How the other side lives - PR vs Editor.

I always thought if I didn’t do PR I would probably be best friends with Anna Wintour and run French Vogue or be the younger Wilhemina Slater, I would teeter around in ankle cracking heels and would sneer at those who said no to fur. Unfortunately for me (lucky for mother nature) that never happened so I stuck with PR and to this day I try my utmost to be as ferocious as a publicist can be without scaring away clients and small furry animals.

Having worked in PR for as long as I have one thing dawned on me quickly, FASHION IS NOT GLAMOROUS, I often meet journalists and I am never sure if they’re smiling at me or gritting their teeth through the pain of their shoes whilst keeping up a facade of uber coolness. I kindly called in a couple of favours from the Fashion Editor of You Magazine Katie Lester and InStyle’s Senior Fashion Editor Natalie Hartley who have sent over a typical day’s schedule and compared it to my own. . . .

Katie Lester, Fashion Editor, YOU Magazine

9am Breakfast with Talk PR at Pain Quotidian in Great Marlborough Street before going to take a look around the Swarovski Crystalised store to see the new A/W collection

After breakfast make way round Christmas in July press days. Have to squeeze in Links of London, Asprey, M and S, Astley Clarke, John Lewis and Jaeger before an update meeting with Emma Spike our Bookings Editor at 1pm to discuss a forthcoming main fashion shoot (she'll update me on where we've got to with location, model options etc)

Grab late lunch at my desk whilst trawling through and responding to morning emails

Afternoon I will liaise with my assistant Sinead and check that all samples that I need for shoots are coming in and find alternatives if others are unavailable and write the How Now column for the week of August 15th (we have a 6 week lead time)

At 6pm leave the office for the Net-a-porter 10th Birthday party at their brand new offices in Westfield

Natalie Hartley, Senior Fashion Editor, InStyle Magazine

9.30am Head to breakfast at Dean Street Townhouse (the new restaurant that is all the rage for breakfast/ lunch and dinners!)

11am Leave to head for an appointment to pick clothes for fashion shoot at end of week (if in west end try to mix breakfast with appointments to kill 2 birds with 1 stone)

11.30am Another press appointment to select clothes for up coming shoot

12pm Head back to office, check emails and check on hair and make up options for shoot

1pm Go through look books selecting more pieces for my shoot!

2.30pm Late lunch at desk so can open post at same time or scan through blogs maybe tweet about my day!

3.30pm Fashion meeting to catch up with what is happening for that months issue

4pm Carry on looking through look books for shoot

5pm Leave office to go for an appointment to select clothes for shoot

Check out Nathalie’s blog at @ http://nataliehartleywears.blogspot.com/

Portia Shaw, Account Manager, BLOW PR

10am start which begins with a team meeting about our Blow Blog.

11am I have a meeting with my designer Bryce Aimé to discuss his show at LFW, confirming locations, model booker and to see what we can expect from him for SS11

After lunch I head over to another clients shop, Aqua (www.aquabyaqua.com) where I am meeting Kirsty Hathaway the Fashion Editor of Company Magazine where she is pulling for a cover shoot

My afternoon is filled with appointments in our showroom, Angie Smith who is working on a shoot for Fabulous Magazine with The Saturdays. Shortly afterwards Janine Jauvel pops in for an appointment for WHAT Magazine and then a final appointment with Damian Foxe who is the Fashion Editor for FT How to spend it.

4pm comes around quicker than I wanted and I get stuck into doing my client reports which shows them who their clothes have been leant out to and what extra activities such as meeting editors and designer collaborations are going on.

By 6pm they're done and I get stuck into updating my client press books before coming up with a celebrity stateside gifting list to entice a-listers from across the ocean before hot trotting my way off to the gym.

I’ll admit it I am still a little jealous of Natalie and Katie but this all goes to show that no matter what side of the fashion line your on it isn’t all paid lunches and air kissing and if you want to make a name for yourself it takes some serious grafting, this industry is no Devil Wears Prada . . .

Portia x