She is inspiring (Aamira Wright)

Happy Monday!

It feels like I have been into fashion forever. When I was around eight years old I used to have fashion shows with my grandmothers sequin dresses or make plastic earrings and ask my mother to sell them at work. This interview really sparked my interest because I always love learning about all areas of the fashion world and being a buyer is something I knew nothing about. This fellow Temple alum is an amazing young woman.

Enjoy,
Ally

She-blogs: What is your job title?
AW: I am the assistant buyer for Macy’s Lingerie department.

She-blogs: What was your major in college?
AW: I was a marketing major at Temple University’s Fox School of business. When I started college I just knew I wanted to go into business because I thought that’s how you made money. I just knew that I always wanted to be able to provide for my family and I figured that majoring in business would be the best thing. Marketing seemed to be the more fun side of it because you can be creative.

She-blogs: Were you always interested in becoming a buyer?
AW: Towards my senior year I thought a lot about my goal in life, which is to be very successful and happy. I knew fashion was an interest of mine and I tried to think about how I could fuse fashion and business into a career. So I did the research and the retail industry seemed to be the best fit. An internship became available through a program I am in called New Jersey Seeds. It is a non-profit organization that takes youth from New Jersey who are economically challenged and gets them ready to enter private schooling in New Jersey. I went to a private high school that was fully paid for through this program. So as alumni I would get connections to different things. The president of our board of trustees is the wife of the CEO of Coach so they sent us internship opportunities. Coach was my first opportunity to get a feel for the sales side of retail. I liked it but I wanted to try a different side of it. I participated in a program called BRAG (Black Retail Action Group), during my internship at coach. The understanding is that there is a lack of minorities in retail especially in higher executive positions so the organization helps minorities excel though classes and networking activities. My senior year at Temple I snuck into a UPENN career fair (lol) and I met a woman from Macy’s who remembered me from the BRAG program. So she encouraged me to apply and that’s how I got my job.

She-blogs: What does your day entail?
AW: I think that people may believe that being an assistant buyer is a lot more glamorous than it is. People think you are a professional shopper and it is not that at all. The market, which is where I go to buy, is basically me going to showrooms and looking at the product. That is maybe 20 percent of my job and the other 80 is running the business. I work on 215 stores so I have to check sales every day and do a lot of excel work. I have to compare how our stores are doing and make sure that the stores aren’t running low on merchandise etc.

She-blogs: What do you enjoy doing outside of Macy’s?
AW: I have done some fashion styling recently, which was very fun. I did runway training when I was at Temple so I am helping these young kids in Jersey put together a fashion show. Planning my wedding is also a big part of my day-to-day life. I studied abroad in Japan and I have a friend from Ghana who I actually met on facebook who also went to Temple Japan. It’s funny how we have almost the same exact personality so we are thinking about starting something together. Neither one of us are designers but she knows a designer that she wants to represent. We are thinking about producing shows, and maybe managing designers and stylists. I am ready to start something.
I like to be on the go. I feel like I am never doing enough. It’s a gift and a curse. I am always pushing myself to do more but I wonder sometimes am I being too hard on myself.

She-blogs: What is your mantra on life?
AW: You have to remember to be happy. Sounds cliché but whether it is your relationship or your job, I don’t think people realize how important it is to be happy in all parts of your life.

She-blogs: Who or what inspires you?
AW: People who are doing what they want to do and loving it.

She-blogs: Do you have a tip for someone that wants to reach for their dreams?
AW: Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If there is something you want then go for it but you have to relax sometimes. It just means looking at the things you have done right and looking at the things you are proud of and seeing how those things can mean more than whatever obstacles are being thrown you way.

Me & Aamira outside Sugar Cafe

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.