Types of Fashion Merchandising Courses

March 20, 2012 By

The first step towards a career in fashion merchandising is getting a degree. Although you will not learn all of the information to succeed in the industry, your fashion merchandising courses will help you meet new people and understand the basics to be successful.

Fashion merchandising consists of three parts that are all important and well represented through fashion merchandising courses. Those who want to have successful careers in fashion merchandising will need to understand all three aspects thoroughly before they can move up in the industry.

The first series of fashion merchandising courses that any student will take are basic entry level classes. These classes are similar to that of any other student at a four year university. This includes math, sciences, history, and a number of other basic requirements that will make sure you are a well-rounded individual. Although it is easy to brush these courses aside, many of the math classes will come in handy in your fashion merchandising career. Do not bypass or cruise through these fashion merchandising courses without learning or else you will make your life harder in the courses to come.

Fashion Merchandising Courses

After finishing the basic requirements you will start to move into the fashion merchandising courses that are specific to your new career path. These encompass three sections that are essential for any fashion merchandiser.

The first section is business courses which are geared to helping you understand the business world and how businesses operate. While this might seem counterintuitive for a fashion job, many fashion merchandising jobs require budgeting, submitting proposals and a number of other tasks that require prior business experience. Spend enough time understanding the business aspects of the industry especially if it is your least favorite part. It is equally as important as the others, but neglecting this area of study will only lead to poor results in your career.

The second section of fashion merchandising courses are more art related. You will most likely need to take a number of fashion classes so that you know how to recognize the latest trends. Being able to recognize fashion trends is one of the most important aspects of fashion merchandising. Most people who decide to become fashion merchandisers prefer to study fashion, but this is only one small piece in the entire fashion merchandising puzzle. Without fashion it would be impossible to have successful careers in fashion merchandising, but other areas of knowledge are required.

The final section of fashion merchandising courses is related to marketing. As a fashion merchandiser you will be required to create displays and market your wares to the general public. Not only will you have to be able to market clothing to consumers, you will also have to understand how to market your products to retail stores that often have many people competing for their business.

Like all professions, the fashion merchandising courses taught while in school are dedicated to helping students understand the business and be successful in their future jobs.

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How to Get Into Fashion Merchandising Management

March 20, 2012 By

Besides being an executive, fashion merchandising management is one of the most prized roles in the entire industry. Obviously, the thought of being able to simply manage people to do work for you seems like a much easier task than fashion merchandising itself. This is not always true, but in many cases the true “retirement” for an employee is to become the fashion merchandising management.

Many who enter the field often wonder what path they must take to become part of the fashion merchandising management. The truth is, there is no single path that will land them their dream jobs as a manager, but there are many things they can do correctly along the way.

The first thing they can do is to be passionate about the field and go above and beyond the competition at all times. Even young fashion merchandisers can be successful in the business if they put their mind into their work and force themselves to beat their fellow workers. Being part of the fashion merchandising management has nothing to do with age and everything to do with performance. Being passionate and perfectionist about the things that you do in your current position as a fashion merchandiser will help you get to that management position.

Fashion Merchandising Management

The second thing you must have in order to be accepted as fashion merchandising management is utilize connections. Throughout your career you will meet people that are famous in the industry or have become famous since the days you knew them well. Your fashion merchandising degree will come in very handy at this point in time. Reach out to your network and see if any of your friends have created their own fashion merchandising company or are in executive positions themselves. That network you have created is one of the most valuable things in your arsenal so you must use whatever tools are at your disposal.

Although it may sound somewhat sleazy, another way to be accepted as fashion merchandising management is to spend time with your current managers. If you have a long day of work, still try to invite your managers out for a drink. If you hang around with management enough then you will be on the tip of their tongues the next time promotions become an issue. If you truly want that dream job in fashion merchandising management, you must be able to socialize with existing managers and executives so that you can get the position.

Once you are in fashion merchandising management roles, you will see that it isn’t as great as you made it out to be. While they are able to relax and probably work fewer hours than other fashion merchandisers, they are held responsible for almost every mistake that occurs. As a manager, you will be expected to run the company (or your section of the company) smoothly enough that the shareholders or executives can reap the rewards. Although management seems appealing it does, like all things in life, require hard work.

