License to Shop: Your Career as a Fashion Buyer

by Jessica Groach-Santina
jessica.groach@careertrainingdirectory.com
Career Training Columnist

You’re walking down the street and spot a pair of stirrup pants in broad daylight. The horror! If only you had some control over what stores could sell.

Let your inner fashion policewoman come out. A career in fashion doesn’t always mean design. If you’re shrewd in business, have good taste, love a challenge, and have your finger on the pulse of the fashion industry, look into a career as a fashion buyer.

Fashion Fortune-Tellers

Fashion buyers have one of the most challenging careers in the fashion industry. They’re responsible for determining what retail or department stores will sell, which is like reading a crystal ball. You have to analyze financial data, working closely with retailers to learn what has sold well in the past. You have to understand the present, by maintaining constant communications with those on the selling floor to find out what’s hot and what’s not. You have to respond quickly — especially if there’s a sale and you’re running short on merchandise.

But most importantly, you have to see into the future. What’s going to be hot six months from now, and how much will people be willing to pay for it? Your career as a fashion buyer will involve plenty of research, scanning magazines and trade publications, and traveling to trade and fashion shows.

Getting Started

Buyers have one of the most coveted careers in fashion, so competition is fierce. A bachelor’s degree gives you an edge. A degree in fashion merchandising is a good idea, but some retailers even prefer a business or marketing background. Earn a career as a fashion buyer by working your way up. Many get their start on retail stores’ sales floors, then move to assistant buyer before becoming a buyer. Once at the top, a fashion buyer can expect to earn about $42,000, but you can hit six figures quickly if you’re good.

So don’t apologize for reading Vogue on the job — call it research!

Sources:

Purchasing Managers, Buyers, and Purchasing Agents
Work as a Fashion Buyer

About the Author

Jessica Groach-Santina is a freelance writer with a background in media and promotions. She also teaches first-year writing courses at the University of Nevada, Reno.