I have been debating for weeks & countless sleepless nights on what to name my first real blog endeavor. I'd begin by saying "long story short", however, since I can truly never execute that, you'll have to settle for the unabridged version...
This idea came about due to a recent change in my career that was ironically intended to actually CHANGE my physical career. See, my former background had been in public accounting & after suffering through my second tax season, I was over it. It was never about the long hours or losing my social life 5 months out of the year, it was the fact I ended up not loving the work. I'm more of an extrovert, crave some level of creativity in my career and being tied to a desk & a ten-key was not my calling in the end. So, mid-way through my 3rd tax season, I snapped, walked into my bosses office, apologized, explaining why I could not longer be an accountant. After departing from the field, I immediately enrolled in graduate school for the closest concentration I could come to fashion merchandising, a Masters program in Marketing & Communication. I had no idea how difficult it would be to transition out of an analytical role as I do now...
While beginning my masters classes, I really began to do some thinking about what it was that I'm passionate about & could I make a career out of it? Fashion has always been part of my everyday life. It is my art, my self-expression, I'm constantly observing it, doing designer research, fantasizing about how I would one day be the luckiest girl on the planet to own a boutique, travel to shows, and to have the power to make the buying decisions. Several of my friends and family always ask me why I never moved to NY or Chicago to pursue fashion...an excellent observation, one I do not have the perfect answer for. Life took me on a different path, but I'm just thankful that when I finally realized it, I had the guts to make a change before becoming a slave to a comfortable paycheck. See, already off the main subject...
Ok, well I knew I had the 'how to run a business' part down from a financial standpoint, but what does it take to be a professional buyer? This question lead to a conversation with a good friend who happened to have a good friend who worked in merchandising for a company that just so happened to be headquartered out of my city, which then lead to an interview with said company, ending in landing myself an even greater opportunity...a 10-month long merchant training program where I would be placed as an assistant buyer afterwards (at least that was the impression I was lead to believe), thus surpassing the position I'd initially interviewed for, a merchandise coordinator. However, after successfully completing this program, I was placed, without my interests being considered, as an analyst...essentially right back into a similar role as my previous career, just in a retail environment. (Sigh)... I did not understand, I was crushed, deflated, depressed, shocked, every emotion one could possibly imagine giving the situation. My interests fell into Marketing and Buying, nothing more, nothing less. I tried to make my new career work, however, hitting ctrl P all day long was hardly what I'd consider effective use of my talents. Once my attempt to speak with HR about other potential opportunities became the most uncalled for, juvenile conversation I've ever had, resignation was my only option.
Now, here I am, voluntarily unemployed in a not so fab job market, more determined than even to make my mark in the world of fashion somehow! What better way to do this than to blog about it, share my thoughts, my style, and my passion. And, oh yes, I almost forgot...why I named my blog 'Midwest Couture', because I live in the Midwest and because my collection of couture is that of a classy gal who should be living in the Windy City.
