Advice for a career in fashion?

[lola]

It has always been a dream of mine to have a career in the fashion industry, and now that I am going to be a junior in high school, it's time to start thinking about college. I'd like to go into fashion and have a career somewhat like Rachel Zoe's. I don't want a career in fashion because I think it's going to be all fun and glamorous all the time, but because I am genuinely interested in fashion. My plan is basically to get my associates from FIDM in LA in visual communications and then get a bachelors in journalism. I would like to have my own business by the time I'm in my thirties. I know it's not easy, but I am determined and it's something that I really would like to do. I'm not sure if going to FIDM for VC and then getting a bachelors in journalism is the right track which is why I need advice. My ideal "plan" after college would go SOMETHING like this:
- get a job at a magazine (obviously I'm not going to be an editor or anything right after college, something small just to get my foot in the door is fine)
- work as a stylist on the side, so I can start getting my name out there
- after a few years writing and as a stylist, I would most likely become a full-time stylist once I've built up my clientele, and then possibly freelance for different magazines/columns/blogs
- after a few more years, I'd like to start my own business (maybe a boutique where I not only sell clothes, but also offer different services such as wardrobe consulting and things like that)

If you have any POSITIVE advice, please leave a comment. I know a lot of people are very stereotypical about the fashion industry, and that's fine but please keep negative comments to yourself

Thank you!

[ella]

I think getting your journalism degree and your visual communications degree from FIDM will complement both really well and what's even better is if you wanted a career in fashion journalism then you would have that specialty from having the VC degree from FIDM which will really help you stand out. If you want to work as a stylist on the side then your VC degree would have not one but TWO purposes which is pretty cool. Your career path is very detailed in your question and it's great that you're looking way into the future (I was the same way too in high school) so I can relate and can tell that you're a very driven individual. You should look into taking a tour of the FIDM campus and if that's not accessible then maybe talk to an advisor to have him or her answer your questions about the school and your career paths. Either way, I think having both a journalism degree and a VC degree from FIDM will increases your chances of succeeding in the future AND FIDM has great career connections that you can utilize for internships and jobs! All will come in handy once you start writing and styling. Their FB page is great for talking to other FIDM students and their twitter as well. Good luck!