With all the new runway shows and fashion news coming about during New York Fashion Week (Sept 9-17), we thought the best way to stay informed was to talk to an expert. That’s why we reached out to University at Buffalo alum and Style Associate Editor at Huffington Post, Jaime Feldman (’11) to teach us about the industry and some of the latest trends.
Jamie Feldman studied communications at the University of Buffalo. Her involvement in Greek life meant that she was also heavily involved in planning sorority events. She was even a member 
of the Pan-Helenic council for a while. In addition, Feldman started working as a photographer’s assistant for school picture day and briefly worked a job as a restaurant hostess. It was while she was studying at UB that she first got in contact with someone at the Huffington Post.
“I tweeted something that ended up in its ‘funniest tweets of the week’ column, prompting me to reach out to the author of the article.” she explained, “Although I wasn’t qualified for any job listings (I was still in college, after all!) I remained in contact with the person in Human Resources over the years to come. After I graduated, I started my budget and body friendly fashion blog, The Real Girl Project, and would periodically send updates to my contact at HuffPo. Finally, two years later, after they likely had enough of me harassing them on a monthly basis, an opening came up in the Style section and they called me in for an interview.”
Of course, she got the job and began working shortly thereafter. And she loved it. In fact, she loves so much about her job she had a hard time picking her favorite part.
“There are a lot of things I love about my job, namely the fact that I am being paid to write about something I love! But being involved in media has opened many doors for me to connect with people in my industry, and working at such a well known company has given me a lot of opportunity to interview and meet people I admire. The perks of getting to attend events like New York Fashion Week aren’t too bad either.”
And in preparation for Fashion Week, we asked Feldman for some fashion advice. And she let us know a bit of her philosophy, “I actually am of the belief that you should dress in what you love, regardless of what’s ‘in.’ I tend to find a few solid pieces I feel really great in and embellish them with “trendy” accessories and jewelry. Although, I have to admit I am seriously into culottes right now (mostly because they’re insanely comfortable).”
And she has more than fashion advice for SUNY students. “I would suggest getting involved in as many things as you think you might be interested in. It’s much easier to figure out what you want to do if you’re able to first figure out all of the things you don’t want to do. I would also suggest not taking your time at SUNY for granted. You sometimes don’t realize how much time you have to explore your campus and your surroundings until after you’ve graduated!”
Really like the interview and the impressive thoughts about fashion. I was very glad to find this website as I recently started my career in the fashion industry. I read a lot of interviews and thoughts for fashion and found this blog great one!! Thanks for such a nice post 🙂
Jamie sounds great, I loved your interview with her! Taking an interest in fashion in my professional and personal life is important to me too and I love combining my personal style with smarter work wear pieces. I also love shopping around and getting the best deal, especially on office wear which can be so expensive – I find price comparison sites the best way to get these deals.