Break

Here’s a sad story – as the summer is ending, the mark. internship has also come to a close. While I luckily live in NYC and don’t have to experience the culture shock of going home, it’s incredibly sad to not go to work everyday anymore. Working in the creative department of a beauty & fashion company has been one of the best experiences of my life.

However: this is just a hiatus! Look out for a new blog coming within the next couple of months – I’ll be sure to update the ‘Ship about it. Thank you all for being such loyal readers, it’s been an absolute blast to write this for the last 3 months!

Heart-trending: tory burch flats

As summer is coming to a close, I’m starting to realize that it’s time to revamp my back-to-school wardrobe – especially my shoes. Every season I buy a pair of flats and a pair of boots, wearing them into the ground until they die (case in point: my knee-high suede boots from last year looked like I had splattered them with paint and them tossed them into a paper shredder by April).

After shopping around (where else) shopbop.com for a few hours, I came across my newest obsession – Tory Burch’s python print Reva flats ($235). They’re the same classic shape but in an updated gray snakeskin-print texture. A high price, but the shoes are great quality and sure to last far beyond the one season I usually get out of flats!

Ship style file: makenzie

Name: Makenzie Davies, skincare marketing intern

Age: 22

Hometown: Rockville, Indiana

School: Ball State University

Major: Public Relations

Interests: shopping, traveling, relaxing with friends

Ideal industry to be in one day: Beauty & Fashion

Favorite designers and stores?

Express, Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters, Rebecca Minkoff

What’s your general fashion inspiration? How would you define your style?

I’d like to think my style is professional and classy; however, I really enjoy the bohemian look as well.

What was the inspiration behind this particular outfit?

It’s comfortable and classy.

What’s your favorite thing about the mark. internship so far?

I have two. I’ve loved the learning experience I’ve received and the people I’ve met. Both will impact my future tremendously.

Favorite mark. product to take on a desert island?

for goodness face antioxidant skin moisturizing lotion SPF 30 ($16).

What are your fashion and beauty summer must-haves?

Comfortable sandals, versatile shades and a glowing tan.

And finally, the best thing about being in NYC for the summer? What’s the number 1 thing to do?

The best thing about being in NYC is having ENDLESS opportunities. I loved being in the city all week and then heading down to the beach on weekends!

All access: snakeskin handbags

Image courtesy of rebeccaminkoff.com

This is the Rebecca Minkoff Alligator Nikki ($595). Isn’t it gorgeous? When I save up enough money, I’m definitely going to buy it as the perfect fall carryall (animal prints were still all over the runways!). Unfortunately $600 isn’t quite in my budget right now – that’s why there are ways to still get right on trend, but for less money! 

The mark. slither and slouch bag ($20) fits the bill of a snakeskin print (with two options – brown or gray) and a huge, roomy, slouchy bag. Everyone I know who has one is absolutely obsessed – so of course I bought 2. (I love when things are on sale.) It’s in the last chance section of the mark. website – get it fast before it’s gone!

Internal affairs: eva chen

Meeting Eva Chen, the beauty and health editor of Teen Vogue, was one of the coolest experiences we’ve had at mark. – she’s such a vibrant person. Hearing about everything from how she spent the day out “in the field” (beauty companies’ holiday open houses!) to how she originally thought she was going to be a doctor, Eva communicated so much about the fashion & beauty industry and just general life advice to us interns.

As an undergrad student at Johns Hopkins, she applied for 30 internships the summer before her senior year. From working at a law firm to Lucky to Elle to Teen Vogue, she demonstrates that you shouldn’t be afraid to move around in jobs/careers. Her goal at Teen Vogue is to make beauty more interesting and dynamic for readers (as a reader myself, I can affirm it’s a job well done).

Soundbites:

• Teen Vogue is such a fun magazine because it’s beauty & fashion in a fun, young way, not quite as serious as “Big Vogue.”
• You can make a career out of what you do in your spare time – it’s what you’re passionate about.
• Studying abroad is one of the best experiences anyone can have – it’s a new culture and forces you to get out of your comfort zone.
• Fashion changes every season, but beauty is about ingredients and science.
• BE ORGANIZED! Especially in magazines/fashion/beauty.
• Your 20s is the time to experiment.

Daily Blog Reads:

• Fashionista
• WWD (a must for anyone looking to be in beauty & fashion)
• Refinery29
• The Sartorialist
• teenvogue.com (obviously)
• Gawker
• Jezebel
• Shopbop
• Who What Wear Daily
• Grazia (my obsession as well – British magazines are so good!)

Best part of her job?

A) Writing   B) Interacting with people

Job Advice…

• Design an astounding resume
• Say something personal to a company in your cover letter
• Look professional, self-presentation is important
• Follow up with a handwritten note
• Set yourself apart!

