A Day In The Life: What A Fashion Buyer Actually Does
Hailing from humble beginnings, Ivonne shares how hand-me-downs helped shape her love for fashion and how an accident introduced her to the not-so talked about world of fashion buying. Half a decade later, Ivonne is still living the fast paced life of a buyer and getting paid to shop for one of the largest retailers, Ross! Here is how she does it:
Hi Ivonne! Tell us a little bit about yourself? What sparked your interest in fashion?
I grew up fascinated with clothes. My family was really poor when I was younger so every penny went towards food and shelter. I would always get hand-me-down clothes from my older cousins and that was my pot of gold as a child. When junior high came around, I taught myself how to sew and would make clothes with the leftover fabric from my mom’s sewing job. And as I got older, I knew I wanted to work in fashion. I am 27 now and have been in buying since I’ve graduated college.
When did you first realize you wanted to pursue a career as a buyer?
It really happened by accident. In college, I wanted to pursue PR/Marketing jobs in the fashion industry since I knew it would be too difficult to be a designer. A girlfriend of mine insisted I just interview for it and see what happens. I ended up scoring the paid internship position and spent a whole summer learning about buying. By the end of the internship, I loved how exciting the role was and wanted to stay in buying. And here I am 5 years later immensely grateful that I took that leap.
We know no two days are the same, but walk us through a typical week for you.
Mondays are typically a report day. We would look over the selling from the weekend, recap the business, and react to any bad business going on. And throughout the week, we would meet with different vendors, communicate with our East Coast team, and shop around the market to see what is going on with all of our competitor’s business.
Every week is different let alone each day. Some weeks we have to take care of markdowns, plan our next season, and look over reports every month end to see how it turned out and think about next year.
What’s one thing that would surprise us about your job?
It is much harder than it seems. When I was learning about the role, I thought you just shopped your heart out every day. But it’s very much not like that. It is very analytical and reactive of a business. Each area is different even if it is the same customer shopping. And as a buyer, you really have to put your “customers” hat on. Just because you love a certain style, that does that mean your customer will love it, too. Depending on the company you buy for, every target market is different. Thus, making our jobs as buyers even more difficult.
What's your favorite part about being a buyer? What's your least favorite?
Seeing what’s in store for next season is so fun! There are trend forecasting reports, fashion shows, and vendors who produce the next up & coming item. You get to see what trends will be big next season and decide what trends you want to test for your customer. Just because it is a trending item/detail, it does not mean your target market is willing to adapt to that trend.
My least favorite part about being a buyer is going over the reports. Although it is extremely necessary to see the big picture in numbers, it is the least fun part compared to the shopping piece of the job.
What's something you wish you knew going into this role?
There is so much I wish I would have known. Thankfully I work in a company that is very invested in their employees. When I was hired, I had about 6-9 weeks of training to learn the systems they use, the function of everything, and the foundation of the job. I know not every company is like that so if you want to study on your own, I would suggest getting familiar with retail math. It is vital for any buying position.
What advice would you give to aspiring buyers?
INTERN! That is the best way to find out if this is the job for you. I know many aspiring buyers that interned for this and did NOT like it. They went to school studying and training for this role and end up completely hating what buyers actually do. And honestly, if you love fashion, intern in any position to test the waters. A career is something you do for the rest of your life. Though you may like it at 22, will you like it at 30? 40? 50? Having a well-rounded skill set is important and can help you achieve fashion roles a lot easier.