how do i know if i'm 'good enough' for fashion design?

[farizj]

I always have this mentality that I would rather have little pay and do what I love to do rather than earn big bucks and do what I don't like to do at all. To some small degree, it's tempting to fall back on a career that offers a big fat pay cheque. But at the end of the day, if you're not going to be happy with your life, your career, what's the point of having a life in the first place? Lead your life with risks and chances! Have faith and chase your dream!

 

[FashionablyVivid]

I went to the Art institute here in Portland Oregon for a year before getting dismissed because my grades were so bad. I majored in Fashion Design, and right after I got out of high school I was so excited! I love everything about fashion. I read fashion magazines all the time.. it has always been a huge dream of mine to do something in the fashion industry. But once I got dismissed from Ai, thats where my trouble started.
Ai is the ONLY fashion school in Portland, and I am not wealthy by any means. I had a hard time drawing and putting any of my fashion ideas down on paper. I think I got really mixed up in the competition and the expenses of fashion design. Because honestly it is a veryyy competitive business. So now I am looking at the reality side: Fashion design will not bring me the money that I need, and it just isnt for me yet. Maybe in a couple of years I will be into designing more, but as of now, I dont like to draw very much because it is such a challenge for me! I cant express my ideas on paper!
So for now I am majoring in Journalism, and hope to get somewhere with writing about fashion. I just love the visual aspect of fashion. But with no willingness to move to another city and my low budget, I cannot afford to do fashion design. I would go to NYC if i could but i do not have the money or the means to do so.
I wasted 30 grand in loans just to be dismissed on something that didnt get me any further in the fashion industry. I have no chance of getting back into Ai either.
Does anyone in here work in fashion publishing or any publications? I recently watched the Sept. Issue and was amazed at how much went into the magazine. I really like how Anna regulates what goes into the magazine. I am just so lost as to what to major in! I am getting a degree in Journalism then afterwards transferring to a 4 year school, to get my Bachelors in Communications or Art, or both. I dont know which majors would help me get into any design with fashion. Is writing for fashion magazines fun? Do you have any say in the fashion world when you are a fashion journalist? How can i get my ideas on paper? Its so frustrating, any help would be wonderful! I dont know how much writers for fashion publications make or what their day entails, please fill me in! Thanks so much!!!

 

[BetteT]

Thisthread is about whether or not you have what it takes to get into fashion design ... not the education, exactly .. just the talent, the guts, the fortitude and a strong enough desire to do what it takes.

Thanks for sharing what you have done as you attempted to get into fashion design ... it sheds a light on some of the obstacles.

If you want to learn more about how to get into other fashion careers or about the education needed ... we have lots of other threads for all of those and some just to help you decide what direction to take if you don't know what you want to do. Search this forum by thread titles using keywords like career, careers, publishing, education, courses, magazines, jounalism, public relations or anything else you are interested in and you will find a ton of information.

Here are a few, but there are bunches more, if you do some searches:

Fashion Industry Careers
Searching for My Perfect Fashion Career - HELP!!
What Career for Me ... if I Can'tSew/ Make Patterns/Draw, Etc.?
Education for a Career in Fashion?

Careers / Jobs / Positions in Magazine Publishing
How to Get Work at a Fashion Magazine & Get to the Top

 

[beachgoth]

I would finish your degree in sociology, while continuing to experiment and design. Sociology could actually be very helpful, the study of people, how they interact, using a sociological imagination, empathy etc. I think there is a lot of inspiration in that.I have found that everything can somehow be related to fashion. I'm a first time poster here, its exciting. Greetings from california.

 

[BetteT]

Welcome, beachgoth! We are almost neighbors ... I'm in Westwood.