Do We Need Fashion Magazines?

Mirror image may be saying something...

Yes, without a doubt, we still need fashion magazines. As problematic as they may be lately,  I've never considered dropping any subscriptions. I just wish they were better.

I began borrowing my mother's Vogues when I was 10. I was already making off with my sister's Seventeens and Mademoiselles when she wasn't looking and a devoted reader of the more age appropriate American Girl and Calling All Girls. At age 14 I discovered Glamour and heard it speaking to me. That's a lot of fashion for a small person still wearing penny loafers and Peter Pan collars.

I read them to escape the mundane life I was sure I was living and to prepare for the exciting one I knew was coming. Never for a moment did I doubt that, and I really haven't been disappointed.

A typical Vreeland extravaganza shoot

Although they had serious missions to inform, fashion magazines always included a fair amount of fantasy. Diana Vreeland took that to new heights at Vogue in the 1960s and was probably fired for it. Fantasies are expensive. Until recently magazines continued to dream with stories superbly styled by Grace Coddington and photographed by Annie Leibovitz, among others.

Alice in Vogue by Annie

Then is not now. Those elaborate shoots have been replaced by more content—profiles on newsworthy people and relevant issues. Celebrities model fashion as part of the story. Town and Country recently had Sharon Stone wearing several designers' clothes in someone else's house as part of a long interview about her life and work. That's a lot of eggs in one basket.

T&C, October 2020

There is still a place for fantasy, but I wish today's magazines really helped us dress. One can't state the obvious enough: today in fashion practically anything goes. It's much easier to be "in style" but harder to know if you are "out of style". Rules were made to be broken, but one has to know them first. We may bristle at being told what to wear, but how can we flout the rules if there aren't any?

Those Vogues of the '50s and '60s had sections called "More Dash Than Cash" for the frugal fashionista and suggestions for "Mrs. Exeter", Vogue's imaginary stylish mature woman. Harper's Bazaar had "Junior Bazaar" for the sophisticated coed/young working woman. Glamour had the "What to Wear with What" chart; follow it and you could never go wrong.

Vogue's More Dash Than Cash

Mrs. Exeter in Vogue

 

 

Wear or be square

Today we have...what? I love Harper's Bazaar's "Fabulous at Every Age" feature. It's a reminder that yes, we can be fabulous at any age, but in reality it's just a nice hook for expensive things anyone could wear.

When we finally emerge from our protective cocoons post-pandemic it will be interesting to see how the mask fits into fashion. Jill Biden may have previewed the dress/with-matching-mask look at one of the Presidential Debates. 

Will manufacturers whip up a matching mask-with-purchase for special occasion dressing? Right now fashion shoots are done maskless. Maybe that's as much fantasy as we can handle in 2020.