Working with Eleven Year Olds

 

plaid shirt & sweater {Old Navy} - jeans {RW&Co} - booties {Steve Madden}

It's been a long while and for that I am sorry! 

Things are off to a smashing start at my new job, I really couldn't be happier. A couple weeks ago, I organized a double photo shoot, which is two girls in the morning and two girls in the afternoon. While this may sound like a piece of cake to you, I can assure you that it's not. I can also assure you that I now know why my coworkers looked at me like I had fallen from the crazy tree when I suggested this plan. Anyways, they let the new girl play crazy (joke was definitely on me...) and I had two sets of eleven year olds come in and model a couple outfits each. Now, I had been around models here and there when I was in NYC but this was just a bit different. First off, these girls weren't models because we use real customers and fans of the brand as our models. Second of all, they were eleven. Each set of girls were best friends, which makes it really fun, but it also makes it challenging. Challenging in the sense that fighting over which washroom to change in and competing for best pose are normal occurrences. If you've spent any time around eleven year old girls, you may have an idea of what this double photo shoot was like. Don't get me wrong, the girls did great and we got a ton of awesome photos. But it was four straight hours of high pitched chatter, references to One Direction, and lots and lots of giggling! Besides needing an endless supply of energy, I did learn a few things throughout the day. First, never give them the choice of what to wear (and if you can tell that one girl didn't love her first outfit, make her second outfit really special). It's also quite important to keep them focused and on track - never let them look at the photos during the shoot and don't be afraid to kick mom out of the room (politely, of course!). Help them let their guards down by letting yours down too - if you want them to be goofy, you better be goofy yourself! And last but certainly not least, brush up on your tween pop culture because once they tell you they don't listen to One Direction, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry or The Biebs, you will have NOTHING. Nada. Nilch.

As crazy as having back to back photo shoots was, they were a ton of fun...so fun that I'm having another one on Friday! (only a single one though....I did learn from my crazy)

j.

Fancy Sweatshirts + Fashion Fails

sweatshirt {Old Navy} - chambray shirt {Forever 21} - skirt {Mexx} - tights {Gap} - booties {Topshop}

At work we've been talking about the fancy sweatshirt trend that we see popping up in both womenswear and kidswear. I am quite excited about this particular trend. Partly because it gives me a valid excuse to dress like a fourteen year old girl but also because it gave me a valid...errr okay just an excuse, to buy myself a fancy sweatshirt. As many of you know, the quickest way to my heart is by putting words on a piece of clothing. The actual word "heart" on a piece of clothing...didn't stand a chance.

You know how sometimes, you get really excited to wear an outfit but for one reason or another, something just doesn't quite jive right. Most of the time it just sneaks up on you but with this outfit, I saw it coming. I knew as soon as I pulled on my skirt that the cotton tights I had chosen were a bad idea. It's kinda like how when two magnets get near each other they're compelled to stick together. Well, consider my tights and skirt a pair of really strong magnets. Every time I walked or really even moved my legs at all, my skirt would inevitably get stuck to  my legs and bunch in unfortunate ways. I really should've just switched my tights or skirt (how 'bout one with lining...), but I was running late, had a vision, couldn't find any other tights, was too stubborn to change skirt because of stupid girl stuff, I didn't. So anyways, to wrap up this marathon of a story about tights, without better judgement, I wore something I knew was bound to malfunction. And so it did. And so I received not one, but two stink eyes as I walked by with THIS happening. And this, my friends, is known as a #FashionFail.

 

you're welcome :)

j.

Seriously Flipping for My New Job!

sweater, jeans & boots {Gap...didn't even plan that!) - necklace {gift from kiki}

I have some seriously great news to share! I've finally landed myself a job and it's not just any old job. It's THE job. The job I wished for, the job I would've happy danced for in NYC, the job I never thought would come along in little old Calgary. But it did, and I got it! Certainly not for lack of trying either. It was a long and intensive process, involving videos, a couple of interviews and on the spot brainstorming challenges. It's everything I hoped for and more, and the thoroughness of their hiring process only confirmed the type of company I thought they were and the caliber of the people who work there. Without further ado, I am so pleased to tell you that I am now the Marketing Coordinator at Triple Flip!

Triple Flip is an activewear company for young girls - aged six through twelve (or so). It was founded in Calgary in 2005 and has seen impressive growth over the past eight years. We (we!) are about to open our eleventh retail store in Toronto and also have an e-commerce website. The clothing is fun, vibrant, athletic but still stylish and everything I would've flipped for when I was a young girl. I've only been there for about a week and a half but already I am loving it (huge understatement). I get to do everything from social media to organizing photoshoots and even naming new products and describing them in what we like to call our "flip voice". For those of you who know me, know that this is basically the cat's pyjamas/bee's knees/peanut butter to my jelly. Yeah...so I'm excited.

The owner/founder/CEO (this woman!) is unlike anyone I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She is an extremely savvy businesswoman (obviously) but also has such a passion and energy for what she is doing. She is the most involved CEO I've ever heard of, which is so refreshing, because she genuinely cares and has an interest in every aspect of her business. She is an expert communicator, listens to what you have to say and shows a vested interest in you. The last thing I'm going to share right now is about how she introduced me to the whole company. She sent this incredible welcome email out to everyone that basically described everything I've done and where I've come from - the stuff that my resume shows as well as what I'd added in my interviews. I know none of the things she said were news to me, but it was how she said it and interpreted it that blew my mind. She made me sound really, really amazing. I mean, this email you guys was so amazing that I may have forwarded it to my parents (since they're the only ones I can not so humble brag to) and am thinking about printing it out and framing it (ok...not really...but maybe printing it). There was one line in it that had me so excited because it has been something I have never known how to put into words. She defined my personal style, just by listening to what I said and adding her own twist. She described me as a "fashion curator for my wardrobe, which is a thoughtful and eclectic mix of treasures found and patterns mixed". And that, my friends, is where all my dreams came true and my heart burst into a million tiny pieces of pure joy.

Needless to say, I am beyond excited to have this amazing challenge and opportunity ahead of me, and this company and the people behind it make me want to be better and do better each and every day.

j.