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Finding the Right Fashion Merchandising Colleges

March 19, 2012 By

One profession that has not gone out of style during the economic recession in the past few years is fashion merchandising. This has led to a huge growth in the enrollment of fashion merchandising colleges. No matter how poor, people will always be wearing clothes and there will always be a demand for high quality garments.

This demand for high quality and fashionable clothing is leading to exponential growth in the enrollment in college and the number of fashion merchandising colleges themselves. Like lawyers or doctors, being a fashion merchandiser requires a lot of learned skill. Although fashion merchandising colleges are not extremely lengthy programs, they still offer specialized training that students need to find a job when they graduate.

Many students choose to attend fashion merchandising colleges because of the unusually high fashion merchandising salary that comes with it. While it may not be an immediate path to six figures, fashion merchandising is a well paid profession and career. Fashion merchandising colleges can help students get a job with great pay and benefits, which makes it no wonder that enrollment has grown so rapidly.

Fashion merchandising colleges usually teach students how to buy, promote, and sell fashion items. The nature of fashion merchandising makes the college experience somewhat mixed between liberal arts and business. While fashion merchandising colleges focus heavily on the design sense, typically a more artistic pursuit, they also dedicate time to business and marketing acumen.

Fashion Merchandising Colleges

If you are in search for the best fashion merchandising colleges, there are a number of them located in every area of the United States. Some of them are more expensive due to private school tuition, but many are located as part of public school systems. Some fashion merchandising colleges are totally separate from institutions altogether, but these schools are akin to their computer science counterparts like “DeVry” or similar professional schools.

Here are a couple of the best fashion merchandising colleges and why they are so great:

Univeristy of the Incarnate Word – the University of the Incarnate Word is located in San Antonio, Texas and is one of the preeminent fashion merchandising colleges in the United States. This stems mostly from the fact that the school boasts a great art history and fashion department with many professors with field experience. Although the school is not located in one of the main hubs for fashion design (like New York or Los Angeles), it still offers a great education that can land students at great fashion merchandising jobs after graduation.

Parsons School of Design – the Parsons School of Design is one of the best fashion merchandising colleges in the world due to the location of New York City and the focus of the school itself. Students who attend the Parsons School of Design already have a deep interest in fashion merchandising and are dedicated to paying private school tuition for a top notch education. Although the school is by no means cheap, this fashion merchandising college is more than worth the money.

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Careers in Fashion Merchandising

March 16, 2012 By

Careers in fashion merchandising can be very rewarding for people who are dedicated to working hard and learning fast. The number of steps required to have successful careers in fashion merchandising are manifold, but not impossible for those who have the drive and passion it takes to be successful.

For those who are interested in careers in fashion merchandising the first thing you need to do is make sure to find fashion magazine subscriptions to read every week. One of the most important aspects of fashion merchandising is knowing the latest fashion trends and being able to understand what people will want in the future. It may seem silly to buy magazine subscriptions to jumpstart careers in fashion merchandising, but understanding fashion trends is crucial.

The second thing you need to do is get a fashion merchandising degree that will give you a foundation within the industry so that you can thrive. Although they will not teach you everything you need to know about the industry, you must get some of these basics so that you will not be lost when searching for fashion merchandising jobs. Another important aspect of getting a degree in fashion merchandising is being able to utilize your time to network amongst your peers. The number of fashion merchandisers is not that great and you are most likely spending your time with some of the next top executives and presidents in the fashion merchandising business. While many will argue that getting a degree is not necessary for careers in fashion merchandising, this gives you credibility and relevance when you are entering the job market. Even if the content is not heavy enough, the fact that you made it through four years of grueling fashion merchandising college will help your career.

careers in fashion merchandising

Next, you are going to want to find an internship in a local city. Your hometown may not have a huge fashion merchandising industry, but that is perfect for getting an entry-level job and learning the ropes of the industry. Finding an entry-level job might not sound appealing, but it is important for those who want successful careers in fashion merchandising. This experience will show you how the real fashion merchandising world works and will help you make more contacts that are relevant to your industry. You can use local fashion merchandising branches to expand to cities with a larger market like New York City or Los Angeles.

After you have experience at an internship or low-level job you will be in a position to really accelerate your career. By now you have the contacts that you need so that you can move to a high end fashion merchandising company and work your way to the top. Never forget the lessons that you have learned while in school and at your internship or else your career may falter and then collapse. Those who want successful careers in fashion merchandising can easily obtain them through hard work, determination, and a keen fashion sense.

