A Day in the Life as an Editorial & Stylist Assistant

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What is an Editorial & Stylist Assistant? Well, to me, it’s many things: editor/writer, styling assistant, intern supervisor, makeshift photographer, office DJ, HR, walking calendar, and finance department. I love my job because it gives me more exposure than a typical desk job, and there’s always something new to learn. So what’s my typical day like? Well, follow below because I’m about to give you a day in the life as an Editorial & Stylist Assistant!

It’s hard to go through my day-to-day because it changes every day, but I’ve broken it down by off-set and on-set days. I’m incredibly grateful that I have a job that keeps me inspired and motivated. Follow below for a typical day in my life (at work, at least)!

Off-Set Day

9:00-10:00

By the time I get to the office, there’s a chance I’ve already chugged a couple of cups of coffee, and on a good day, I did an early morning workout. This means by the time I walk through the door at 9 am; I am buzzing.

The first thing I do once in office is look through my inbox to make sure I didn’t miss anything overnight. I also look at the day’s calendar in case we have a few events. Then, Audree and I have a small meeting about my daily tasks, and we brainstorm the interns’ to-do lists for the day. During this meeting, I give her updates on the day’s events, pending pitches/campaigns, and who’s in office for the day.

After this meeting, I immediately put everyone’s tasks on Asana. This is an easy way for Audree to make sure I’m doing my work and for me to make sure interns are completing their tasks.

10:00-10:15

At 10 am, interns arrive, and I verbally explain their daily tasks and make sure they understand them. Usually, I ask them to come to my desk with their laptops so they can look at Asana or write down their to-dos.

10:15-1:00

Typically during this portion of the day, this is when I’m writing articles, sending brand pitches, responding to emails, answering intern questions, and completing anything that’s thrown at me last minute.

For instance, today, I responded to event emails, added a few things to the team calendars, set up interviews with potential interns, wrote two articles, and checked-in on interns.

Side note: I’m usually the office DJ, but when I’m trying to bust out the most work, I put in my Airpods. I typically listen to my Liked Songs, a random Office Playlist, or My Favorite Murder by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark.

1:00-1:45

This is when I start getting hungry, so I quickly run to the kitchen to heat up or make my lunch. I always eat lunch at my desk, so during this slower period, I answer emails, check up on interns, and make sure everyone has eaten.

Sometimes I run out to grab a quick coffee, but that’s only during desperate and extremely de-caffeinated times.

2:00-5:30

The afternoon is my most productive portion of the day. Today I sent out brand pitches for our summer edit, added in receipts/amounts to our expense doc, edited our contributing writers’ articles, and researched for future articles. I always check in with the interns at 4 pm to make sure they’re doing good.

5:30-6:00

Around 5:30 pm, we do our team re-cap of the day. It’s a chance for us to hold each other accountable with our to-do lists. Trash/recycling is taken out, and we tidy up the office for the end of the day.

6:00-6:30

Audree, Joe, and I sit down and decompress the day and go over tomorrow’s to-dos!

6:30

There are usually events, so this is when I head out to them! Events can either be a press preview, panel, or fashion party. They are so much fun and are a major perk because of networking!

On-Set Day

8:00-9:30

Most call-times for photoshoots are at 8:00 am, so during my first hour and a half on set, I’m setting up the clothing/product and steaming the looks. This is also the time when I organize the racks and items by look so the shoot can be as productive as possible.

9:30-1:00

9:30-ish is when most shoots typically start, so I have models dressed in their first looks. I make sure that they’re pinned in the back, so when Audree is on set, she only has to make minimal changes. It’s usually a revolving door of models and looks, so it’s busy the entire time. Dressing, undressing, re-steaming, hanging everything back up, and organizing keeps me moving.

1:00-1:45

During photoshoots, this is usually lunchtime. It allows models a break and time for hair/makeup to do a quick touch-up. This also offers Audree and I some time to go over the next looks, steaming touch-ups, and I look at emails to make sure I’m not missing anything for the day.

1:45-6:00

I’m dressing/undressing models, organizing the dressing area, and picking up anything that we may have left around set. Around 6 pm is when we wrap, and I start packing. By 6:30/6:45 pm, we’re usually in an Uber on our way back to the office to drop everything off!

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LAUREN GRAGSON

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