Jezebel: kim france

Lucky Magazine's Sexy, Glamorous "Caption Dementia"

cheryl — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:30:00 EST

Do we have something to do with Lucky editor Kim France's nightmares? A few times, we have pointed out the severe redundancy in the captions in Lucky. (I mean, really, how many times can you use the word "glamorous" in one issue? Twelve, according to our tallies. It's like they're the Kimora Lee Simmons of Conde Nast!) So in the new March issue, Kim actually acknowledges her staff's "caption dementia" and devotes her entire Editor's Letter describing how she wakes up at 2 A.M. hoping to hit the jackpot with a new word. She adds that the editorial staff suffers to find the right word for its dear readers: "We suffer, we really suffer, so you can know which woven wedge is especially walkable." (Yay, alliteration!) And she's even giving away $1,000 to the reader who can actually do a better job "bringing the freshest language" to the magazine's four-page shoe guide. After the jump, we see if things have really changed over at Lucky in the past four months or if they still sound like our favorite broken record.

It appears that the extra-thick Spring Fashion issue is, well, extra-repetitive. Editors were so at a loss for words that they even managed to let a few banned words slip by ("adorable" on page 23 and 66). Our scientific historical data below shows that the same offenders keep popping up and that not much has changed.

March 2008
Word:"Glamorous"
Times Used: 13
Definition- adjective - full of glamour; charmingly or fascinatingly attractive, especially in a mysterious or magical way.
Used to describe: silk pants (p. 272); a store (p. 32 ); a cocktail ring (p. 34 ); a boat shoe (p. 92 ); and 9 other things.

Word : "Sexy"
Times Used: 15
Definition - adjective - excitingly appealing.
Used to describe: a musk and mimosa fragrance (p. 64 ); the color hot pink (p. 86 ); mini tea dresses (p. 95 ); a shoe (p. 189 ); and 14 other things.

Word: "Gorgeous"
Times Used: 18
Definition - adjective - splendid or sumptuous in appearance, coloring.
Used to describe: makeup ( p. 170), a woman (p. 242 ); wooden heeled shoes (p. 192); a motorcycle jacket (p. 120 ); and 14 other things.

Word: "Pretty"
Times Used: 13
Definition - adjective - pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness.
Used to describe: a dress (p. 112 ); spring makeup (p. 177 ); a compass pendant (p. 92 ); a tortoiseshell toothbrush (p. 185 ); and 9 other things.

The Lucky Backlist:
February 2008: Most Overused Words: "Beautiful": 10 times; "Glamorous": 12 times; "Gorgeous": 12 times; "Perfect": 13 times.
January 2008: Most Overused Words: "Elegant" : 8 times; "Gorgeous": 9 times; "Sophisticated": 12 times; "Glamorous": 12 times.
December 2007: Most Overused Words: "Pretty": 13 times; "Sexy": 13 times; "Glamorous": 12 times; Serious: 7 times.

The Lucky Walk-In-Our-Shoes Caption Writing Contest [Lucky]

Earlier: Oscar Fashion Critic Kimora Lee Simmons Has A Very Limited Vocabulary
Lucky Magazine's Ultra-Elegant And Sophisticated One-Track Mind
Lucky Magazine's Pretty, Sexy, Seriously One-Track Mind
Lucky Magazine's Subtle, Feminine, Chic, Annoyingly One-Track Mind

Real Person Featured In Lucky Confesses To Not Being All That Real

Moe — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:00:31 EST

One of the reasons I never read Lucky is that the "real people" they choose to showcase their "foolproof outfits" never somehow cease to seem actually more unrealistically gorgeous/thin/put together than the average runway model; they're just, like, photographed less imaginatively. Witness January's Courtney Childs Lewis (pictured after the jump.) She's 25 and yet has three names already; she's consultant at Avenue A Razorfish and Haverford Alum who regularly travels to Paris on business, and yet if you ran into her in Paris you'd totally think you saw Gemma Ward. And don't get me started on all the excessively trendy/unflattering clothing choices only a hideously beautiful 25-year-old on a raw food and coke diet can pull off that she tries to foist upon the hapless Lucky-buying masses: shiny pointy ankle boots, those weird tuxedo pants, chic-formless jacket over chic-formless shirt accented by chic neckscarf...is this even a real person? Oh wait, she's on Facebook; funny that! And she has a blog...

It's me! I'm in the January 08 issue of Lucky Magazine. Note: This is not my "foolproof" outfit nor did any of those words exit my mouth ;)

Aw. Yay! Fight the power, Courtney! I mean, fuck you for being so beautiful, but we love you for shattering the myth perpetuated by Lucky that like, everyone should be so "lucky."

'Lucky' Magazine's Subtle, Feminine, Chic, Annoyingly One-Track Mind

Anna — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:30:00 EDT

One million words in the English language, and not a single damn synonym for "luxe." Such is the eternal dilemma faced by the put-upon editors of Lucky magazine, who month after month seem to find themselves with an array of minidresses, cigarette pants and flirty little clutches too bountiful to properly describe without resorting to self-plagiarism — and memorable lines like this one, spotted by our friend Emily at Gawker on page 213 of the September issue:

The ultimate gold-pink-touch-of-plum lipcolor in a silky-smooth gloss that smells faintly— not full-on shower-gel-ishly — of raspberries".

