A Work in Progress

As my final graded blog post, I am a bit sad that I will no longer be forced to write on my blog biweekly about interesting articles and fashion PR, but that is certainly not to say that I am stopping this blog.  Out of all of my assignments this term (and beyond) I think that this is the most practical assignment I have ever had.  As I have learned through articles shared this term that countless recent college graduates are receiving jobs as the social media intern or are in someway greatly involved with their employer’s online profile and social media, I have consistently been reminded that I need to practice and gain skills dealing with technology.

With the age I am and the decades I grew up in, it is assumed that I am competent using a computer, smart phone and other technological advancements.  While I do feel that I possess certain skills pertaining to these requirements in the workforce, my J 452 teacher and assignments have shown me that I need to keep advancing.

In the next two terms before I graduate from the University of Oregon, I  have made a promise to myself that I will  A) keep up this blog and B) try out new social media forms at least once a month.  That is not to say that I will soon have six new online profiles, but I want to familiarize myself in some way to all that is out there on the internet, because who knows what I will be asked to do online in the future.

I think that in the future, I will focus this blog more directly on fashion, but still with a large emphasis on fashion public relations.  This term has taught me a lot about fashion PR and I could not be more excited to continue my research, learning and idea crafting  on becoming a fashion publicist myself.

Six, I mean 4.74 Degrees of Separation

Ah, my final linky love of the term!  It is crazy how quickly these terms really do go.  As I was reading up on our final options for articles to blog about, I was trying hard to find one that really wraps up all of my prior linky love inspired blog posts.  In an article written on NYtimes.com, I feel like I may have found a final article with this component.  While it does not incorporate Kim Kardashian, the average starting salaries in the PR world, or the importance of video usage in fashion today, it does recognize one key aspect that is pointed out in all of my linky love blog posts- this world is changing… and quickly!

In a recent study conducted primarily through Facebook, it has been learned that no longer do six degrees separate individuals from one another.  It is now only 4.74!  The statistics gained from this experiment are mind-boggling to me.  How can that be?  With the new definition of “friend” in our society today, it has been made evident that it is now easier to find mutual friends, or acquaintances, because of social media (like Facebook) in our society.

Like many of the articles I have read this year for my J 452 class, I was once again reminded of the importance of maintaining an active, online profile.  Because of the connections that can be made through the internet, I am going to work on establishing a more professional Facebook account that will likely be of assistance to me next year when I am out in the real world.

While having forms of social media while being a college student has certainly been a fun and entertaining way to keep up with friends and family and see what is happening around campus, I do not believe this is its greatest purpose.  Although Facebook, and sites of the like, were originally intended for college students, they have now taken on a whole new meaning and task.  Social media is the future, especially for someone like myself entering the public relations world, and it is important to remember the success and harm it can bring an individual outside of college life.

Video Couture

For this week’s linky love, I read an article discussing how fashion brands are “embracing” online video.  I could not have enjoyed the article and videos more.  As a fashion obsessed young woman, I have watched my fair share of label’s and designer’s videos online and think many of them are simply brilliant.  In our ever-changing, media focused society, new platforms are continuously coming out for the use of advertisements and promotions.

While I would still prefer a gorgeous print advertisement to a video online, they are both very important aspects for brands to capitalize on.  Unlike in the past, today people are absorbing far more information online and are consequently seeing more advertisements this way than in magazines and newspapers.  The article showed a graph illustrating the growth in video sharing usage from 2006 to 2011 and to me, it is remarkable.  Although it is my generation that has taken this online presence to new levels, it is still shocking to see these numbers.

Reading articles such as this, I am reminded that to make it in the business world today I need to improve my skills with technology.  There are so many unbelievably talented people out there that are capable of creating incredible advertisements through video and other growing technological platforms that I really need to grow my knowledge involving the internet and all it has to offer.

By being a fashion publicist, I will certainly not be asked to make videos for my clients; however, it is incredibly important that I am familiar with all that can be accomplished through videos.  In my opinion, they are one of the greatest ways to get ideas out there to the public and consumers about a brand and their clothing.  Videos are the new means in which to promote clothing and I am excited to see the advancements that will surely take place in the years to come exhibiting the beauty of clothes.

