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In a Who What Wear Podcast interview, Chriselle Lim described how she began studying fashion at FIDM in Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a wardrobe stylist, while running her blog, The Chriselle Factor. She also recalled early recognition for fashion bloggers and discussed how she later entered the fragrance business with Phlur.
Chriselle Lim has described how she began her fashion career while studying at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles, initially aiming to become a wardrobe stylist before building a blog on the side. In an interview with Who What Wear’s podcast, Lim recalled that early blogging offered a creative outlet at a time when only a small group of fashion creators were posting their personal style online.
Lim told host Hillary Kerr that she was studying fashion in her dorm room and saw wardrobe styling as one of the few routes into the industry. She said she reconsidered that plan after discovering that the work’s math requirements did not suit her, and shifted toward its visual side. While still in school, she ran The Chriselle Factor alongside her studies.
Lim recalled that the early fashion-blogging community included creators such as Aimee Song, Sincerely Jules, Bryanboy and Sea of Shoes. She described posting as something they did “purely for pleasure,” to share how they put outfits together and what they were wearing. Her account presents the blog as a personal creative project that developed alongside her fashion education, rather than a career she entered through a traditional styling role.
Asked when the fashion industry began to take bloggers seriously, Lim pointed to invitations to major shows, including Ralph Lauren, and a press moment with Women’s Wear Daily (WWD). She also said European fashion organizations were slower to invite bloggers, estimating that it took three to five years longer for invitations to become common there. The interview does not give calendar dates for these milestones.
How Early Bloggers Gained Industry Access
Lim’s account offers a first-person view of a period when fashion blogging was still developing as a route into the industry. Her description connects personal style posts with later forms of professional recognition, including fashion-show invitations and coverage in trade media. It also shows that her entry did not follow a single planned path: she reconsidered styling and continued publishing while studying.
The story is relevant to readers interested in how fashion careers and creator roles took shape online. Lim’s recollections suggest that acceptance was gradual and varied by market; she specifically described Europe as slower to invite bloggers. The interview is an individual account, however, and does not establish how every blogger or fashion house experienced that period.
Her later move into fragrance also illustrates the range of businesses a fashion creator may pursue over time. Lim discussed Phlur as a later chapter in her career, but the podcast conversation centers on her personal reasons and experience, not an industry-wide assessment of creator-led brands.
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From FIDM to The Chriselle Factor
Who What Wear framed the episode as part of its 20th-anniversary programming, dedicating October to guests it described as people who had shaped fashion and cultural conversation since the publication began. Lim was introduced as one of the early major fashion bloggers. The source does not state the year of the interview or identify the exact October in the supplied material.
In the conversation, Lim also described how she became involved with Phlur. She said she already knew the fragrance brand and owned some of its products before an opportunity arose to buy the business. Lim said her business partner proposed pursuing it with her. She connected the decision to a difficult period in her personal life, including her divorce, and said she was able to draw on personal stories when developing scents. These are Lim’s descriptions of her motivations and experience.
The podcast page also includes a discussion of clothes Lim wore in 2006 and what she wears now. Those details are secondary to the career account: the central subject is how fashion study, blogging and later business ventures fitted into her professional path.
“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 Who What Wear podcast host Hillary Kerr
fashion blogger outfit photography kit
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Dates and Industry-Wide Evidence
The supplied interview excerpt does not specify when Lim launched The Chriselle Factor, when she attended FIDM, or the dates of the Ralph Lauren invitation and WWD coverage. It also does not identify the specific fashion show or provide independent documentation for the milestones she recalled.
Her estimate that European invitations came three to five years later is her recollection; the excerpt does not define the starting point for that estimate or establish that it applied across the industry. The source gives no additional detail about the terms of Phlur’s sale, Lim’s ownership stake, or the business arrangement with her partner.
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The Podcast’s Anniversary Interviews
Who What Wear presented Lim’s conversation as the first in a series of anniversary-month podcast interviews with guests connected to fashion and beauty. The source encourages readers to listen to the full episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts or Spotify and includes edited excerpts from the discussion. It does not announce a new project or upcoming milestone for Lim, so any further developments in her career are not established by this report.
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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 and initially planned to become a wardrobe stylist. While in school, she also ran The Chriselle Factor blog.
Why did Lim move away from wardrobe styling?
She said she realized the math involved in the path was not a good fit and decided to pursue fashion’s visual side instead.
Which early bloggers did Lim mention?
Lim named Aimee Song, Sincerely Jules, Bryanboy and Sea of Shoes as part of the small group posting fashion content online in that period.
What did Lim say helped the industry notice fashion bloggers?
She cited invitations to major shows, including Ralph Lauren, and a press moment with Women’s Wear Daily. These are recollections from her interview.
What did Lim say about her move into Phlur?
Lim said she knew and liked Phlur before her business partner suggested pursuing the brand when it was for sale. She described the venture as a personal and creative undertaking during a difficult period in her life.
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