Purple prose indeed! And though we're certainly not the first to point this out — go here, here, here and here for well-documented examples of Lucky's annoying use of language — we decided to go flip through the latest issue to find other examples insidious words or phrases on display. (Not that editor Kim France will pay any attention; she hates being told what to do!). After the jump, our highly-unscientific (meaning, these counts are not exact) tally of the major offenders.

Word: 'Subtle'/'Subtly'
Number Of Appearances: 13
Definition: -adjective, -tler, -tlest. 1. thin, tenuous, or rarefied, as a fluid or an odor. 2.fine or delicate in meaning or intent; difficult to perceive or understand: subtle irony. 3. delicate or faint and mysterious: a subtle smile. 4. requiring mental acuteness, penetration, or discernment: a subtle philosophy. 5.characterized by mental acuteness or penetration: a subtle understanding. 6. cunning, wily, or crafty: a subtle liar. 7.insidious in operation: subtle poison. 8. skillful, clever, or ingenious: a subtle painter.
Used To Describe: the "dizzying quality' of a dress design (p. 72); a velvet blazer (p. 99); the sparkle of jewelry (p. 102); draped pockets of a skirt (p. 104); the accessories worn by an interior designer (p. 108); the shimmer in the eyeshadow that Sarah Michelle Gellar uses (p. 138); the effect of an outfit worn by an accessories designer (p. 153); a lip-gloss worn by a 'stylist and designer' (p. 252); the ruching on a pair of flat boots (p. 276); a ruffle (p. 295); the 'softness" in an outfit worn by a 'brand expansion specialist' (p. 329); the graphics on stationery (p. 367).

Word: 'Feminine'
Number Of Appearances: 9
Definition: -adjective 1. pertaining to a woman or girl: feminine beauty; feminine dress. 2. having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, as sensitivity or gentleness. 3. effeminate; womanish: a man with a feminine walk. 4. belonging to the female sex; female: feminine staff members. 5. Grammar. noting or pertaining to that one of the three genders of Latin, Greek, German, etc., or one of the two genders of French, Spanish, Hebrew, etc., having among its members most nouns referring to females, as well as other nouns, as Latin stella "star," or German Zeit "time." -noun Grammar. 6. the feminine gender. 7. a noun or other element in or marking that gender.
Used To Describe: an outfit (p. 198); one of the scents put out by Gap Body (p. 218); the scent of an Estee Lauder solid perfume (p. 228); 'major rocker eyes' (p. 249); a pair of leather and suede oxfords (p. 270); the seams on a pair of knee-high boots (p. 280); a trench coat (p. 322); the clothing a 'brand expansion specialist' is buying this season (p. 328); the clothing a singer-songwriter pairs with menswear pieces (p. 331).

Word: 'Crisp'
Number Of Appearances: 9
Definition: -adjective 1 (esp. of food) hard but easily breakable; brittle: crisp toast. 2. (esp. of food) firm and fresh; not soft or wilted: a crisp leaf of lettuce. 3. brisk; sharp; clear; decided: a crisp reply. 4. lively; pithy; sparkling: crisp repartee. 5.clean-cut, neat, and well-pressed; well-groomed. 6. bracing; invigorating: crisp air. 7. crinkled, wrinkled, or rippled, as skin or water. 8. in small, stiff, or firm curls; curly.
Used To Describe: A button-down (p. 92); a '60s-style jacket (p. 94); jackets and miniskirts (p. 111); a cotton shirt (p. 130); the color green on a pair of pumps (p. 262); a jacket (p. 317); a white shirt (p. 321); a white shirt (p. 323); a blazer coveted by a singer-songwriter (p. 330).

Word: 'Luxe'
Number Of Appearances: 8
Definition: -noun 1. luxury; elegance; sumptuousness: accommodations providing luxe at low rates. Compare deluxe. -adjective 2. luxurious; deluxe: luxe accommodations.
Used To Describe: Buttons (p. 82); velvet blazers (p. 99); gold-chains (p. 108); general accessories (p. 153); a hair-dryer (p. 234); faux-snakeskin shoes (p. 264); a 'biker look' (p. 306); single-designer boutiques (p. 341).

Word: 'Chic'
Number of Appearances: 8
Definition: -adjective, -er, -est. 1. attractive and fashionable; stylish: a chic hat.
-noun 2. style and elegance, esp. in dress: Paris clothes have such chic. 3. stylishness; modishness: the chic of the firstnighters.
Used To Describe: A $67 makeup palette (p. 216); fall makeup (p. 246); a stylist and designer (p. 252); a pair of patent-leather pumps (p. 257); a pair of suede pumps (p. 262); a pair of patent-leather oxfords (p. 270); 'modern gamine' (p. 298); a leather 'dream bag' (p. 329).

Obviously, these are just some of the major offenders (we're also hating on 'punchy', 'effortless, 'exquisite' and the phrases 'of the moment', 'on trend' and 'compulsively wearable') but maybe it's time for the good girls at Lucky to pick up a thesaurus or two!