Petite Fashion

In a recent article I was reading, I found yet another ridiculous read about a member of the Kardashian clan.  As I’ve previously discussed on my blog, the Kardashians are everywhere, largely thanks to their publicists.  While each of the three famous sisters are in the news for reasons of their own, Kourtney Kardashian is typically featured in the entertainment news due to her impeccable fashion.  She has said multiple times how much she enjoys fashion and that she closely works with her stylist and publicist to create these new looks that continuously put her on the front page of fashion editorials.  While the focus of these articles is ordinarily placed on Kourtney, this focus has recently shifted to another member of this wild family: her 23-month-old son, Mason.

With two parents always making headlines with their fashion statements, it is no surprise that they care about how their young son dresses, but in a recent article I was dumbfounded at the importance Kourtney emphasizes on her baby’s wardrobe.

“I’ll pick one item to start dressing… and then I’ll build his outfit from that,” the reality star explains, “you can make the outfit cute by adding sunglasses.  He has these hot pink ones and I’m not afraid of pink for boys,” she later continues.  Now is it just me or is this ridiculous?  What two-year-old boy needs a fashion publicist?!  Granted, he shares his publicist with his parents but isn’t enough, enough?

This article made me re-evaluate the importance I have place on entering the fashion PR world.  If jumping into this career will lead me to dressing a baby boy each morning, I want out before I even get in.  There are countless jobs I can name off the top of my head that I would rather be using my public relations degree pursuing than dressing and caring about the outfits one particular rich mother, father, and baby put on each morning.

Standing Out in the Crowd

In this week’s linky loves blog post options, my eye was immediately drawn to the article titled “How to get the most out of a PR major.”  As I approach the end of my college career as a public relations students, this article certainly caught my eye because I am always wondering if I’m doing all I can to maximize my time in school as a student.  As I will graduate in the spring from the University of Oregon with my degree in public relations, I find myself in class wondering quite often- how many of these people will I be competing for jobs with once we graduate?  With identical degrees from the same school, we all need to be working to make ourselves stand out to potential jobs more than the girl sitting behind us in class.  Ragan’s article touches on the important things we should all be doing to get ourselves ahead of the pack.

Graduating from the Journalism school, we all know that writing is important.  Being seen just on paper often happens and standing out with your writing style and expertise is highly important.  Growing up, I always loved to write and was certainly pushed to become a writer because of my father.  As a wonderful writer himself, he could never seem to stress enough how important it is we all work on our writing skills.  When I decided to go into the school of Journalism he was ecstatic, explaining to me that if you are a great writer, you can work anywhere.  Ragan seems to largely agree with my father, pointing out that learning how to love writing will pay out big time in the future.

Aside from the article pointing out that writing is a key aspect in getting the most out of the PR major, he also stresses the importance of keeping up with the times.  Our world is quickly and constantly changing and we need to stay relevant on many levels.  The first being staying up on the news.  As public relations majors, news is an enormous aspect of our focus.  Not knowing what is happening in the world is not acceptable in the PR field, especially with the new tools and technologies that are available to us.  With those same tools and technologies that can bring us the news quickly and constantly, we should also be able to use those social media platforms to stay better connected to the world around us.  Knowing how to use social media has become something that people our age are expected to know how to use and ignoring these outlets will harm any students who do not wish to learn about social media and the way in which it can benefit our age group.

“Kim’s Fairytale ($17.9 million) Divorce”

For the past three years it has been hard to go to any grocery store without seeing one of the Kardashian sisters on at least one of the covers.  The odd fascination many of the entertainment consumers have with this wild and crazy family remains unknown, but their personal lives surely do not.  Since the start of their show, this loud and dysfunctional family has vowed to show their honest and raw lives- whether the moment is a happy one or a hard time.  Kim Kardashian, as seen most often as the most famous sister, has surely had her ups and downs with the media.  Going from Paris Hilton’s assistant to a famous celebrity of her own has certainly not always been a walk in the park for Kim K.  The media has brutally portrayed her in a negative light countless times.  From her sex tape scandal to her many failed relationships, the media has ripped Kim Kardashian and her family apart many times but none worse than her latest scandal.

