This Was Stacy London's First Job Out Of College
Before she was telling us What Not to Wear, fashion mogul and all-around awesome person Stacy London never imagined she would be on TV. In fact, it wasn't even something she considered until her agent reached out with the idea. "There is this production company that called," London recalled her agent saying. "They're doing some television show and they're looking for stylists who are freelance who have worked with celebrities, models, and real people, and can talk a lot off the top of their head. So we thought of you," (via Into the Gloss).
But Stacy London certainly didn't become a TLC star and fashion icon overnight — and what she has accomplished hasn't come easily. London has been known to speak candidly about body dysmorphia, weight fluctuations, and eating disorders, all of which she understands from personal experience (via the Huffington Post).
Keep reading to learn more about what London's very first job out of college was, as well as the struggles that came along with this position and her subsequent space in the fashion community.
Stacy London worked at Vogue right out of college
London attended Vassar College and although she studied philosophy and literature, she always knew she wanted to go into fashion. During her time at Vassar, she pushed herself to pursue as many internships and work studies as possible. She was lucky enough to be taken on as an intern in Paris at Christian Dior. After this, she took an interview with the publishing company Random House, at which she claims she and the interviewer "hit it off," despite her "terrible" typing abilities. That interviewer referred London to a colleague of his, who then offered her a position at Vogue as a fashion assistant. "It was my first job out of college," London gushes. "I was 21!" (via Into the Gloss).
As you can imagine, working at Vogue, with icons like Anna Wintour, is not a walk in the park. London called the position "very hard," but added, "I don't regret it. It was better than Navy SEAL training. You learn everything you need to know about being in fashion. The word impossible doesn't exist if you work for somebody like Anna Wintour," (via Huffington Post Style).
London struggled with her self confidence throughout her glimmering career
Stacy London's position at Vogue helped pave the way for the rest of her career, but she didn't always feel like she fit in working at Condé Nast. Thinking back, London wonders if her weight and struggles with body image could have hindered the progress of her career. "I don't know whether I would have been hired at 180 pounds," London confessed to Bustle. During the beginning of her career in fashion, she was 5'7 and weighed 180 pounds, which made her self-conscious. We think it's important to add this additional note, which Bustle also made a point to address: "While London seems to be naturally quite slim, it must be said that weighing 180 pounds at 5'7" is extraordinarily average for an American woman."
"But I overcompensated," London explains. "Did the work of three assistants, and tried to be the class clown. Honestly, it's less about whether Vogue would have hired me and much more about my own self-esteem issues. I worked super hard to compensate for not being a size 0," (via Bustle).
But while Stacy London's space in the fashion sphere may have had a detrimental impact on her self-image, she hasn't let it stop her. In fact, she believes that speaking about it is key to healing. "When you can talk about something and shine light on it, you're obliterating shame," London tells People. "And that to me was always the really hard part — to feel so filled with shame and having no recourse to thinking it could get better."