I was in the paper today. Sorry if you can’t read Korean- basically it says that I have the coolest blog ever. lol jk.
It’s about how this blog and my shop came about; also how fashion has always been a part of my life and will always be my passion.
Many of you don’t know this but I studied art throughout my childhood and going into teens. My parents sent me to an art studio when I was six and without a doubt, everyone thought I would become a designer or artist of some sort. I always knew that I would end up in an art school. And I did, though not exactly what I had expected when I started with the fundamentals at a local state college. I hated it. I felt like I didn’t belong there and felt extremely incompetent, but it wasn’t until that day when the professor gave me a C on a project for using a white chalk. I had used it to highlight the bright spots though I knew that he had specifically told us not to. I visited his office later to appeal to only be disappointed for the second time. So I decided that it was the time. I switched to a local community college instead trying to “find myself”. I had to lie to my parents for a few months until I announced my decision to move… to New York City, which almost sent my parents to a hospital. My dad had just moved in with us from Korea after almost five years of living by himself. He was traumatized. Call me selfish but I carried on. Nothing could stop me. I wanted to be surrounded by those tall buildings and be awed by the glitz and chaos. I wanted to date those stock brokers in long coats and leather gloves.
Destination: FIT.
Fashion had always been a part of me. I started collecting fashion magazines when I was 15. I subscribed to Vogue with the money that I didn’t have. I starved so I could buy baggy jeans. I hid in my room every night and put eyeliner all over my eyes staring into a stained mirror, in hopes of looking like the models in the magazine. I secretly admired the cute overalls pretty unnis wore (older girls) at church. My notebooks were always filled with drawings of girls in cute dresses and makeup. Fashion design assignments never felt like assignments- I didn’t have to eat nor sleep as long as I was able to artistically express my creativity. In my high school Fashion Design class, I was #2 (#1 was a friend of mine who was the most amazing fashion illustrator ever!) and everyone including the teacher never doubted that I’d become a fashion designer. So I decided to go back to where it all started- what makes my heart skip a beat. As soon as it was determined that FIT was the only school in Manhattan that was affordable, the sleepless nights started. After a month, my portfolio was complete with 10+ designs and 30+ sketches. I don’t know, but if someone asked me to sit and come up with designs all day, I would. I probably could come up with one every 5 minutes. If that doesn’t suggest that I was born to do this, I don’t know what is (not assuming that they are all manufacture-able). Fast-forward six months and there I was, standing in front of FIT on 7th Avenue in New York City, confused. Has anyone gone through this before? You are extremely stoked and just ready to go chase your dream, but someone comes along and just breaks everything into pieces? That’s basically what happened to me. and no, this was not a bf, but someone very close at the time and one whom I greatly respected. I was told that not many fashion designers succeed and that it’s an extremely competitive field. I was advised to look elsewhere that’s more stable and secure, i.e. accounting. Being an artist all my life, I didn’t even have a clue what accounting was, but it made me think… for a while. I didn’t have a plan as to how I’d pay tuition either, so I thought, ‘Heck, I’ll give it a try… whatever it is. He’s got to be right, because I respect and trust him.’ So just like that, everything ended and started over. Luckily I was able to find a school that didn’t cost a fortune and a job that paid just enough to let me live in that expensive city. and instead of dating a stock broker, I started working for one. Just like that, my adventure in the business world started.
Study of the Mind: Marketing was a fascinating subject. It was like a combination of art and business, which was just so perfect for me. Although it took me a year to learn about the field and finally switch my major (believe it or not, I started off as an accounting major- ouch! you accountants have my respect!). Then towards my last year of college, I learned about a new field called Organizational Psychology. It was like getting hit in the head with a huge rock. WHAT?! ‘This is friggin’ amazing’, I thought. I sat in front of the room in every class and aced every single test (yes, I was one of those). I bothered the professor until she started avoiding me. I almost cried when she “tried” to give me an A-. I told her I wanted to pursue a PhD in the field. I took three of her classes consecutively and memorized the texts religiously. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer at one point while taking a law class (I loved writing briefs), but no, now I wanted to be a PhD- a kid who failed trigonometry in High School! LOL
That summer after finishing school, I told my boss I was moving back to California to pursue a graduate degree. I secretly wanted to stay and go to Columbia, but even if I ended up going, I thought I’d come back later. I needed a break from New York.
I emailed renowned professors at research institutions across the country who were experts in the specific field/topic that I was interested in. After numerous email exchanges, I ended up in LA working on an academic journal on minority employer’s perceptions toward hiring people with disabilities. I worked as a research associate for a year while preparing for graduate school. With God’s grace, I received an acceptance to my top choice in California. The two years were more than an academic training for me- it was rather a time in which I grew as a stronger person. Being the only student in the incoming group with a business background, I had to try twice as hard to catch up with the smart folks from the prestigious schools all over the world. So many times I wanted to give up and go back to my comfort zone, yet I persevered because I considered it a gift that God had given me. Go ahead and laugh, but I felt blessed just being able to work with such smart people and be trained by world-renowned researchers. The two years taught me that anything is possible if you try hard. I had never thought that I would end up with a Masters Degree in Psychology, or studying Global Business at Oxford University for that matter. What, a naive art student who moved 3000 miles away from home to be surrounded by pretty things?! O.. K?!? haha. Anyways, I digress.
So here I was, with two degrees and a marriage certificate (I got married right before graduation). Fast-forward two years, I’m sitting in a cubicle researching cars. Oh yeah, that totally makes sense- you spend $70K to study people’s mind and end up reading about cars. Absolutely! ha. You know what, life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect or want it to (I actually learned this the hard way!). If you didn’t know that, don’t worry, you will, soon. Trust me, it’s not completely irrelevant though- research is the basis of psychology, and that’s what I’m doing, right? Anyhow, after coming home from a stressful day at work, I’m on the phone one night with my mother in law in Korea who’s in fashion business. I ask her if she could get me some durable, “truly-opaque (was having a hard time finding one here)” tights and leggings that are comfortable yet cute. I receive a box the next week filled with goodies including but not limited to, leggings and tights. I love the products. My friends show interest. I decide to post them on my blog since I write about fashion anyway. and the rest is history- then again, that was only two months ago! All this may sound either funny or whatnot, but my past 10 years have been no less than adventurous. Exactly after 10 years, I’m back to where it all started running a fashion business, and in those 10 years, so much happened that I just cannot believe that they all actually happened (do I even make sense?!). More than anything, I want to let you know that while I obviously am not here to lose money, but it’s more than business for me. It may have come at an unexpected time in an unexpectedly expeditious manner, but this is where my passion lies and all I want to do is to share with those who are seeking, whether it’s life or fashion. were you ever lost? were you let down? were you discouraged? Now it’s your time to shine. Be yourself. Be brave. Express your creativity. Be who you want to be. Tomimito is for those like me, who went around the world to find herself, who is finally sure of who she is and want to express it through fashion.
My Article on the Internet (Korean)
yep. Life is short. You have to do what makes you happy.
I am very proud of you!
A chapter in the book of your life – V. interesting!! Waaaay cool that you’re in the paper.