News muse

Never say fashion is useless again – specialty and department stores added over 10,000 jobs to the market in July alone. [WWD]

Apologies to fast-fashion chains – Congress is debating a new bill to stop design copying. Of course it’s not all cut and dry – only “deliberate copies that are substantially identical to the protected design” will be illegal. Innocent until proven guilty. [WWD]

Gaetano Pesce, Italian architect and designer, has created the ultimate DIY project: buy a boot made out of circular shapes and cut it into whatever shoe you want. Bootie? Ballet Flat? Flip flop? The possibilities are whatever you want them to be. [T Magazine]

Get excited – Alexa Chung’s line for Madewell is finally debuting! With a style she calls “bringing cute back,” you can get Chung’s look for a much, much lower price. [InStyle UK]

Mary-Kate and Ashley’s high-end line The Row is now available for online shopping – with 360 degree views of each item and moving photographs, this website is one of the better e-commence fashion sites! [Cocoperez]

Ship style file: sadie

Name: Sadie Howes, sales intern

Age: 20

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

School: Johns Hopkins University

Major: International Studies

Interests/Extracurriculars: Snowboarding! the beach, photography, watching college/pro football & lacrosse

Ideal job/industry to be in one day: Advertising & Marketing for Consumer/ Luxury Products

Favorite designers and stores? 

I like a good mix. Chanel is my favorite classy designer. Versace is my favorite fun designer. I love to buy Eight Sixty, Bebe, BCBG, and Free People but of course shop for staples and deals at Express, Forever 21 and H&M.

What’s your general fashion inspiration? How would you define your style?  

Beachy, west coast trend, smart-casual

What was the inspiration behind this particular outfit?

It matched, was comfortable and work appropriate.

What’s your favorite thing about the mark. internship so far?

I love being so actively involved in the brand and getting to make a real difference for Reps.

Favorite mark. product to take on a desert island?

My mark. skincare products – especially the matte chance mattifying lotion ($16).

 What are your fashion and beauty summer must-haves?

Reef flip flops (They MUST be the black, men’s foot conforming ones!), a steady supply of Express camis and a good pair of sunglasses.

And finally, the best thing about being in NYC for the summer? What’s the number 1 thing to do?

Walk along Chelsea Piers at sunset! 

 

Fad city: south pacific

Having grown up in New York, I’ve seen as many musicals in my life as a real “theater person” has (despite the fact that my acting experience ends at playing Snow White in a day camp musical in 6th grade. No comment.) But the most outstanding by far is shockingly not playing on Broadway – it’s actually at Lincoln Center instead. The revival of South Pacific is an absolute must-see for any New York native or visitor.

Matthew Morrison and Li Jun Li in the original revival. Image courtesy of time.com

When the show first opened, the New York Times described the romance between Nellie (Kelli O’Hara) and Emile (Paulo Szot) as “unabashed and unquestioning.” There is no other show that invites you to dive headfirst emotionally into the characters’ love, to personally involve yourself in their passions and sorrows as they flare. Set amongst the lush scenery of (obviously) the South Pacific, you feel the same heat of the atmosphere, the same impulse to live as the characters do. While watching South Pacific, you fall in love – it feels just as real as anything you’d experience yourself.

My best friend and I have come up with a phrase to classify these instants of uncontainable emotion – heart-swelling moments. They’re the moments you can’t describe, but always remember. The entire two hours of South Pacific will undeniably cause countless of these.

Kelli O’Hara and Paulo Szot are returning for the last few weeks of the show – get tickets while you still can! (No word yet on whether Glee’s Matthew Morrison will as well – I’m crossing my fingers.)

Global streetlight

From left: South Africa, oalfaiatelisboeta.blogspot.com; Tel Aviv, thestreetswalker.blogspot.com; Berlin, styleclicker.net

Turn over: kristin

Another intern’s point of view.

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On Thursday, at exactly four in the afternoon, the interns at the mark. office were all abuzz. Abuzz about what, you ask? The ultimate party we were throwing, of course! To showcase the Ultimate Party Kit coming out in August, we hosted a party in the mark. offices. We worked our magic in order to turn our everyday conference room into a full-out party room – with pink and brown balloons strategically placed around the room and more mark. makeup and fashion items than I had ever seen in one place, the room was really transformed into a festive atmosphere. We dressed mannequins in mark. clothes and accessorized them with the latest jewelry and bags. We had makeup for our guests to try on and magalogs for them to look through.

Clockwise from top left: New mark. products!; the ultimate party kit; gorgeous interns; the party room. Images courtesy of Beth Heitker, sales intern

The party lasted three hours and we had 34 guests throughout the night, both Representatives and non-Representatives. We raffled off the Ultimate Party Kit to one lucky Rep and a package of Rio-themed items from our Carlos Falchi collection to a lucky customer. Everyone received an eyeliner just for coming! All in all it was a great night with cookies, music, and of course mark.

– Kristin Kettig, haircare marketing intern