Style File: Merchandise Assistant – Knits

I first met this week’s style file girl when she was still an intern. We had one of those classic intern moments with a broken copy machine, ten different types of toner, and too many blinking arrows. We ended up figuring it out while chatting back and forth a bit.

She has now been promoted from intern, to merchandise assistant for knits. She loves her job, but admits that she didn’t always know that she wanted to work in fashion. Her career began as an international business major in college from where she went to teach English in Japan for three years. She traveled all around Southeast Asia and fell in love with Japan and fashion while she was there.

In talking with her, she gave me interesting perspective on what it is about the fashion there that interested her so much – no matter how funny or different it is, the people really dress however they want. They stick out as an individual, which is an interesting thing to see expressed in a society that is so strongly community based. To further explain, she shared two of her favorite Japanese street fashion blogs with me: style-arena and Japanese streets. I’ve added the blogs to the list of blogs that I follow I found them so interesting. The style is far out, but totally cool and inspirational.

As is her own fashion! She’s a bohemian queen, but mixes in quirky vintage pieces that at times give her outfits a sense of humor. Check out her personal style and what she wore this week ;)

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This week at work she was scrambling a bit because her buyer was out on vacation which left her to cover duties she’d never dealt with before. Her department (buying) serves as a central coordinator for planning, design, wholesale, and production, which means there can be a lot to do. On the day that I caught up with her to hear about it she was entering in orders with an archaic looking system (although it’s not) to be sent to our producers. This is a highly detailed process involving lots of codes. When placing an order everything is considered from cost, color, and fabric to delivery method, ship date, and unit count. It’s amazing how fast she can do it at this point. Any one of the components can get messed up at anytime, anywhere in the supply chain, and a lot of her job also involves cleaning up the mistakes to make sure that the customer gets what she wants when she wants it.

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I know you’re already intrigued by how interesting this girl is, but to further interest you – here is her survey. (How cute are her doodles? They made me smile (= )

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Office Style: Perfect Prints

Wearing prints can take a certain amount of confidence and skill. Knowing what to pair them with and how to place them on your body takes a good eye. I love getting inspiration from the other ladies around the office who have gotten the trick down. So whether it’s floral, plaid, paisley, or cheetah and whether it’s all over or a strategic print pop, these ladies can show you how it’s done.

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Office Style: I like what you got in the behind..

I love when somebody’s outfit is okay from the front, and then they turn around and all of a sudden its ace. They have that element of surprise in the back – a cool detail or bold statement. It’s like that old saying, business in the front, party in the back… or is that just about mullets….??? Either way, I love the trend, and these ladies have nailed it.

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Office Style: It’s HOT

It is hot as hell here in Philadelphia today – advisory warning and all. It’s the kind of heat that makes you not even want to get dressed, but, of course, that’s not socially acceptable. One has to put something on to go to work, and these ladies (and gentleman) did quite a good job of it today. Today’s office style is all about how we’re battling the heat – crop tops, billowy fabrics, light colors, and shade. How are you staying cool?

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And Toby just wanted his picture taken… :)

Office Style

Today’s been a busy day! The first half of the day I got to travel out to the owner of Urban Inc.’s personal farm. I shot some photos of the stylish interns on the outing.

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Although I enjoyed the trip, it was fun getting back to the office and noticing lots of new Free People buys around. These two ladies are actually wearing two of my favorite items right now – both just happen to have been sitting in my shopping basket for about the past week now.

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The Free People Printed Kimono

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The Mohawk Embroidered Dress

I love the flirty sheerness these two coworkers were rocking today.

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How cool is this shirt? I love the combo of it with the braids.

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I caught this stylish woman sauntering up the stairs in her carefree printed summer dress. Her tattoo juxtaposes against the girly-ness of her outfit for an intriguing look.

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Denim and lace…one of my favorite combos for summer

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DIY shirt turned skirt!

so inspired by this look today! our office coordinator took an old oversized button-down shirt and turned it into a skirt! she just buttoned it up halfway from the bottom, stepped into it and tied the sleeves around her waist – add a cropped tee and boots and you’ve got 90s grunge perfection.

just another reason to nab your boyfriend/dad/brother’s button-downs! vintage printed ones are a plus :)