart or thinned-skin. Take heed now, before you embark, and make sure you’ve got a degree that can open the right doors.

Tags: Vocational Schools

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