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Gemma

Gemma is a 21-year-old glamour-puss fashion graduate who's waiting for her first big break in the fashion and beauty industry.
Entry: 1

Meet our new diarist as she ventures into the 'real world'.

You're 21. You're in debt from three years studying in London. You only have a part-time job to tide you over, and nobody's exactly beating down the door to offer you a 'proper' job. You're back living at home with your parents, getting tired of that fatal cry of 'will you tidy your bedroom?' To top it all off, your friends have moved away, leaving you on your own in the boring town you grew up in and have now outgrown. What do you do?
Well, if you're me, you blow what's left of your money on a trip to Las Vegas. Now there's logic!

I'm Gemma, and contrary to what you've just read, I'm not stupid. I'm just clinging desperately to my youth, taking advantage of that idea that 'if you don't do it now, you never will.' You see, after 16 years in full-time education, 9 GCSEs, 5 A-levels and a 2:1 degree (I thank you!) I think I deserve a break before I subject myself to that soul-destroying reality that is 'The Real World'. And I don't mean the MTV reality show.

In a last bid for freedom from responsibility, my friend Jo and I are blowing the budget on a trip to Vegas, and after that, LA. It'll be ten days of overspending, overeating and general overindulgence, at least on my part. You see, I don't do things by halves. It's in my nature. I like glamour, kitsch, and everything over-the-top. And I don't think you get more OTT than Vegas or LA.

When all else fails, I remind myself that my so-called holiday is also important research. I'm always on the lookout for interesting things to write about, especially where celebs, clothes and shopping are concerned. And LA will give me all the fodder I need for some good tabloid-esque ranting. My degree was called 'Fashion Promotion', but really, it was more like lifestyle journalism. I went to the London College of Fashion, but I'm not one of those scary, arty types who wears deconstructed clothing, chain-smokes and says 'dahhling' at the end of every sentence. On the contrary, I'm a mainstream, lipgloss-wielding maniac from the Midlands with a ridiculous knowledge of movie trivia and a slight obsession with beauty products.

"I'm quite proud of the fact I'm not a fashion snob, even though it's out of necessity, not choice."

As is a pre-requisite for any LCF student, I also like clothes. So much so that I have three wardrobes full of them and still I can never find anything to wear. I buy from the high street, I even buy from Tesco if I like the clothes (no, really, Tesco have some nice stuff). I'm quite proud of the fact I'm not a fashion snob, even though it's out of necessity, not choice. It's not like I don't buy designer clothes because I think it's stupid to pay £500 for a skirt. It's because when I get back from the good old US of A, I will, literally, have no money.

And that's when the fun begins, because when I get back, my mom will stop being lenient, and I'll have to find a real job in the fashion industry. Even with a degree, it's harder than it seems to get people to take you seriously when you're a new kid. Much of that has to do with the fact I live near Birmingham (I don't think I have the accent, others disagree), have a figure that's more Vanessa Feltz than Victoria Beckham, and still feel a bit like the staff in Selfridges are watching me because they think I'm going to nick something.

Welcome to my world, it's fun being a fashionista!


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