Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarajane McQuaid.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarajane McQuaid.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I was born and raised in Kansas City – spending far too many years running around the Plaza, hanging at Loose Park, and cruising down Ward Parkway in the fall. I spent most of my childhood having no idea what I wanted to do with my life – be a nurse like my sister or maybe even an interior designer like my mom. But I always wanted something more, which my dad says is one of my best qualities. A position in my high school’s yearbook quickly forced the realization of my love for writing. I took this and ran with it. The next thing I knew, I was pursuing a major in Journalism at the University of Missouri.
Honestly, I loved it. My closet nearly became a revolving door throughout high school and into college. Whether it was a date night, a formal, or a night out at the bars, my friends always wanted to borrow something. After many late-night texts for outfit advice, FaceTime calls to help friends pack for vacation, and even creating a list of my favorite online stores to send whenever necessary, I realized this was something I enjoyed and maybe was even good at. The next thing I knew, I was graduating with a major in Journalism and a minor in fashion.
I lived in New York for two summers in college, one interning at PRC (a PR agency) and another interning on the PR team at Tory Burch. Upon graduating, there was no question where I would end up. I took a position at a smaller PR agency specializing in fashion and lifestyle brands and have been here ever since.
And so this brings me to my most recent endeavor – the afternoon studios. I started my Instagram account to highlight my love for fashion, home, and coffee. I love throwing on a cute outfit to bop around the city with friends, head to work, or run errands, and it just felt right to document it all in this way. It’s a little glimpse into my everyday life, and I love sharing it with the small community I have formed thus far.
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Working in fashion has its perks:
- Attending and hosting events at Fashion Week
- Working with stylists, editors, influencers, and VIPs daily
- Your front-row seat to the newest trends each season
- Free clothes
But let me tell you, this industry is tough. I’ve had my fair share of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ moments, but I’ve also felt like Andy Sachs desperately searching for the Harry Potter manuscript and trying to make the impossible possible.
I’ve always been very organized, on top of things, and very type-A. Growing up, I had specific processes for things, liked to have things a certain way, and hated straying away from my comfort zone. A specific obstacle in my career doesn’t come to mind, but rather the overall challenge of becoming comfortable making mistakes. And after that, learning from them. I had my first interview with my current employer one morning in late June, and by the end of the day, I received my offer and was given a start date within two weeks. I moved to New York a week and a half later and was thrown into a new job in a new city while sleeping on couches for the first month. I quickly realized there was no hand-holding, no one to wipe my tears, and little room for error. Within the first week, I had probably cried 15 times, made 100 mistakes, and averaged 5 hours of sleep each night. I hated the mistake-after-mistake feeling, and I felt I had no sense of control when it came to my day-to-day routine. It was new to me, and I had strayed so far from the comfort zone I had created for myself.
I was forced to loosen up and relax – it was my only option. I became much more comfortable making mistakes, viewing them as a learning opportunity rather than a punishment. After all – it’s only a mistake if you don’t learn from it. I gave myself grace when I needed to and was much more open-minded about changing my processes and taking advice from others. I began to voice when I needed help and stopped viewing it as a sign of weakness. Although this may seem like an insignificant obstacle to some, it was a difficult one for me to overcome, and one I am proud to look back on and know is in the past.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I currently work for a small PR agency representing a handful of fashion and lifestyle clients. As an integrated marketing, communications, and public relations agency, we specialize in digital media, press relationships, brand positioning, and influencer marketing. I’ve worked with many clients for the past three years, including high-end footwear, sustainable brands, luxury eyewear, multiple men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing lines, and even a kombucha brand. I’ve had the opportunity to dive fully into the PR industry while gaining insight into various industries.
As if I’m not surrounded by the fashion industry enough at my 9-5 job, I just recently started an Instagram account to enjoy in my free time. I’ve always been the one friend taking pictures of anything. Food, my friends and family, sunsets, fashion and accessories, puppies, coffee, architecture – you name it, I probably have a picture of it deep in my 13,000-photo camera roll. In addition, I love all things clothes, and I’ve learned to appreciate a good outfit, what goes into it, and the vibe it can give off. I wanted to create a place where I could share all of these things with an audience, big or small. It’s no secret that about a million content creators are on the Instagram platform, which raises the question – how do you set yourself apart? I’m not an influencer, I’m an employee at a small PR agency. I’m not a city girl, I was born and raised in Kansas. I have a life outside this platform, and I want to share my experiences, outfits, favorite recipes, products, restaurants, workouts, etc., with a community I have created for myself.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My dad always compliments me on this, so this answer comes to me quickly. I am extremely driven in all aspects of my life, and it has truly led me to where I am today. While many of my friends enjoyed their college summers laying out at the pool or nannying in Kansas City, I decided to move to NYC for internships. I was eager to work in the fashion industry and never questioned putting my career first. Now that I work in the industry, I understand firsthand the effort, drive, and commitment required to be part of it and stay in it. It’s tough – you are told ’no’ 100 times before being told ‘yes.’ Trust me; we’ve all been there. You have to want it, and even at that capacity, you have to want it 10x more than that. Be the last one to leave the office, try to find answers before you ask questions, offer to help on weekends, answer the interns’ questions, and take the initiative on a new project. My friends would laugh at me typing this, but I always said, ‘I never want to look back and feel like I didn’t earn where I am today.’ Work your ass off – the reward will come, and it will be worth it when it does.
I have learned to integrate social media into my everyday life in a healthy way that makes sense to me, and I’ve loved it so far. I now spend many weekends taking content for my Instagram, giving up my time to relax and take it easy on Saturdays and Sundays. I have to plan out outfits, find photo locations, shoot and edit the photos, and do that about 4x over to have enough content to last the week. Because of this, I have no problem choosing content creation over sleeping on a Saturday morning.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Please credit images to: The Afternoon Studios @theafternoonstudios
