Tales from the Back Row (26 page)

“That's really pretty,” she said. “Are you going to get that?”

“I don't know, I can't decide,” I told her.

“Well, it's gorgeous,” she said with a pained look in her eye that suggested she didn't understand that she could find things she also actually liked if she didn't try only to dress the way her mom wanted her to.

After much frolicking about in the sequined Cinderella number, I put the asymmetrical lace dress back on. And I just knew.

“I like this better. This is it,” I said. I had spent my formative years almost exclusively in bodycon clothing, and now was not the time to turn back. I could wear a traditional dress or something tighter and fabulous, and I just had to choose the latter. I want a dress I will look back on when I'm forty-five and think,
I don't know how I wore something so slim-cut, white, and unforgiving, but I'm sure glad I got that out of my system.

I put the veil on one more time. I was in love. This dress had put a ring on me. My mom held her palms up because there really were no words for it.

I never want to wear anything but this dress
, I thought.

This, I finally understood, was the feeling fashion people have when they see a perfect pair of ripped tights. This was the fabulous product of impeccable, creative design. This was, for me, Fashion. It was exactly what a perfect dress should be: it made me feel like the best version of myself. You can look at Fashion as clothes by the absurd, for the even more absurd (and absurdity should be mocked or, at the very least, questioned). But you can also look at the ways these clothes—made by dedicated, passionate, and, yes, sometimes slightly crazy people—can make you feel like your best self, whether you're going to the mall, Fashion Week, or your own wedding.

Reem Acra will always hold a special place in my heart. And, because preserved wedding dresses take up so much room, a huge space in my closet.

That said, I'm definitely not losing my shit over an asymmetrical designer vest anytime soon.

10 Absolutely Vital Tips for Everyone Who Wants to Work in Fashion

U
nless you're the spawn of someone famous, fashion is never just going to invite you over for a cup of tea, so if you want to join, just barge right in and serve yourself with these pointers.

1.
When you first start out, always act like you know what's going on.
You
wo
n't
know what's going on ever, but naïveté is not looked upon fondly in this industry. You will wonder,
Why are they all wearing sunglasses inside? Why are ninety photographers taking pictures of the girl wearing a dress over her pants?
But just pretend like you understand everything and this is all perfectly normal. And if you feel really confused, leave your sunglasses on so you can stare at everything weird around you.

2.
When you have been doing this for a while, always act like you don't know what's going on.
You used to be able to go to a fashion show without eighty million
­people photographing each other at every corner. The runways used to be so creative, and now it's all one homogenous sea of easygoing Céline wannabe pants and neoprene sweatshirts. “I just don't understand it,” you tell anyone who will listen. To really prove your point, leave your cell phone in your bag at Fashion Week, in defiance of all that social media has ruined.

3.
When in doubt, wear something simple.
You will often be confronted with talented dressers who can wear dresses over pants, and not in an “Eileen Fisher mom whose bed sheets are made from recycled materials” kind of way, but a “Givenchy runway model dressing from the future” kind of way. You will go home and try to re-create these masterful outfits only to realize you can't and look dumb like this. Instead, just wear a blazer over a jaunty tank with an understated necklace, a flattering jean, and a heel. You already look more chic than the people wearing two outfits at once.

4.
When really,
really
in doubt, wear all black.
I
It's hard to wear an all-black outfit that makes you look completely unstylish. People will think you're one of those people who care more about the clothes around you than the clothes you're wearing, which is the hallmark of a true Fashion person.

5.
Don't post photos of yourself everywhere if it feels “off-brand.”
Like it or not, if you have social media ­accounts, you have a “personal brand.” A lot of people don't seem to know what to do with these accounts ­except act like celebrities, who are brainwashed by all of us into thinking they're the greatest, which is why they post selfies from their cars and airplane seats all day. But! You don't have to post selfies from your mundane daily activities! You don't even have to talk about yourself much! If you're not comfortable with making your feeds all about your face, then use them to share pictures of people or things or cats
around
you, or witty quotes or funny links. If you're not a Kardashian, you don't have to act like one.

6.
Work hard.
I know I know, this is cliché advice and I'm not your mom, so why don't I tell you something you don't know? Well, guess what? A lot of you don't know you have to work hard.
Really
hard. You can often tell you're working hard by whether or not you're sacrificing something. It might be sleep, it might be a dinner out with your friends, it might be a weekend away with your family. To succeed in a highly competitive field like fashion, you have to make sacrifices. The good thing about this is, if you are completely obsessed with what you do and want a fashion career so badly it hurts your soul, then you won't feel like you're sacrificing anything.

7.
Fear means you're doing your job.
Someone who works in fashion once said if you're scared all the time that means you're doing your job. And in a business built upon risk taking, you should take risks so big they scare you. And if your own risks don't scare you, the egos in this business are so delicate that it's not unlikely someone will get mad at you in a scary way at some point or another. So
embrace it
, or you just won't survive.

