I think InStyle is simply laid out better; I find Elle and Vogue to be almost cluttered. I find it easier to peruse, and it's geared more toward the "common" reader (like me) as opposed to people who are truly INTO fashion and keep up with specific designers, collections, seasons, etc.
I would say it's all due to Johanna. Evidently Anna Wintour needs to host a bitchy reality TV show (is there any other kind?!?) to find the next superstar of layouts and colour combinations.
Slightly OT: I just saw The September Issue and it's sooo juicy. Also makes you appreciate the people that make the pages more (AW excluded!). Especially Grace Coddington, who, after all these years, and after much shooting down from AW, is still is passionate about her work.
I read Elle at the gym and recently became a subscriber. They've had some interesting layouts the past six months, interesting political articles and very good book reviews. All I see in Vogue is ads, ads and more ads.
The only magazine I subscribe to has gone to bi-montly, except for a tiny (literally, it fits almost in my pocket) version that comes out in the off months.
@hortense: We may have just solved the mystery - maybe they're supposed to be jumping ads, hurdles-style, in all of those shots, but they took the ads away!
@Trulymadlyme: Vogue has been taking it's own dieting advice. Also, Bazaar was total crap this month. There was one article that was a whopping two pages about ovarian cancer to commemorate the ten year anniversary of a former editor in chief. The rest was little blurbs about clothes. It's a fashion magazine, I get that, but still, I can't be alone in expecting a little more content than just pictures of clothes, right?
@Trulymadlyme: It is a terrifying trend for those of us who work at them. Also highly annoying for those of us who write the pages that aren't considered crucial, because when we lose ad pages, those non-crucial pages are the first to get cut. And all our work is a waste. Sigh.
Signed,
Person Who Knowingly Went Into Magazines And Now Does Not Understand Her 18-Year-Old Self's Decision-Making Process
@Triphena: I read a random old Vogue from the 1950's and was shocked at how great the writing was and how interesting the editorial content was. It's a shame. Also, W was crap. Two articles, neither of which was worth talking about.
@Triphena: Does Bazaar ever have articles? From what I can tell, it's usually got a 2-3 page fashion column, a What-To-Wear-at-Any-Age section offering a few words of advice, and all the rest is comprised of pretty pretty pictures.
@Trulymadlyme:In the 1950s women modelling for Dior ranged from their early 20s to their 40s and they were much more forgiving about body shapes according to a top model of the time. I imagine that the advertising for 1950s Vogue would have included a lot of artfully styled images of cigarettes.
@NaldoHecuba: Oh my god, signed. It's horrifying. Our last issue went out at 32 pages! It's the smallest issue we've ever had. I'm totally going to cry. (Or maybe I'll save it till I get fired.)
My pages are also the ones that are the first to get cut. And I've got 400 press reps on the phone yelling at me because the stories about their clients haven't run, and I'm like, "I know! I'm sorry, but if there aren't any ads sold there's nothing I can do about it except put the story up online."
For those who don't work at magazines: A magazine's size is determined by the number of ads sold, and the amount of editorial content is also determined by the number of ads. We all have an ad:edit ratio we try to hit. It costs money to produce the editorial pages, so if the ad sales aren't there the number of content pages are cut. If the ad sales drop, the amount of non-ad content is also reduced, and the whole issue gets smaller. A small issue is a sign of trouble for a magazine, and right now they're all small. Sigh.
@Hell on Heels: It used to. Not the same, in caliber or content, as Vogue used to have, but they'd have like one or two celebrity or designer profile pieces, an article about something fashion-related, like the fake bag trade or why we wear nail polish, the obligatory diet and nutrition piece and then some science-y beauty treatment stuff. Like, it's never been as news-y as Vogue, but it was more than just a pretty picture book too.
@SisterMaryMartha: Agreed. But maybe the reason these publications are doing so poorly is that even less of us than ever can afford a $700 skirt made of unborn llama skin or a $1000 pair of gilded moonboots?
At least this depression is finally encouraging our obese ladymags to shed some pounds and inches. While it may require sacrifice now, the result will be much fewer magizine medical problems down the road and a healthier, newsstand.
Having worked at three of the seven sisters magazines, and often freelancing in womens service. These are sad times in the magazine business! The really hard workers, or anyone that looks a bit over 40(moi) are the ones that are getting laid off..times like this I regret not having taken the post office test!!
Also, EBAY is going to recieve a real blow if the real fashionista/fashion beauty diva's are given less "gifts" at Christmas to resell on EBAY!!
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Call me when this happens to Vogue...
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I'd guess they're doing better than Elle or Vogue because their content is always based solely on celebrity crap.
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Made glorious summer by these ads of Elle;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon t'ladymags
In the deep bosom of the scrunchie buried.
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Signed,
Person Who Knowingly Went Into Magazines And Now Does Not Understand Her 18-Year-Old Self's Decision-Making Process
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My pages are also the ones that are the first to get cut. And I've got 400 press reps on the phone yelling at me because the stories about their clients haven't run, and I'm like, "I know! I'm sorry, but if there aren't any ads sold there's nothing I can do about it except put the story up online."
For those who don't work at magazines: A magazine's size is determined by the number of ads sold, and the amount of editorial content is also determined by the number of ads. We all have an ad:edit ratio we try to hit. It costs money to produce the editorial pages, so if the ad sales aren't there the number of content pages are cut. If the ad sales drop, the amount of non-ad content is also reduced, and the whole issue gets smaller. A small issue is a sign of trouble for a magazine, and right now they're all small. Sigh.
06/24/09
06/24/09
11/14/08
11/14/08
11/14/08
11/14/08
11/14/08
Also, EBAY is going to recieve a real blow if the real fashionista/fashion beauty diva's are given less "gifts" at Christmas to resell on EBAY!!