Vogue November Issue High Lights
A few days ago I found myself in the Drug Store. Though I had originally went there to buy 
contact solution, I ended up standing in line with the following items: Contact Solution, 2 O Henry Bars, a Kit Kat bar, white chocolate Tolberone, and mouth wash. As I stood in line a little fashionista boy stood casually in-front of me balancing every fashion magazine known to man, Vogue, Vanity Fair, InStyle, everything. For some reason as I stood behind him cradling my chocolate bars I felt weird, as if I was the one who should be reading all those magazines rather then relying on my only real fashion fixes as of late, Project Runway and America's Next Top Model. So I walked over to the news stand and picked up this months issue of Vogue. I do read quite a few magazines but I often try to quickly scan through them at the local book store rather then pay the money every month to buy them or subscribe. Buying a bunch of the best magazines each month really add up, and I prefer to spend that money on comfort food like chocolate. But recently two glaring pimples popped up, and not to sound cocky but I'm not use to pimples, this I took as a sign to put down the Caramel bar and pick up Vogue (I still ate the Caramel and the Kit Kat and the Tolberone and okay yes I ate the O Henry's, I didn't want to be rude the lady had already rang them up. But I will not be buying choclate for a while.... my bother is going out for Halloween so that should save me some money :).
Anyway, last night, into today, I read the latest issue cover to cover. I was shocked to realize that you don't even get to the Readers Letters until 120 pages into the mag. Anyway I always love reading the feedback from the readers, the letters were all great but one in particular, a letter from Kathleen Ford from Bethesda, MD, resonated in me. Kathleen wrote about the September cover with fashion icon Linda Evangelista on it, Revenge of the Supermodels. Kathleen wrote:
What a treat to see an actual model on the cover of VOGUE again. Thank you for bringing Linda Evangelista back to your magazine, as well as Christy Turlington to the inside pages. It's refreshing to have a respite from the celebrities who are constantly on your covers. I prefer to see professional models who really know how to show and sell couture instead of the current parade of movie stars who think they can wear a dress with the same panache. Please continue with real models and not vapid celebrities pushing their latest film.
Kathleen couldn't have said it any better (ironically her letter coincides with Cate Blanchett's appearance on the cover). I completely agree with Kathleen. I'm tired of seeing actors on every single magazine, posing as if their supermodels. Their not! I'm sorry! They may be beautiful, talented, even brilliant actors but everytime they're on the cover it is with an agenda. It's about promoting a film, branding an image, presenting an image of themselves to the public. Sellin us themselves (or what they want us to believe is them). Where as a model is a palette that transforms herself like a chameleon into what the clothes calls for. She models, who she is outside of that picture is rarely ever known. No actress, and if you've seen the recent issue Cate does a pretty convincing job at the modeling, but sill no actress can give to you what a top model can give when wearing couture or any other form of fashion and make-up and I'm tired of seeing these actresses try. Editors need to re-embrace the model and stop giving thier jobs away to overpaid actresses. Models get laughed at when they try to act but we are rewarding actresses by allowing them to play models.
An example of a model at her best is on page page 284 of the issue. In this gigantic fashion spread called Get Happy, a gorgeous/lanky model shows how to work clothes in fun quirky ways even the designer couldn't think of. This was the first fashion spread I've enjoyed in a long time. This model is doing what a model does. She's jumping, and posing, and flying here and there, and each shot in this 16 page spread is completely different. I don't know this models name, she doesn't have some movie I have to read a 4 page endorsement of. She's not there giving an inspirational story about how she manages to look gorgeous, raise two kids and shoot five films, she's just modeling the hell out of these outfits, garments, I should mention, that would look like a trash bag on most other women. And that's what I want to see on the covers of VOGUE, models. Leave the actresses for the suck-up pieces inside of the magazine. Note: So many writers act like brown nosers lately, bending over backwards for these celebs and thier PR people, writing profiles and reviews that do little investigation about who these actors really are but rather work as vechicle to futher the actors and PR croonies agenda. I feel like charging these writers the cost of the many bad films I've been fooled into seeing because of glowing review they gave it in their interviews.
Anyway, another issue of late has been the fact that Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell (and maybe Giselle Bundchen and Daria Werbowy) are the last real Supermodels working the Runways, and no matter how these newbies try they can't duplicate the voluptuous, sexy, intense charisma and glamour that Linda, Cindy, Naomi, Christy, and Claudia had. Those girls were fashion forces of nature. I'm just glad I was old enough to remember their reign on the catwalk.
Towards the end of the issue I also loved Kate Moss's sweet, natural and beautiful fashion spread. She is a icon in the making for a reason.
Christy looks so stunning that after staring at the photo for five minutes, I made a goal to return to Pilates! What a photo! She is timeless, sexy, mysterious and one of the most beautiful women ever. This is why she is a supermodel!
Don looks sexy and playful at the same time. I love his work and its nice to see him show a different side of himself in this ad. He should do more work with his top off.
I'm not even a big fan of Ms. Cruz but the vulnerability, beauty and almost innocence she shows in this picture grabbed me right away.