8.
Check your ego at the door.
Here's something they don't tell you before you get into this business: you can't spell fashion without “ego” (the “eg” is silent). Starting out typ­ically involves working for one of these egos. And when you're working for an ego, there is no room for
your
ego. So check it at the door when you get to work, because if you want people to listen to you and respect your views, you have to earn it by keeping your head down and working hard until people see you as an angel who makes their lives easier. Until you earn respect, you have to treat your ego like the sweatsuit you put on when you get home after a long day: it's something only you have to know about. Make other people look good, make other people more successful, and you will become more successful.

9.
Beg for work.
Ears don't pierce themselves, and jobs won't fall into your lap. If you want something, you have to go out and ask for it. And in a competitive industry like fashion, you'll probably have to beg for it. You'll get rejected by your idol and have to go back to that person for more. But don't see it as demoralizing: a career you really, really,
really
want is totally worth a little groveling. And if you think it's not, then you probably don't want this as badly as you'll need to in order to get through it.

10.
Put your cell phone down and enjoy yourself.
This is a fun-ass business. You will spend a lot of time around the world's most beautiful clothes and the world's most beautiful and eccentric people at superfun parties with lots of free, delicious champagne and itsy-bitsy cupcakes. Enjoy yourself. Eat the cupcakes.

Acknowledgments

T
hanks, first of all, go to my parents, whose kindness is immeasurable. I owe so much to my father, the funniest person I have ever known and will ever know. Thanks for passing down your sense of humor. I owe equally as much to my mom. Your amazing strength has always been an inspiration. Thank you, also, for passing down your proclivity for strong opinions, which I am told from time to time I've inherited. Thanks to both of my parents for being there for me every time I felt discouraged, and being more excited about this book than anyone, except for maybe my husband, Rick.

Rick, thank you for reading countless drafts and your ceaseless encouragement during my frequent bouts of self-doubt. Thank you also for coming around to my sweatpants, seeing as if you hadn't we might not be happily married, here, in the first place.

I am also incredibly grateful for the support of the rest of my family, especially my sister, Holly (who helped me pick out my wedding dress) and brother-in-law, Mark (who carefully steamed it the day before my wedding). Thanks also to the Goldbergs, Montis, and Friedmans for continually expressing excitement about this project over the several years it took to complete.

Many people tried to force this book to be something it wasn't. Gillian Mackenzie and Karyn Marcus were not among them. Thank you both so much for believing in this project and sharing my vision for it. You were hard to find in my quest to publish this book, but the wait was well worth it.

Emily Graff edited this book with not only diligence and skill but also a lot of care and thoughtfulness. Thanks so much, Emily, for all your hard work and dedication to this project, bringing out the best in these essays, and making this book what it is. Working with you was a joy.

Finally, thanks to all my colleagues and various bosses who have believed in me over the years: Ben Williams and Adam Moss at
New York
mag; Troy Young, Joanna Coles, Kate Lewis, and David Carey at Hearst; and my entire team at
Cosmopolitan.com
.

And finally, I am incredibly grateful to all my friends who have been there for me over the years. Without so many of you, I'd not only be kind of miserable, but also, much more poorly dressed.

About the Author

A
my Odell is the editor of
Cosmopolitan.com
, the largest community of millennial women on the Internet. In 2015, Odell was named to
Forbes
' list of “30 Under 30” in media and featured in
Adweek
as a “New Publisher,” one of fifteen young innovators who will change the magazine business. In 2014, she appeared in Crain's “40 Under 40.” Prior to
Cosmopolitan.com
, Odell was an editor at BuzzFeed
from 2012 through 2013. Odell began her journalism career in 2007 as a party reporter for
New
York
magazine, where she ultimately became the founding blogger of the magazine's fashion blog, The Cut, in 2008. A native of Austin, Odell graduated from New York University and lives in Tribeca with her husband and very sassy cat.

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Copyright © 2015 by Amy Odell

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First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition September 2015

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Interior design by Joy O'Meara

Jacket design by Janet Hansen and Christopher L in

Jacket illustration by Janet Hansen

Author photograph by K athleen K Amphausen

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Odell, Amy.

Tales from the back row : an outsider's view from inside the fashion industry /
Amy Odell.—First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

pages cm

1. Odell, Amy. 2. Clothing trade—New York (State) —New York—Biography.
3. Clothing trade—Social aspects—New York (State)—New York. 4. Fashion—New York (State)—New York. 5. Fashion design—New York (State)—New York.
I. Title.

TT496.U62N763 2015

746.9'2097471—dc23 2015018051

ISBN 978-1-4767-4975-4

ISBN 978-1-4767-4977-8 (ebook)