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Fashion Merchandising Internships

February 24, 2012 By

Fashion merchandising internships are an incredible way to get your foot in the door at a high end business. These internships are often offered during the summer but they can also can also be found in other times of the year as well. One advantage to participating in the internship during the summer is that you can focus solely on your internship instead of having to worry about classes going on at the same time. I have talked to several students who completed internships during their school year and usually either their internship or their school work suffered. Fashion merchandising internships should be treated like an actual job and because of this, I would strongly encourage all students looking at internships to look for them during the summer.  How does one go about obtaining a internship in the fashion merchandising field? Hard work and communication.

You are most likely not going to get the first internship that you applied for. You will likely have to go through an extensive process in order to obtain an internship and you should be applying for multiple internships. I encourage all of the students that I come into contact with to be applying for at least 10 fashion merchandising internships. It truly is a numbers game and the more internships that you apply for the better a chance you have at getting called in for an interview and getting your foot in the door at a high end company.  As stated earlier, many fashion merchandising companies use their internship program as a way to test out prospective employees. If you excel during your time as an intern, there is going to be a good chance that you are able to get a job at that company the next time they are hiring. Which leads me to my next point, do not apply for an internship if you do not have time for it.

fashion merchandising internships

If you know you are going to be busy with school or other things going on in life, the last thing you want to do is begin an internship that will take a larger toll on your time. If you accept an internship and you go about your work poorly you are going to hurt your “image” in the fashion merchandising world.  As with any work industry, the people in the industry talk. If you are a poor worker with Company A, when you apply for Company B, they are going to compare names and talk about how bad of a job you did. You are not going to get that job. Bottom line, make sure you have time do be working an internship before you accept it because decisions you make now could affect you later in life.  So now that you know about when you should be looking for internships and how to go about getting them, you might be wondering, where to I find these internships?

Fashion merchandising internships can be found on most businesses websites. If there is a company that you are wanting to work for in the future, go to their career page and look for possible internships that are coming up. By doing this, you can usually get a leg up on the competition because they tend to only be looking on job boards, which are a good place to look as well but the more leads you can find the better. Another great place to look is on social networking sites. Look around on Linked In for HR people at the company that you want to complete one of your fashion merchandising internships at and ask them if they have anything coming up. This is a very personalized approach and will make your resume stand out in a crowd.

Make sure that you complete an internship at sometime as it will greatly help your chances at landing a job and give you real life experience in the fashion merchandising industry.

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Fashion Merchandising Careers

February 23, 2012 By

You are looking for fashion merchandising careers? Well you have come to the right place. Most people that visit our website are really not sure of what career path they should take with a degree in fashion merchandising and we are here to tell you that the path you choose is up to you. Fashion merchandising careers can take an incredibly vast array of paths and what path you end up on is in your hands alone.

Probably the most typical career path to choose with a fashion merchandising degree is to become a merchandise buyer assistant. This is where 50% of all fashion merchandising careers begin. A merchandise buyer assistant usually requires 0-2 years of experience and has a salary range of $40-50k. This is a pretty good salary fresh out of school and should be a good starting point for anyone that is in fashion merchandising. In this position you will learn what people in the industry look for and you will likely work with someone that has been around the industry for a while. From this position you can expect to be promoted to a senior merchandise buyer assistant with a range of $50-65k. This is quite a nice salary for only 2-4 years in the work force. This is probably the most popular path for a fashion merchandising graduate but it is not the only way to go.

fashion merchandising careers

fashion merchandising careers

You could choose what many believe to be the oddest of fashion merchandising careers and become a fashion merchandising blogger. This is where I found most interesting because it provided me with several different outlets. My main desire for this site is to help people decide what route they should take when choosing from the many different fashion merchandising careers. I felt that it was important for me to help people struggling to find their niche, much as I was when I began my career in fashion merchandising.

Along with this, it allowed me to do what I found interesting. If I wanted to write about fashion merchandising degrees, jobs, or colleges, I had the freedom to do so. If I wanted to write about new trends in the fashion-merchandising world, I was allowed to do that as well. When looking at the fashion merchandising careers that were out there I decided that I did not want to corner myself into a specific niche but wanted to do something that made me happy. While some people may not consider blogging a career or a good use of a fashion merchandising degree, I knew that it would be one of the few things in the fashion-merchandising world that would make me happy. My happiness was my sole focus when choosing from the many fashion merchandising careers.

