Day 1

ELLE magazine

Monday October 12, 2009

第一部分 - Part One

My first day! It has finally arrived… I wake up feeling so excited I spring out of bed from under the crispy white hotel linen, feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed. Well actually… that was the plan, and although I was super excited, I couldn’t sleep! So I wake up feeling tired and disappointed from the thought my first day at Elle will be lined with heavy duty bags under my eyes, as if I had been shopping the whole day and night before, and carried oversized, supersized bags under my eyes.

Before I get sidetracked with heavy baggage I’m reminded of the excitement to come looking at the latest cover of Elle magazine China - a cause to break out in song to the tune in my head as I indulge in a creative burst of thoughts inflating the idea of what my first day will be like. Will I be tippy toeing around the editors, surrounded by snobby, unfriendly, fake fashion-istas like all the stories you hear and movies you see? The Devil Wears Prada, The September Issue? Do editors such as that played by Meryl Streep really dump their coat on their assistant’s desk as they walk through the office, not even battering an eyelid? Are they overworked, stressed and serious as portrayed by Anna Wintour?

I soon enough find out. My first day commences at 12pm - Yay, I think to myself, are these the sort of hours they work in magazine land? After carefully selecting my outfit nights before and conducting my own in-house hotel room photo shoot to document the experience, I am heeled up wearing my favourite Aussie designs making sure there are NO fake label handbags under my clutch! I would be devastated to walk in with a fake Chanel bought at a fashion market the day before, and be surrounded by people who work in the world of high fashion wearing the latest Gucci and Prada - which is sadly not in my current budget.

At the 23^rd floor I arrive armed with nerves and sheer excitement, seeing the ELLE magazine sign above the reception desk sparks girly excitement within me, I’m sure the local Chinese girl behind the desk is wondering what this crazy foreigner is doing here. I announce who I am and ask for my point of contact, the Deputy Editorial Director and Fashion Director and am greeted with a polite response that there was a surprise photo shoot so to come back at 2pm. “Ok, sure” I reply feeling a little disappointed. I arrived excited to jump straight in to the scheduled start time and get to it: hello I’m here - ready now – let’s go! I left a tiny bit flat thinking my fresh excited self would dissipate after walking around the city for 2 hours in the thick smoky Shanghai air as I thought back to realize I had just experienced my first taste of the magazine world! Brilliant!