Earlier: 'Lucky' Editor Kim France's Asian Influences, Hatred Of Authority
Lucky Magazine Seems Insecure
Related: Lucky's Taste Too "Rich" For Us [GlossedOver]
Noticed: In So Many Words, Don't Use These [NYTimes, sub req'd]

'Lucky' Editor Kim France's Asian Influences, Hatred Of Authority

Moe — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 11:01:58 EDT

Lucky editor Kim France has always been something of an enigma to us. A Dinsosaur Jr.-worshipping Sassy editress in our youth, she later masterminded the first magazine to eliminate basically all text in favor of pictures of shit you should buy. She's spent many of the ensuing years making "No no no, no contradiction to see here!"-type excuses like "I believe women are allowed to think difficult thoughts and really superficial thoughts at the same time," and "I'm using my brain a lot more rigorously than I was when I was writing 1,000-word profiles." But does she really believe that? Our handwriting analyst Sheila Kurtz has some doubts. Likening her signature to a Chinese chop, the super-stylized stamps calligraphers use to mark their work, Sheila thinks France is hiding something behind her super-unconflicted public face... Perhaps that most of the marked-up crap in her magazine is made in China?

This signature, like the Chinese "chop," identifies and authenticates who did the work, but it is actually a calligraphic design, a tiny work of art that hides more than it reveals.
What her "chop" does show fairly clearly (the big "K" with a buckle across the middle) is a sense of defiance to those above her who may be trying to tell her what to do or how to think.

Ha! Kim France totally hates Charles Townsend and Sandy Golinkin!

'Lucky' Magazine Readers Have A Very Good Year. The Rest Of Us? Not So Much!

Moe — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:50:47 EDT

In the space of a single year, the average reader of Lucky has seen her (or, haha, his!) household income rocket from $68,200 to $84,400, according to some highly credible research out today (and about which the publisher of Harper's Bazaar said something truly inspiring about a "shattering" of the "glass ceiling.") But apparently it's not so simple. The middle class, insinuates Lucky publisher Alexandra "Sandy" Golinkin, is defecting from the nation's magalog of record:

"If you don't have a lot of money, you won't be happy reading this magazine," said Sandy Golinkin, Lucky's vice president and publisher.

Touché, Sand! It's not as if the publishing industry is to blame for the de-skilling of the American labor force or widening income gap that make it so hard to find a decent job these days. And it's also not your fault that so many Americans are toiling away, unhappily, for less than 85 grand a year. (Not your fault except for those Americans on the lower tiers of the Lucky masthead. But then again, it's not like their jobs are, like, difficult or anything. Considering they don't actually write.).

MRI Figures Well For Fashion [MediaWeek]
Rich Readers = Happy Advertisers [WWD]

New 'Lucky' Magazine Blog Discovers $15 Replacement For Baby Powder

Moe — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:05:37 EDT

Sometimes we think about the legacy left by the iconic Sassy Magazine. By which we mean, we think (in no particular order), about Sassy founding editor Jane Pratt's eponymous Jane Magazine; the post Jane-Jane pimping out of 30-year-old virginSarah Dimuro; Pratt losing her lesbian virginity to Drew Barrymore; former Sassy intern Chloe Sevigny losing her onscreen BJ virginity to Vincent Gallo; Vincent Gallo hanging out (avuncularly? lecherously? yes!) with Jane pinup and latter-day Chloe-type "It girl" Cory Kennedy. At which point we wonder if Sassy's can be reduced to an orgy of D-list celebs too busy not-quite-penetrating one another to wash their hair.

Thank goodness, then, for Kim France, the onetime Sassy editor who became the founding editor of Lucky, which quickly became one of the most commercially-successful magazine launches of the past decade by foregoing, you know, content to focus on showing Sassy readers of yore how to spend their dubiously-gotten gains. The just-launched Lucky blog StyleByte is no exception to this surefire formula: Today, senior editor Emily Hsieh gives an overpriced French "dry shampoo" rave reviews based on an office drive-by on the part of her colleague, associate fashion editor Ann Brady.

Seeing her hair was all I needed to convince me—although she claimed she hadn't washed it in 2 days, it looked as full and shiny as could be.

So wait, two one-night-stands in a row!? That's so...Jane!

Lucky Style Blog [Lucky]
Related: Kim France, How Did We Get Here? [RedInked]
Related: Today's Tip: Baby Powder Your Hair [FabSugar]

Lucky Magazine Seems Insecure

Anna — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 09:05:25 EST

What happened to Lucky's period? Until recently, the front cover of the magazine included a certain small but definitive punctuation mark in its title logo. We rather liked this period. With it, the magazine seemed sure of itself, cocky, demanding even. You will read this magazine, and you will like it, it seemed to say. We heard the call, and we complied with it.

But here's the March issue, and that period is suddenly gone. No explanation. Nothing in Kim France's letter to the editor. Creative Director Andrea Linnett has fuck-all to say about it. Dear readers (and Conde Nast employees), please tell us: where, oh where, has our little dot gone?