This week, I started interning in the fashion cupboard at Marie Claire U.K. (!)

(Related: “The Fashion Girls’ Guide to Packing Your Suitcase”)

My experience so far has been, as you can imagine, every girl’s fantasy. I’ve packed Christian Louboutins, unwrapped Dolce and Gabbanas, and cataloged garments I could only ever dream of wearing (partly because they were $$$ AF and partly because I’m not sample sized).

While I came into the internship with much excitement about the mission I’d be contributing to, I can’t deny that multiple viewings of The Devil Wears Prada did NOT magically prepare me for the real life demands of working in fashion.

Lest you desire to be as dazed as I was the first day I stepped into the Blue Fin Building for work, here are my best fashion closet internship tips. Read on for 10 things you’ll need to know before you start a fashion closet internship:

Table of Contents

1. How to fold clothes—the right way.

I know, I know. So obvious, right?

Still, it had to be said. After all, whether you like it or not, the bulk of your internship will deal with clothes, from unpacking to folding to hanging up to repacking and shipping. 

If you can, get some retail experience before you start. It will save you a world of clumpy returns and will make your first day go by a lot faster! (If you can’t, no worries; practice at home and you’ll be fine.)

2. Where the nearest coffee shop is.

At your internship, you may be the DEG (Designated Errand Girl). Fetching organic lunch from nearby stores may be easy enough, but if you become well known for being quick with your feet, you may even be sent off to places further off for special orders from your boss.