Mags: British Vogue's new guard

From Australia’s top models to the UK’s new crop of beauties, thanks to the resurgence of the 90s supermodel, the dominance of fashion reality TV and our waning tolerance for celebrity in the face of more serious issues (and general millennial boredom), mags are all about championing distinctive looks right now... and buying up accessory stocks while being savvy to the marketing ploys of retailers.

The cover… controversial (former) Burberry girl Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (on right) appears alongside fellow British beauties Jordan Dunn and Eden Clark (who's rumoured to have replaced Huntington-Whitely as the face of Burberry), representing ‘British Beauty Now’ (or, rather, 'British Beauty At The Time of Print').

It’s nothing new, but I love the contrast of black, white and hot pink, though the huge red ‘Accessories Special’ cover bar is distracting, annoyingly obscuring and cheap looking.

The ed. says… “The fashion industry here in Britain tends to be remarkably non-partisan… American politicians’ willingness to be involved with the fashion industry and to feature in fashion magazines is one of the big differences between our countries. In the UK, most politicians and their partners react to the possibility of appearing fashionable as a vampire would to garlic… I predict that, depending on the US election result, we might be about to see a change in that.”

The story line-up:
• In ‘How to be a good wife’, Alice Thomson posits that while we expect more from our husbands, we often neglect to ‘give back’ (or do so only reluctantly). The ‘perfect wife’ of the 50s has been replaced with the ‘perfect husband’, resulting in widespread ‘Bad Wife Syndrome’ amongst the middle classes (symptoms: behaving inexcusably towards your spouse; focusing on children and/or work rather than wifely duties; failing to rouse the energy to get out of our ugg boots, cook dinner or actively participate in sex). Thomson says that while women are still performing the majority of household duties, what's needed now is more compromise, and less sense of entitlement, with both husband and wife supporting each other in their individual capacities, rather than adherence to some cultural stereotype.

• 'Leap of faith' is Jemima Khan's latest contribution. Here, she discusses Islamic conversion, using the stories of three women (a former MTV rock chick; former actress Myriam Cerrah, 25, who appeared in Sense and Sensibility aged 12 and Australian Vogue aged 14; and Sarah Joseph, 37, the daughter of a prominent modeling agent and founding editor of Emel magazine) to structure the discussion (it's obviously a subject close to Khan's heart). It's an intelligent piece (Cerrah's story is particularly captivating) tracing the evolution of each woman's 'faith awakening', the challenges from friends and family they've faced and their resultant feelings of fulfilment: "What they all share is a sense of calm and spiritual fulfilment, in stark contrast to the way they felt as young women, whether as a foxy young TV presenter, blossoming starlet or model agent's daughter," writes Khan. "The real battle they now face is the way they are perceived...".

• 'Top of the box' recruits three TV presenters (a newsreader, youth TV presenter and host of cultural TV shows) who impart their secrets for looking stylish on screen. Interesting to read, and we could all do with thinking about how we present ourselves, but, for most of us, work doesn't involve a camera crew.

• This month's 'Vogue Spy' gives us three pages by Robin Givhan on the US presidential race and its fashionable associations. Givhan examines the stylistic choices of Michelle Obama (who garners most page space and praise - US Vogue is decidedly pro-Obama, with Anna Wintour hosting a fundraiser in Michelle's honour - by virtue of her preference for Nicole Miller, Isabel Toledo and Thakoon Panichgul), Cindy McCain (Escada) and Hillary Clinton (Herrera, de la Renta, Karan), venturing into discussion of the communicative powers of a woman's wardrobes, the candidates themselves, their policies and the wider socio-political implications of the election (it's not all fashion and frivolity, you know).

• Susie Boyt (author of My Judy Garland Life) writes 'In praise of praise', in which she suggests "you're never fully dressed without a compliment" (she collects them like seashells): "It's the social-life equivalent of the schoolgirl's desire for red ticks, the novelist's hidden hankering for a grand review, the ballerina's attachment to a huge bouquet of champagne roses delivered by the conductor, beaming as he bows," she elegantly muses. "Some can't enjoy a party until they are cradling their second drink," she continues. "Well, I tend to relax after the first hit of praise... My party-self kicks in and my conversation raises its game... I can function without [a compliment] but it's hard to turn the brightness of myself up to the highest setting without a bit of my favourite fuel." Boyt justifies her clothing expenditure on a compliments-per-wear basis, acknowledges that basing one's happiness on praise from others is dangerous and says compliments are complex and often fraught with multiple meanings and interpretations, but ultimately reveals herself to be at the mercy of the compliment and implies that we are all given to such thinkings. But what of affirmation unrelated to our looks?

• In 'On beauty' editor Alexandra Shulman presents her thoughts on pretty versus beautiful and the faces that have epitomised a 'moment' in fashion. "For me, beauty demands a kind of originality that makes you stop and look again," she writes. "It is this strangeness that makes beauties what they are, and someone like Natalie Appleton or Cheryl Cole a good-looking girl... Prettiness is the enemy of beauty - the blandness and acceptability of pretty cancels out the greatness of beauty... Beauty, when you are in the presence of it, is a transforming influence, a little like royalty." Shulman recounts tales of the captivating beauty of Kate Moss and Angelina Jolie and reminds us that beauty is often contextual by nature and ultimately subjective. The feature is framed by dozens of shots of the great beauties of our time, as validated by the fashion world (Gemma Ward, Helena Christensen, Bianca Jagger, Grace Kelly, Jane Birkin, Sophie Dahl, Uma Thurman, Sophia Loren, Naomi Campbell, Elizabeth Taylor, Ali MacGraw, Lauren Hutton...).