There are many different career paths that you can pursue with a fashion merchandising degree and the route you take should be dependent on your goals. Make sure that your first job helps you take a step towards whatever it is that you want to do in life. There are many fashion merchandising careers that exist, but only you can choose the right one for you.

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Fashion Merchandising Schools

February 23, 2012 By

Well you finally decided that you want to pursue a fashion merchandising degree but you don’t know what school to go to. There are many schools that offer fashion-merchandising programs but if you are serious about your career you want to one of the fashion merchandising schools. A school that specializes in fashion merchandising will help you gain the experience and knowledge that is necessary to succeed in the cutthroat environment. Even if you have started to look at the schools out there, you may be wondering what you should be looking for to set itself apart from other fashion merchandising schools. One piece of advice that I give to all high school students is to look for a environment you can see yourself being happy in.

If you can’t see yourself being happy in a particular schools environment, it doesn’t matter how good the school is because you won’t be happy. Generally students that are unhappy do not preform well in there studies. There is no better way to check out a school’s environment than to schedule a visit to that particular school. Many times when I suggest this students are afraid of the costs that come with a visit, but wouldn’t you rather spend $500 for a visit and find out you don’t like a place then enrolling with a $20,000 tuition and finding yourself miserable?

fashion merchandising schools

fashion merchandising schools

Start looking at the fashion merchandising schools that exist and do some extensive research on them. Look at the school size and the classes that they offer. Make sure that the classes will help prepare you for what you want to do. Look at tuition costs and if you think that you will be able to land a good enough job out of school to pay off the loans that you are will accrue. Look for famous graduations of the fashion merchandising schools because usually famous graduates will be more likely to help out people from their alma mater. Distance from your home is going to be another important thing to look at. Some prospective students want to move away from home while others are looking to live closer to home. When I was looking at fashion merchandising schools, I ended up choosing a school close to home because I wanted to be able to visit with my family. You may or may not find yourself in the same boat.

There are many fashion merchandising schools out there and only you can decide which one is the right fit for you. Every school will have positives and negatives but only one will be the perfect fit for you. If you take the time and put in the research that we have included above you are on your way to finding a good school for you. You don’t have to look at all the questions that we provided above but if you put the time in now to do the research on what is important to you, you will find the perfect school out of all the fashion merchandising schools for you.

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Fashion Merchandising

February 23, 2012 By

In the fashion industry, radical change is something that happens literally with every changing season. The world of fashion is fickle and fast-paced. Fashion merchandisers must have the skills and know how to wear many hats within their industry. The most successful fashion merchandisers have the eye of a designer and the business savvy of an executive and can marry those skill sets seamlessly.

Those pursuing a career in fashion merchandising should first obtain a degree from an accredited postsecondary design school. A formal education is necessary for aspiring fashion merchandisers to develop the wide range of skills required to perform at a professional level. A good fashion merchandising expert must have style, talent, and a high degree of marketing skills to make it in the business. Right out of school fashion merchandising students typically start as a management trainee for a retail store, with the hopes of moving up into an assistant buyer position once they have some experience under their belt.

Job Opportunities in Fashion Merchandising

A variety of jobs fall under the umbrella of fashion merchandising. Everything from creating customer awareness of fashion trends to building attractive displays to feature clothing and accessories falls within an average day at work. Fashion merchandising professionals can fill positions such as merchandise managers, buyers, or wholesalers. Others may work as fashion coordinators or visual merchandisers, designing displays for apparel and accessories. With a degree in fashion merchandising one can also take on a retail management position or open boutique. Some even become fashion consultants or fashion forecasters.

Degrees in Fashion Merchandising

fashion merchandising

fashion merchandising

There are Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees offered in fashion merchandising. The curriculum aims to impart a thorough understanding of the global fashion industry as well as a strong foundation of design and creation of a variety of fashion apparel and accessories. A working knowledge of the creative processes involved in designing clothing, accessories and footwear is required to be a fashion merchandising professional.

The curriculum doesn’t stop there; fashion merchandising students must acquire strong business, marketing and management skills, as well as study the psychology of consumer behavior as it applies to their field.

