A deadly combo: working at J.Crew and being a shopaholic

You know it's a problem when you just finished up three overnight shifts for a new rollout and your back to the store a day later to shop the new merchandise. 

Rollout: A slang term for the introduction of a new product; a rollout often refers to a significant product release, often accompanied by a strong marketing campaign to generate a large amount of consumer hype. (www.investopedia.com)

Working at J.Crew that past four years has been a great experience for me. I have learned more things working retail than anything I have learned so far in college as a fashion student. You just can't compare what you learn in a classroom environment to the real life situations. 

Thankfully, I only work in the factory store (outlet), therefore the prices are a tad less expensive than the retail stores. Plus, I get a pretty good discount on everything, including retail and their sister store, Madewell. You can see where this is all leading to.... feeding my addiction as a shopaholic.

This includes the fabulous pants that my dearest mother bought me today for when I start my internship in NYC! For more info on that, follow my other blog: The Intern on 11 Ave. 

I knew I needed nice pants to wear in an office environment, but they are all so boring. Khakis, black pants, and slacks are like death words to me because as a fashion major, we do not wear these for any other reason unless you are going on a job interview, and even that is difficult to accept. 

When I saw these I flipped over them and needed to get them just for the sake that they are still work appropriate, but are fashionable and give off a summer feel. Along with the pants, I also purchased a great summer necklace that will only be worn every day considering it can go with everything and anything.

Here are my purchases of the day:

The pattern is just great, don't you think?

Factory Printed Skimmer Pant retailed at $74.50
Imperial Blue

Pattern: Imperial Blue

Factory Butterfly Petal Necklace retailed at $49.50
Light Citron

                                                                         

You can understand now my daily struggle of working with clothes and accessories first hand. I love my job though. I have great bosses, fun co-workers, and an enjoyable position as a merchandiser.

Actions speak louder than words

Remember when you were a kid, and the adults would always say, "Treat people the way you want to be treated!" I think they were on to something. That saying is not followed by most, which says a lot about a person.

People are so in-tuned with themselves that they don't realize the things they do actually effects others around them. Its troubling to be in a situation when you know your doing the right thing and the other person is just completely out of line.

Relationships are hard. They are hard work every single day. The relationships that aren't worked on, are the ones that disappear faster than quick sand. Think about all the different relationships in your life... which ones are the ones that actually mean something to you? Do you talk to that person everyday? How often do you see them? These are key aspects to keeping great relationships with people. Now i'm not just referring to friendships, this also goes hand and hand with intimate relationships.

Having that special person in your life is what every person would like. The person to text all day long, make dinner plans with, book vacations with, share your life with, is the ultimate point of a great relationship. This is all nice until those day to day activities become routine, those planned out moments turn into a job, and no one can agree on if they should eat out to do take out. These things are what turns a great relationship into a rut. Something about the label of relationship does change how things work; the way one must speak, act, dress, etc. all change.

Although some people might agree that by having that special person in your life, really completes you...the truth is, if you don't feel completed without anyone, who are you really? Do you not feel comfortable in your own skin without someone else in your life than just your family and friends? This ties into the saying "actions speak louder than words."

I am a true believer of this and i'll tell you why. Words are great. They can be put into poems, and novels, and really anything you need in order to know what something is or means... but they are just words. Anyone can say words, put them together, create a lie out of them, tell it like it is. But actions, those are personal. You can argue that yes, a person can "fake" an action, but most people aren't aware of every action they make, whereas words are usually thought of before spoken.

Actions do speak louder than words in my opinion and I will stand by this forever. Your words might mean one thing but its what you do that is truly what you mean.

People can choose how they treat others, even if it's not how they would want to be treated. They have that ability to make others feel a certain way. That being said, those who do choose to make others feel special are the gems of the world. I'm sure there are plenty of gems out there, but for some reason, the pebbles are what are more noticeable.

Genuine people are those who are looked pasted at as the compatible ones. They are too safe, too reliable, not a chase, you know, all the things people should want, but don't.

It's funny, you don't realize these things until you are forced to. Those gems are good gems that should be considered before the million pebbles out there. Sometimes it's not right away, but you know what the best thing is, you just are waiting to see if that's what you need.  

Lifestyle and all

Fashion, nutrition, college, relationships, and life's topics are what is to come on Rae Says All. Now I know many people write blogs, thinking they are the experts in whatever they are writing about, but that's not me. I don't think I'm an expertise in any of these, I just love writing and sharing, what's not a better combination?

I am excited to start blogging about my summer home from college and all the things that are to come! Related topics are a goal of mine that I want to share. As much as people like to brag about the newest item they bought, I would only share if I truly believed it would be beneficial for others to enjoy as well.

Some warnings you may want to be aware of before committing to following my blog: 

1. A lot of photos taken by yours truly

2. Shared stories about "Amanda Moments" (you will understand once one is shared)

3. Anything and everything about DOGS

4. Summer fun

Hope you can manage those and get excited for what's to come on Rae Says All!