INSIDE THE INDUSTRY: JULEE WILSON FROM “REAL SIMPLE”

When we decided to get back to interviewing people in the industry, we couldn’t think of a better person to kick it off than with Julee Wilson from Real Simple.

New York - Real Simple is celebrating their 10th Anniversary this month, but that isn’t the only reason why we wanted Julee Wilson on The Blay Report. Two months ago Julee was just promoted from associate fashion editor to staff fashion editor. She also is what we would like to call an “OB:” an original Blaynista. The statuesque editor has been reading The Blay Report even before the site debuted in 2006, when Zandile Blay and she were interns at Vibe in 2002. ”Zandile is everything that she does,” Julee says. “She embodies The Blay Report and all the work that she does so I feel like I was reading it since 2002 even though it wasn’t around.”

Aspiring journalists should take note though. Julee is one editor you should know by name as she is doing it all — from writing, editing and styling to market appointments and blogging. She even did a Today Show segment on Monday morning, April 5. After all her hard work Julee is where she wanted to be in her life, which comes with her own office and a view of the busy Avenue of the Americas street. Now tell us if she doesn’t have your dream job. Read on for our exclusive interview with Julee Wilson.

How did you know print publication was the career for you?

I kind of always knew I wanted to write, and I knew that I love fashion so it was like, “Okay, how do I marry the two? I become a fashion editor.” That’s what I wanted to do and it was always something that I felt like I couldn’t do — not because of my ability but because of the society.  It was just a risky thing. It was like you become a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, or something like that where there are steps. There’s no steps in publishing. It’s all luck. It’s all who you know. It’s all about the hustle, like how hard are you going to hustle to get to where you want to be.

You were recently promoted as the staff fashion editor. How different are your responsibilities now from your former title?

It’s just a title promotion but it’s great because I was in a cubicle now I have an office. I feel like it has a little more clout. I’m doing more market stuff. Before I was doing a portion of the accessories market, now I’m doing the whole accessories market. I’m still writing; I’m still styling; I’m still editing; I’m still blogging. I blog for the website for all the fashion and beauty at the moment. And I do television. So I got a lot in my plate but it’s nice now to be like, “I’m a staff fashion editor instead of an associate editor,” which is always nice.

 

Have you had any “oops” moments at work?

Probably just not being prepared as I should be like for run thrus with our editor-in-chief or creative director. I feel like you have to be as prepared as you possibly can. You know it’s not about just pulling the hottest thing. I feel like Real Simple really pushed us as editors to really justify the products that we put in the magazine. So I can’t just be like, “Kristin (Real Simple‘s editor-in-chief), this is a great necklace. This is awesome.” She’s like, “What is it made of, who makes it, did the designer designed for Marc Jacobs and now he’s doing his own line?” The knowledge you have to bring to the table is at such a different level than I thought that I had in me. And so I’ve embarrassed myself a few times where I’m like, “I don’t know. I don’t even know how to pronounce the designer’s name. I just thought it looked cute.”

Could you tell us what your experience has been like working in this industry as a woman of color?

It’s been great. I mean I feel like the black editors who are in this industry we pretty much know each other. It’s a small group; it’s a small sorority. We might not necessarily all be ‘BFFs’, but we know of each other and I think we respect each other. At the end of the day, when it comes to being in this industry and really fighting it out, I think that some people can get scared or scared away really quickly. Having other black women and men in the industry, who have the same passion and drive as you do, it only makes us better. I don’t want to be seen as a token. I want to be seen as a really great editor. Period.

Who are the editors you think that journalism students should know and follow their work?

Teri Agins (The Wall Street Journal), Robin Givhan (The Washington Post), Constance White (formerly at The New York Times and Elle magazine).

(Julee is pictured left with her good friend Ionia Dunn-Lee. Ionia is a former fashion editor at Essence, where she worked at the magazine for 35 years!)

What advice could you give to our readers wanting to make it in this industry?

Passion and persistence. If this is what you want to do, make sure that this is what you want to do. Don’t do it for the money; don’t do it for the glamour; don’t do it for the shoes, for the handbags, for the clothes, to be hobnobbing with André Leon Talley. Do it because you really love it and you love the art behind it. You love how it makes you feel; you love the creative process. And be persistence. You have to be persistence and relentless in this industry, or you will get eaten up and spit out in a second. You got to know who you are and be very confident in your ability and your skills and just go. That and networking. At the end of the day, I didn’t get here on my own.

Just find some type of happiness in it. And not getting jaded by it because I think the second you get jaded, you get bitter then you get complacent. And then you stop trying and wanting to be the best.

To check out more of Julee’s work, head on to Real Simple‘s blog called Simply Stated, and don’t forget to pick up Real Simple‘s 10th Anniversary issue available now in the newsstands.

Image Courtesy of Julee Wilson