Fashion merchandising students also learn about influential fashion designers and the history of fashion, display and textiles. They attend marketing seminars and buying sessions to gain valuable experience in the field. The courses also provide students with the opportunity to interact and collaborate with seasoned professionals in the fashion industry, allowing them to benefit from their years of experience in the business, and build industry contacts that will certainly be an incredible impetus to a successful career in the industry.

Dedicated students who strive to master all of the elements involved in their future profession can expect lucrative careers once they earn their degrees and get some experience in the “real world” of fashion merchandising. Creativity and an eye for style make up a huge part of the success, or lack thereof, of fashion merchandising students. There are some elements of the job that can’t be taught, and those with a natural sense of style with discerning visual sensibilities will usually rise to the top of the class.

While no student should expect to earn a magnificent salary right out of school, the entry level positions in fashion merchandising do pay fairly well, especially when compared to other fields among the artistic industries.

Study Fashion Merchandising Online

For those who don’t have the time or resources to complete a traditional course of study, online degrees in fashion merchandising are available. A simple online search should yield a variety of results to consider.  The basic curriculum and skills that are developed in these courses mirror those obtained from traditional studies, but with an increased emphasis on self study. This option requires a lot of discipline, and may not be right for everybody.

Whether you choose an online program or a traditional one, you will want to make sure the institution you plan to attend is fully accredited so that your degree will be recognized by employers in the industry. The path to becoming a successful fashion merchandising professional is not easy, but with sound choices, hard work, and a little god given talent, a bright future in the fashion business can be yours.

 

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What is Fashion Merchandising?

January 29, 2012 By

Fashion merchandising is an exciting and fulfilling industry that provides people with some of the best designed clothes around the world. But what is fashion merchandising exactly? Well, fashion merchandising can be explained as the area where fashion, marketing, and business intersect. Specialized knowledge of fashion comes together with a marketing prowess and business sense to get designer clothes into retail stores.

The question “what is fashion merchandising” is even common within the industry. Despite the fashion merchandising courses that people take, many people cannot grasp the fundamentals. So why is it that everyone keeps asking “what is fashion merchandising”? Well, the profession is actually such a strange combination of specialties that it confuses many people. How can somebody be so great with art and fashion and yet also be a shrewd business person?

There are three main skills that people in fashion merchandising must perform well. If you’re still asking “what is fashion merchandising” after this list, then the profession is probably not for you. The first skill that is necessary for a great fashion merchandiser is forecasting ability. In order to accurately order and sell garments you must have thorough knowledge of fashion trends and recognize industry developments and changes. If you cannot properly forecast the number of designer jeans that consumers want, then you will either have far too many produced or not have enough stocked at the store.

What is Fashion Merchandising

The second skill necessary for all fashion merchandisers is analytical ability. While a good sense of style and up to date information on fashion is important, you will be unable to answer “what is fashion merchandising?” without discussing the analytical prowess required in the job. As a fashion merchandiser you must be able to determine how items fit within a budget and whether they meet the needs of your customers. The business and marketing that are involved in the industry require analytical skills that rival many other industries. Although a high intelligence is not necessarily required for a job in fashion merchandising, the ability to quickly and precisely manage garments is extremely important.

The third and final aspect of fashion merchandising, which could help answer the question “what is fashion merchandising?” is the importance of communication. In order to be a good fashion merchandiser, one must be able to communicate well with fashion designers, retail managers, and consumers.

In order to answer the question “what is fashion merchandising?” one must first examine what the job entails and what types of people excel greatly within the profession. Simply saying that fashion merchandisers sell clothing does not even scratch the surface of what they do, let alone answer the question “what is fashion merchandising?” Nonetheless, one could still somewhat accurately describe what is fashion merchandising in a single sentence. Fashion merchandising is about knowing what your customers want to wear before they know they want it and persuading them that they do. Although that sentence may seem like a tongue twister, that is pretty indicative of how difficult the industry really is.

Filed Under: Careers in Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Merchandising Careers, Fashion Merchandising Colleges, Fashion Merchandising Courses Tagged With: , ,

urbanoutfitters: Behind the Scenes Summer Catalog 2012 / Photography by Charlie Engman

January 3, 2012 By

urbanoutfitters: Behind the Scenes Summer Catalog 2012 / Photography by Charlie Engman

Filed Under: Fashion Photos, Uncategorized Tagged With:
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