Lillian Fallon knew it was time to leave New York when she got her big break. 

In the midst of a job search and at the end of a novena to St. Joseph the Worker, Fallon received word from the employer she had been hoping to hear from: her favorite designer label, offering her an assistant gig. The job depended on when the label needed extra hands in the city, and there was no busier time than New York Fashion Week.  

In her own words, Fallon wanted to conquer the fashion world. But by the end of her experience in that long-sought job, the illusion had been shattered. 

“I got an insider’s look at what the mainstream industry is like, and it was just people trying to prove that they were better than everyone else,” Fallon told the Register. “It only served the upper echelon, and it felt really disconnected from the rest of the world. I didn’t see how it was serving a greater purpose.”

She decided to move back home. “I don’t want to be in this world anymore,” she said of the fashion realm she had been so excited to participate in. “I don’t want to knock