Maggie Barrett
Study Tours
At North Dakota State University, apparel students are given the opportunity to travel to fashion-forward cities to tour and learn about a variety of companies in the retail/fashion industry. During my time at NDSU, I was fortunate enough to attend two study tours to both Chicago Illinois and Minneapolis Minnesota. These tours educated me and inspired me greatly to work hard and find what I'm passionate about.
Chicago, Illinois
Fall 2018
In Chicago, we toured retailers such as Burberry, Nike, American Girl, and Macys. Here, we learned about all things retail from visual merchandising, customer service, to the history of the stores. Along with a variety of retail outlets, we made a visit to a denim manufacturer. Dearborn Denim is a company that cuts, sews, sources materials, and manufacturers all in the United States. Here, we got to see the process of how denim products are made and sold. My favorite visit on this trip was at Trunk Club. Trunk Club is an online personal styling company made for people who might not have a lot of free time to shop. They have a wide variety of high -quality merchandise for both men and women styled by professional. They were my favorite tour because of their story, values, and motives to serve their customers. To view my full-length learning journal you can click the PDF icon below.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Fall 2018
The Minneapolis Study tour consisted of visits to many different sizes and types of companies. My personal favorite was Target HQ. We also visited AM Retail, Anthropology, and product development/design companies such as Clothier Design, Coolibar, and Made for Retail. The days spent in Minneapolis touring these companies taught me a lot about the product development process for apparel, accessories, and other desirable products. The study tours are a great wait to learn, view, and physically see what happens behind closed doors.
