When Stepping Down Is A Step Up: A Fashion Editor Returns To Writing

It takes guts to move to New York to pursue your career — as many films, TV shows, and songs have told us. Yet, in the media industry (and we're biased here) the going is particularly tough. We live in tiny rooms subsisting on cheap noodles until we get what we came for — a demanding, fast-paced, and hopefully rewarding job. So, when we hear about someone who has taken the plunge, landed the job that J-School grads dream about, and walked away, we sense some major chutzpah. Former Lucky editor Lauren Sherman did exactly that when she left her post as Executive Editor at LuckyMag.com.

After leaving her position at Lucky, Fashionista revealed that Sherman would return to the site as their editor-at-large on December 19. Sherman helped blaze the way at Fashionista, and in her new title, she can help maintain the site while also returning to her roots as a freelance writer where she (and many of us) began.

What strikes us here is not her decision so much as the why of it. In a nutshell, she missed writing, which is what she set out to do in the first place. In that, walking away from a coveted spot at a Condé title looks like the most natural thing she could have done.

In a world where aspiring twenty-somethings are always out for the career advice that will make their dream job a reality, Sherman emphasizes that a gig at a high-profile glossy isn't necessarily the key to career happiness (no matter how much New Yorkers tend to idolize that particular cafeteria or editrix). She shares several life lessons she's gleaned from her experience, and a self-affirming highlight reads, "I know a lot of you are looking for your first big break. Others are assistants trying to climb one more step up that infinite ladder. During this journey…work towards what you love. Try not to be tempted by jobs that won't get you there." In other words, remember what you are here for, which is advice that works across every profession, but is especially apt in hers. (Fashionista)