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In a Who What Wear Podcast interview, Chriselle Lim described starting out as a fashion student at Los Angeles’ FIDM while running The Chriselle Factor on the side. She recalled early bloggers sharing outfits online for creative expression, before brands and fashion media began taking notice.
Chriselle Lim has shared how she began her fashion career: while studying fashion at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles, she ran her blog, The Chriselle Factor, on the side. In an interview with Hillary Kerr for The Who What Wear Podcast, Lim recalled initially aiming to become a wardrobe stylist and described the early blogging scene as a creative outlet before it became a more visible part of the industry.
Lim said she entered college hoping to work as a wardrobe stylist, which she described as one of the few available paths into fashion at the time. She told Kerr that she soon found the mathematical side of the work did not suit her and shifted her attention toward styling’s visual elements. Alongside her studies, she maintained her blog, posting looks and sharing what she wore.
Lim placed herself among a small group of early fashion bloggers that included Aimee Song, Sincerely Jules, Bryanboy and Sea of Shoes. She said they were online “purely for pleasure,” using blogs as a place to express themselves and exchange ideas about personal style. Her account presents The Chriselle Factor as a parallel creative project during her studies, rather than a career plan she said she had set out with from the start.
She also recalled signs that the fashion establishment was beginning to pay attention. Lim pointed to being invited to a Ralph Lauren show and to a press moment with Women’s Wear Daily as milestones. She said European fashion brands were slower to invite bloggers, estimating that it took about three to five years longer for invitations to become common there. The interview also touches on her later move into fragrance through Phlur, but the discussion of her start centers on school, styling and blogging.
How Blogging Opened Fashion Doors
Lim’s recollections offer a first-person account of how fashion blogging developed alongside more established industry routes. In her telling, early bloggers used online platforms to share personal style before some brands and publications began treating them as industry participants. The change she describes—from a small creative community to invitations and press attention—helps explain how digital creators began gaining visibility within fashion.
The interview also shows that Lim’s entry was not a single leap from college into a defined business. She was studying fashion, exploring styling and publishing online at the same time. For readers interested in fashion careers, that account provides a specific example of how a side project and creative practice can become part of a professional trajectory, without establishing that the same route works for everyone.
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FIDM, The Blog, and Early Recognition
Who What Wear published the interview as part of programming for its 20th anniversary, dedicating October to guests it described as people who had shaped fashion and cultural conversation during the publication’s history. The episode was hosted by co-founder Hillary Kerr and covered Lim’s early blogging, career development and later work with Phlur.
Lim’s account places her blog in a period when she and a handful of other fashion bloggers were sharing outfits online for personal and creative reasons. She recalled early invitations from smaller designers, followed by the Ralph Lauren show and the WWD press attention as moments when she felt the industry was responding. These are her recollections from the interview; the source does not provide dates for those milestones or independently document the sequence.
“I had ambition to become a wardrobe stylist because that was really the only way to get into fashion at the time.”
— Chriselle Lim, speaking to Hillary Kerr on The Who What Wear Podcast
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Dates and Career Milestones Unspecified
The source does not give dates for when Lim launched The Chriselle Factor, attended the Ralph Lauren show or appeared in the WWD press moment. Her estimate that European brands took “three to five years” longer to invite bloggers is presented as her recollection, with no specific starting date or comparison period supplied. The interview also does not detail the practical steps, income or business arrangements behind the blog’s growth.
Lim’s account is a retrospective interview, not a full career chronology. It establishes what she said about her beginnings, but does not independently verify each milestone or quantify how much blogging contributed to later opportunities.
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Listen to the Full Interview
Who What Wear presented the conversation as an episode of The Who What Wear Podcast and said it was available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The published report includes excerpts from Lim and Kerr’s conversation and notes that they also discussed Lim’s later work with Phlur. The source does not announce a further interview, event or upcoming career development tied to this story.
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Key Questions
How did Chriselle Lim get her start in fashion?
Lim said she studied fashion at FIDM in Los Angeles, initially hoping to become a wardrobe stylist, while running The Chriselle Factor as a side project.
What was The Chriselle Factor?
It was Lim’s fashion blog, where she shared her looks. She described blogging with a small group of creators as a creative outlet and a way to exchange ideas about what they were wearing.
Which early bloggers did Lim mention?
Lim named Aimee Song, Sincerely Jules, Bryanboy and Sea of Shoes as among the small group of bloggers active around that time.
What industry milestones did Lim recall?
She cited an invitation to a Ralph Lauren show and a press moment with Women’s Wear Daily as occasions when she felt the fashion industry was paying attention to bloggers.
Where can readers hear the interview?
Who What Wear said the podcast episode was available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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