• 'Me-tail therapy' by Sarah Harris discusses the marketing tactics of retailers (email and text alerts, 'e-blasts', personal shoppers, 'outreach programmes', shopping events, champagne, free gifts), the changing ways we like to shop and the retail response to the looming recession ("stores are bending over backwards to entice us in"). A must-read for those in the business.

The superficial:
• ‘Diary of a dress’ is more interesting than it would seem. Sarah Harris tracks the movements of Burberry’s autumn/winter ’08 feathered dress as it is called in for shooting by various magazines (US Vogue, Tatler, British ELLE, Paris Vogue, US Glamour…), requested for several celebrities (Demi Moore, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow…) and sent away for repairs. This reminds me of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants – how can/do all those women fit into the one sample-sized dress? (A reminder of why size-0 is so ubiquitous across the celebrity/model board). I believe Kate Bosworth is the latest to have worn the frock.

• Emma Elwick declares that “the stadium rocker and his supermodel rockette girl have made a comeback”, while Kay Barron addresses wardrobe basics, and the brands who produce them best, in ‘Strong, silent types’.

• Vogue Shops opens with a nautical look with glittery, golden accents – this month is all about ‘escaping to sunnier climes’ via your wardrobe choices. Elsewhere, blazers, T-shirts with 3D effects and Marc Jacobs’ cut-out organza heart dress secure page space.

• I'm in two minds about whether the inclusion of an 'Accessories Special' is timely or unfortunate: will women continue to indulge their urge to shop with sparkly bags, jewels and shoes, reasoning that said accessories can transform an outfit at minimal expense, or do they now view such things as unnecessary accoutrements best left on the shelves? Nevertheless, Harriet Quick encourages us to "increase our accessory literacy" as "there is a while new lexicon of accessories with which to familiarise ourselves, tempting and teasing us with their wit and bravura." Such items include bug brooches, felt Prada earrings, opal jewellery, stiletto boots, Cartier watches, statement belts with amazing buckles, 'goth rocks' and mad felt hats.

• The pashmina receives special attention in a one-page feature by Charlotte Sinclair, who traces the rise and fall of the classic wrap, which experienced its heyday in 1997 but lots its allure by virtue of its omnipresence and cheap imitations.

• Jo Ellison, who has never owned a black handbag, endeavours to find the perfect one in 'Carry me': "just as my first 'designer' jeans seemed to mark my transition from childish cluelessness to teenage worldliness, so too does becoming the owner of a black handbag announce one's arrival as a grown-up." She eventually settles on a YSL ("the one").

• The fashion section opens with the headline 'Changing Faces', which pays tribute to the new crop of youthful beauties and their "irreverent" approach to fashion. Slinky evening wear and crazy teased hair is what we're presented with in 'All night long'; 'Postcards from the edge' is all mohair, cashmere and pastels (jeans, cardigans, pencil skirts, ballet flats and patent pumps.

• Next we get 'New England' (text by Bee Shaffer, daughter of Anna Wintour), a photographic spread featuring the nation's new guard of influential teens. Georgia Jagger is, by far, the stand-out: a striking, full-lipped, lush limbed, gap-toothed blonde beauty. Though fellow blondie and thespian Hannah Murray is also gorgeous.

• Black makeup is the colour du jour, while Susan Irvine "explores the bond between perfume and the past" over three pages and Kelly Gilbert writes about the importance of good posture in health and fitness (bad posture, she suggests, will deter men, while good posture will aid a bad back, provide stress relief, reduce headaches and "sharpen a saggy jaw line"). The beauty section rounds out with cosmetic collaborations, brand birthdays, flushed cheeks and ponytails, sepia tones, independent perfumers, treatments for stressed locks and 'The spa insider' (escape the doom and gloom via Malaysia's Datai hotel - in spas, we trust).

The score
Overall excitement factor: 6/7
Feel-good factor: 5 (all those beauties are hard to swallow for the self-esteem)
Eye-candy rating: 5 (but they're pretty to look at)

The stats
Issue: November 2008
Cover price: USA$10.99; AU$17.50
Book size: 338 pages
FOB ads: Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Estee Lauder, Gucci, Chanel, Prada Eyewear, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Miu Miu, Clinique, Lancome Magnifique, Rolex, Emporio Armani…
Editor: Alexandra Shulman
Publisher: Conde Nast UK
Website: www.vogue.co.uk

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

P.S. Jemima Khan's story on Islam has caused a bit of a stir, so I'm posting it below. As a Christian and journalist, I think that representations of women who have found fulfillment through devotion to different faiths would have made for a well-rounded, strong piece (rather than one solely devoted to Islam), but I don't think Khan can be condemned for writing about an area in which she has had/has a vested interest. She obviously feels some kind of affinity with these women, though I'm not sure of her stance on the faith post-divorce. To that extent, it would have added significant value (if not credibility) to have Khan discuss her own views in more depth. Perhaps she is still on a journey of discovery, questioning her conversion and current spiritual outlook, and looked to these women for affirmation or encouragement?