Today marks the final day of my internship for Style: and Style Men.

I've been swamped with so many writing assignments at work lately, which explains why I haven't had much time or inspiration to escape to this virtual writing haven.

I guess my inexperience in fashion writing and frivolous sense of fashion -I've never been too serious when it comes to fashion- contributed to my frustrations while I was working on several assignments. It was a real challenge to track the latest style updates and translate my (lack of) opinions into detailed descriptions, which could strike a chord with our readers.

Luckily for me, a growing interest in the fashion realm fueled my passion to learn and improve. However, there were many moments where I had to overcome my writer's blocks. Needless to say, every victory over my writer's block boosted my sense of self-confidence.

This internship stint has been a steep learning curve for me. It has revealed to me many of my writing weaknesses. A closer glimpse into glam (borrowing, returning and dealing with expensive luxury products at shoots) and fame (does providing assistance to rising models count?) have opened up my mind in many ways. It takes a minute or two to browse through the featured items on a magazine page, but few would have guessed the amount of time and effort that were put into items sourcing, photo shoots, styling and designing the layout.

My most interesting experience during this internship would be the interviews that I conducted for a feature in Style Men, where I relished my role as an interviewer. All in all, I interviewed five profiles: an avid cook/foodie, an art director, a TV host/actor, a wakeboarder, and the chairman of SAFRA DB club. Besides coming up with the questions, I had to be mindful about my body language and display a sense of professionalism (Not to be over-friendly, maintain eye contact, avoid being starstruck etc) during the interviews. I really appreciated having my senior colleague around to offer me useful tips.

In addition, I really enjoyed working on the Celeb Snaps section in Style:. Besides deciding on the theme (Feb: Pretty in Pink, March: Go Green, April: Fall in Line (Stripes)), I could choose which celebs to feature and give my two cents on their get-up! It was really fun to play fashion critic.


My funniest experience saw me taking on the role of a "model". I was sponsored a free manicure in exchange for lending my hands for a watch & jewellery shoot. Much to my horror, I only discovered that my midriff portion had to be exposed for the shoot - during the shoot itself. It was an entire hour of agony from the obvious need to suck in my tummy. Oh my goodness...I totally regretted eating so much chocolates at 3am in the morning before the shoot. Thank God for DI!


Colleagues wise, I feel blessed to have met some wonderful ones here. Before I get all emotional, I just wanna share how grateful I am to the writers who have showed me the ropes along the way. I am sure that their mentor-ship will go a long way...I will especially miss my two "big sisters" at work. After all, they were the ones who welcomed me with open arms and helped me to settle down quickly in this working environment. Thank you Shaun & Nicola for all the funny table talks during lunch breaks that saw us gossiping and discussing about everything random.


In a nutshell, I have my editor to thank for this wonderful internship opportunity that has helped me to gained many new insights on the print industry and improve as a greenhorn. It has been a tremendously enjoyable journey as a writing intern at Style: and Style Men, and I am thankful for every learning opportunity here.


♥ Serene