What's Wrong With This Picture?

This man thinks he can tell me what to wear.

Photo of Andre Leon Talley outsite the Fashion Week at Bryant Park NYC: Dlisted

Grace Coddington is Vogue's secret weapon (or last hope)

It's no secret that most (all?) magazines are struggling. Vogue has done very little to remain relevant in recent years. As a matter of fact, the most publicity it probably got was when Meryl Streep donned a pair of Manolos to play Miranda Priestly, a character based on Anna Wintour in The Devil Wears Prada. Then came another movie. This time a documentary, The September Issue, which has brought to the public's attention that Vogue is more than Wintour and Andre Leon Talley with their society obsession and celeb anti-culture. The movie allowed Grace Coddington, Vogue's wonderful creative director, emerge and shine from behind her boss' tiresome bob with her dry sense of humour and dry red hair.

It looks like someone in Vogue's PR department has been paying attention, which explains the email I and other subscribers got yesterday. The message, titled "What's Your Story" was signed by Grace Coddington and featured the above picture (photographed by Didier Malige) as well as a longish blurb in which Coddington told about her Welsh childhood and how Vogue has inspired her dreams and made her move to London and become a model.  Apparently, the magazine is finally trying to engage readers and urges us to send them our own personal Vogue stories, promising that the best ones would be published in the April issue.

You know what? I'm sending them mine. After all, who can resist either one of the faces in the photo?

Watching "The September Issue". Can Vogue Be Saved?

I watched The September Issue this afternoon. It was fun, interesting, and even the husband who accompanied me didn't look tortured afterwards. If you've suffered through the informative but badly written Front Row, Anna Wintour's biography by Jerry Oppenheimer, or (the even worse) The devil Wears Prada, you're already familiar with Anna Wintour's special charm and probably have a general idea how a Vogue issue is produced. But watching it on screen is much more powerful, and it cements the shock and awe at the power, creativity and egos involved.

The movie gives some screen time to the intentional and unintentional hilarity of André Leon Talley, but the real star is neither André The Giant nor Cruella de Wintour. Grace Coddington, Vogue's long-suffering creative director, steals the show. She's inspired, artistic, knowledgable and utterly charming. She embodies everything I've ever loved about Vogue, even before her (and Wintour's) days in the magazine. We get to see her in action, watch her creative process and her struggles. While I have no choice but respect Anna Wintour's skill and achievements, it's Coddington who commands admiration for her work and personality. We want to strangle Wintour on her behalf and cheer when she ends up getting her way in the end.

The movie comes out at a time Vogue (and the entire publishing industry) is at the lowest point it's been in years. The September 2009 issue is no longer "the biggest one ever". Subscriptions, circulation and ad revenues are falling; magazines and newspapers are shutting down. It's a new world and the old media is having a hard time adjusting. You, my reader, being here is part of that. After all, blogs like this one came to be because the Beauty section of the magazines didn't deliver. Consumers want easy access, immediate information, honest reviews and the ability react, interact and participate in the process.

Can Vogue be saved?

I think the answer to that is yes. Probably because I strongly believe that it should be saved. Vogue has so much value as part of our culture and art. I've been a Vogue reader for most of my life, have always admired the work of Grace Mirabella and Diana Vreeland and would like to see the magazine emerge from Wintour's reign of terror and become better. It's an important resource that should be preserved and allowed to thrive, but it needs to adjust. I would like to see it step up, embrace the social media and engage its loyal readers and subscribers in ways that would enforce the magazine's relevance.

How do you feel about it? Do you think Vogue can be saved? How would you like to see the magazine evolve?

Photo of Grace Coddington and Anna Wintour from the NY Daily News

They tried to make me renew my subscription, I said no no no

Between Lindsay Lohan appearing on the cover of the September issue of Elle magazine and talking about her successful rehab and how she'd never drive drunk, and this news story about Amy Winehouse making the cover of Vogue at the personal request of Anna Wintour, I'm getting more and more cranky.

I'm not taking beauty and style tips from a 21 year old who tops every list of celebs most likely to die before they turn 30. Or from someone who seems to belong to the Kirsten Dunst school of personal grooming.

The cover of Vogues July issue offers a nice surprise: Not another actress hawking her latest movie, but a real, honest-to-god model. The gorgeous Natalia Vodianova epitomizes the "Return of Megawatt Beauty", an old Hollywood-like glamor. All her makeup is by Lancome, and I especially love the dark, sexy lips.

Told You So

My complaints about recent fashion trends aren't a secret. I've blogged and talked about it with anyone who would listen. Basically, my point has always been: These things (80s fasion, bubble skirts, tops and dresses that make you look pregnant) aren't flattering, therefore should not be worn.

Anna Wintour, in her "letter from the editor" has been laughing at me for months, promoting the "new volume" and other weird ideas. However, it seems that I'm no longer the only one who thinks that while the empress isn't naked, her new clothes are giving her proprtions that belong in a circus. In the latest issue of Vogue, the featured question on "Ask Mrs. Exter" is this:

"... I am dating again and need a wardrobe that is sexy but not tawrdy, that shows curves rather than throws ironic curve balls that only fashionistas understand.
...Dresses are the big news in the current collections, I see, but I am dissuaded by many of the styles, such as the baby doll, the Empire waist, party poufs, and those frocks I can describe only as tulips extermis. Where can I find pretty, pleasing dresses that are not too short, too sheer, or too weird to please a man, and please myself, Mrs. Exter?"

Mrs. Exter offers some insight. From the idea behind the creation of Empire style (Napoleon pushed it at a time he was all about promoting French fertility and worried that the corset interfered with pregnancy), to the forgotten secret that "The waist is one of the more seductive zones a lady has to show for herself!".

She goes on to chat with the owner of a trendy fashion store from Dallas, Brian Bolke. He tells her: "Men understand anything with a waist. They don't understand Empire or baby doll. I can't tell you how many dresses we've had returned because although somebody amazingly chic has bought something amazingly chic, she nonetheless walked down the stairs of her house and her husband said, 'What in the hell are you wearing?' "

Can I get a big Hallelujah here? Seriously, what Mr. Bolke is saying is very simple: Men see women's clothes in simple terms. A dress is either pretty and flattering or it isn't.
My question is: If it's not making you look pretty, why wear it? Maybe someone is going to wake up from this design nightmare and start making beautiful clothes again.

Pictures are from Style.com (there's plenty more ridiculous stuff where it came from).

Made My Day

The Manolo is always right.

Return of the Supermodels

It's wonderful to see my favorite model, Linda Evangelista, on the cover of Vogue again. Inside the magazine, Alber Elbaz of Lanvin is talking about how the supermodels made fashion both fun and exciting. I wholeheartedly agree. Vogue's September 1991 issue (pictured here) was exactly that, and its cover is maybe the most memorable I've seen. I hope to see more of Linda and the others.

That said, the Kate Moss overdose (pun not completely unintentional) is annoying me. Her charm escapes me, and seeing her in several ads in each magazine for some of the biggest houses is way, way too much.