Journalism is a writing profession but is also the activity of writing for news, magazine, and online publication. Influencing is when a person has a compelling force of persuasion affecting others’ actions, behaviors, and opinions. Journalists and Influencers alike can both be fashion writers in this digital world.

Influencer as a Profession

Many mainstream influencers, the ones who created a whole new profession have turned their fashion blogs into lifestyle brands. Arielle Charnas, of Something Navy, started a personal fashion blog in 2009 and now has her own fashion line with Chief Executive Officer, Matt Scanlan.

Danielle Bernstein, of WeWoreWhat, started her fashion blog in 2010 and now has fashion lines under ShopWeWoreWhat, has a line with Macy’s coming out this spring under Danielle Bernstein, and has a book coming out. On top of all of her entrepreneurial adventures, she has collaborated with other brands to create products for her followers and consumers to purchase.

Are Influencers “True Professionals”

Well-respected journalists have Journalism degrees from top universities and have a level of professionalism that not all fashion bloggers possess. Journalists want to differentiate themselves from fashion lifestyle bloggers. They know the rules and guidelines that ethical journalists must follow.

Fashion bloggers do not have the same training and expertise as journalists do. Fashion blogs can be written and started by anyone, and some are better than others. At times fashion blogs contain grammatical and spelling errors, and some are just poorly written overall.

Being an influencer is a true profession, but there should be perceived expectations that all fashion influencers should follow. Influencing is not the same as journalism and there should be a known distinction between the two. Journalists tend to write more in-depth analyses of fashion trends and designers’ new lines, whereas influencers focus on their personal experiences and opinions on fashion. In the fashion industry, journalists and influencers should be equally respected as fashion writers.