After a very public relationship, engagement and wedding, Kim Kardashian and her soon-to-be ex-husband filed for divorce just 72 days after promising to spend the rest of their lives together.  As if the press did not have enough reasons to criticize Kardashian, they now had one more- and it was the biggest of all.  Reports immediately came out that the wedding was all for show and for money.  As they were paid an unheard of amount for having the wedding televised and staying married for such a short period of time, rumors and allegations began flying.  From the linky loves this week, I was able to find out that the “newlyweds” made a reported $10,358.80 per hour off of their 72-day marriage, as noted from Kardashianomics by Catherine Rampell.  If those numbers don’t get the media talking, I don’t know what will.

With her continual public mistakes and the countless haters that exist, one question still stands:  How the hell is she still making millions?  And I think I know just the answer- some great public relations.  From the beginning the Kardashian clan (headed by momager Kris Jenner) has known exactly how to spin their lives and reap the benefits.  With a majority of their team involving purely their own family, the Kardashians have only had to hire a small public relations team who knows exactly how to work it.  To me, the mystery of how she is still on every magazine cover has been solved.  It all lies within her manager and publicist.  With her mother (and manager) constantly by her side working with her publicist, they seem to find a way to make everything end up working to benefit themselves- and their wallets.  By being shown on a new reality show nearly weekly, they bring in viewers who are simply fascinated by how this family has become so powerful in the public eye with no talent whatsoever.  With her divorce playing out so publicly, Kim Kardashian is not even close to done making money off her marriage.  The doors have now opened for her to sell her story to nearly any magazine or media outlet she desires and will indefinitely bring in more viewers to her next reality show, “Kourtney and Kim take New York,” which will display the downfall in her marriage to Kris Humphries.

So while the rest of the country is scratching their heads wondering how her reign is still going, there’s only one answer:  good PR.

Who to dress- Women or Justin?

As I regularly keep up on the celebrity gossip that is circulating through E! News, the magazine covers and online articles, there seems to be one celebrity who is constantly shown across multiple mediums: J. Biebs.  I typically skip through a majority of the stories that do not interest me, but I always look at the photos to check out who is wearing what.  While the features mainly involve tall, thin, beautiful female celebrities, one short, darling boy seems to continually be showing his smile right next to these women.  

Justin Bieber fans have watched him grow up right in front of their very eyes through the media.  From being a YouTube sensation to walking the red carpet, his voice is not the only thing we’ve seen change.  Justin Bieber has made statements through many of his recent looks and appearances which has prompted me to think:  Is there a difference between being a fashion publicist for a man and a woman?

Now I’ve thought long and hard and have come to the conclusion that they are very different, yet I don’t think one is easier than the other…

Being a stylist for a woman is certainly more pressure.  Each woman is always trying to outshine the next.  But a simple thought to remember is that no woman is ever shunned or ridiculed when their outfit choice is elegant and classic.  Yet, with the constant craze in Hollywood to wear something new and crazy to events, many of these beautiful woman are out-shined by their heinous, “original” outfits.  Finding outfits that are classic yet original becomes the obstacle for styling women.

So, styling men- easier or harder?  I’ve decided it’s a bit of both.  Easier because there are so few options.  Harder because, well, there are so few options.  So looking great yet drawing a little buzz is an easy feat (something that cannot be said for women’s fashion).  But, finding a statement outfit for a man without looking like a clown becomes one difficult task.  With such limited options on the market, it is hard to not go with a classic tuxedo or the jeans and dress shirt look while women have millions of options.

So, the question still remains- what sex is easier to dress?  After careful thought and consideration, I still don’t know the answer.  Women and men are easy in their own ways yet just as difficult in their own ways as well.