[London, December 1. Image via Getty]

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 01: A pair of giant red shoes protrude from the store front as Harrods opens their Wicked Witch Of The East display on December 1, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Neil Mockford/Getty Images)

The cover hearkens back to 1991, the last September issue of Vogue we could find that had fewer than 600 pages. For comparison's sake: Last year's had 796, 2007's had a record-breaking 840. And 1996's had 700.

Do you think the advertising crunch and the precipitous decline in consumer spending might make Vogue do something a little different, a little out-there, a little untested?


Why, no!

Charlize Theron, this month's cover subject, has graced Vogue a total of four times — in October, 2000, October, 2004, October, 2007, and now again in September, 2009. In the last three instances, the South African actress was photographed by Mario Testino.


But that's not the only place in the magazine that had us rubbing our eyes with déjà vu. As other bloggers have pointed out, the Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott-shot editorial with Natalia Vodianova as Little Red Riding Hood from this September's Vogue bears a striking resemblance to...


A Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott-shot editorial with model Doutzen Kroes as Goldilocks, which was published in the August, 2007, issue of W.


The Natalia Vodianova spread for Vogue is called "Into The Woods."


The Doutzen Kroes editorial for W is also called "Into The Woods."


Both the editorials even boast creepy masked soft-toy molesters.


Grace Coddington, the fashion editor for this shoot, can sometimes be a little derivative for my tastes; in recent years, we've seen her turn The Wizard of Oz and Romeo and Juliet into editorial spreads that didn't add much to their source material. "Into The Woods" fits perfectly with that trend.


Natalia's absolutely wretched 'do in those pictures is not a fluke: this issue's full of deeply bizarre hair. You took one for the team here, Liya Kebede.


And in this shot, it's as if you can see Karlie Kloss thinking, "Really, Guido Palau? Really?"


I, for one, am getting just a little bit sick of seeing this particular photo re-made. This, David Sims' version...

...owes as much to an interpretation from last September's Vogue by Patrick Demarchelier, featuring model Catherine McNeil...


...as it does to the Richard Avedon original, with Jean Shrimpton, from the September, 1965, Harper's Bazaar.


Dodai already did an excellent LOLVogue! on the rest of David Sims' editorial. Karlie Kloss has apparently wrested the Vogue showjumping title from Caroline Trentini. The St. Louis teenager has an astonishing three editorial appearances in this issue — four if you count an Annie Leibovitz portrait of her, which runs alongside a short profile of Karlie by Sally Singer.


But what's amazing about that Leibovitz shot is just how much it looks like another portrait the legendary photographer recently took of a young starlet.


I'm referring, of course, to the photograph of Miley Cyrus that Annie Leibovitz took for the June, 2008, issue of Vanity Fair. Karlie and Miley are photographed with the same dampened hair, the same skin that's lit extremely pale, and the same red lips on a nude face. They even share a similar pose and both are shot against the same backdrop. The fact is that even though Cyrus and Kloss were roughly the same age when when they were photographed by Leibovitz — Cyrus was 15, Kloss, who only turned 17 earlier this month, would have been 16 — this photo is certain to draw less ire. That says more about our culture's parallel impossible expectations for the few young women who make it in the entertainment business than anything else: we demand that our pop stars remain forever young, and we expect our models to impersonate adult women from the time they hit 5'9".


Steven Meisel has a 16-page editorial with models Liya Kebede, Karen Elson, Coco Rocha, Sasha Pivovarova, and Viktoriya Sasonkina. It's shot in and around Manhattan's Essex House hotel and styled by Grace Coddington.


Something about the spread, though, suggests this was one of Meisel's autopilot days.


This shot, by Meisel for the February, 2009, issue of Vogue, has a different color palette than the "In The Mood" bicycle picture, but the quirky period styling, the models' poses, and the hats, all nonetheless echo it.


This shot, of Viktoriya Sasonkina, from September's Vogue is lovely.


Until you remember that Meisel shot Sasonkina for last September's Vogue Italia in virtually the same pose, and practically the same dress, in a nearly identically-themed 40s editorial.


Liya Kebede, in the September Vogue spread, looks divine.


And "In The Mood" really hits its stride when it starts playing with the murals in the background. Coco Rocha looks like she could be jumping out of that painting.


And I love those creepy hands.


But again, it's hard not to think of Meisel's old Vogue Italia story, with Sasonkina.


Probably the best editorial of the bunch in this year's slimmed-down September Vogue is Steven Klein's offering, "Take Cover."


Karlie Kloss and Caroline Trentini star as two futuristic gals about town.


They are armed and they are dangerous. And what's more, this editorial mercifully does not appear to be a direct re-shoot of anything else.

Fresh ideas: how novel.


Earlier:Harper's Bazaar: Talking About That "Recession" Thing Is Just "Really Annoying" Now
LOLVogue: I Purmd Mai Hare!

• The return of Mad Men is a mere 37 days away, and the AMC show has struck a deal with Banana Republic:

The retailer will be selling a line inspired by the suits worn by the gentlemen of Sterling Cooper. (The show has also partnered with Clorox, so look for cheeky collar-bleaching spots.) [Vulture, NY Times]

• It's riveting to watch one of Chanel's couture looks being made. Whatever one thinks of the design, the craft of couture is magic. The concentration in the atelier flou's eyes as she makes the toile is an inspiration. [The Cut]
• David Lauren thinks now is as good a time as any for Ralph Lauren to launch a watch division selling $10,000-$80,000 timepieces. Marie Claire will probably still advertise them. [WWD]
• That gorgeous nude-and-black dress Emma Watson wore on David Letterman's show on Tuesday night to promote her movie was by Christopher Kane. [Grazia]
• Come this September, you'll be seeing Justin Timberlake starring in ads for two simultaneously developed and released Givenchy scents, called Play and Play Intense. [WWD]
• Accessories designer Tarina Tarantino marked the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz with an Oz-themed collection — and by shooting Kelly Osborne and Debi Mazar as Glenda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West, respectively. [CBS]
• Couture week closed yesterday, which motivated the Daily to reflect on those comrades who were missing. Anna Wintour, who has never missed the couture collections before, wasn't there. Nor was her counterpart at British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, or T magazine's Stefano Tonchi. Celebs down for the count included frequent couture customer Dita von Teese. [FWD]
• Another fashion mystery: Why has Peter Copping's first collection for Nina Ricci, Resort 2010, been delayed by one month and counting? Time's Kate Betts hasn't seen the collection, but says "an extremely reliable Parisian source" says it's "great." Copping, formerly Marc Jacobs' right-hand-man at Louis Vuitton, replaced Olivier Theyskens in the middle of his contract earlier this year. [Fashionologie]
• Fendi is "taking a break" from producing a men's wear collection. The 84-year-old Italian company is hoping to be back in the men's game by next season. [WWD]
• Do you ever question the entire nature of fashion week? The tug-and-pull of the trade/consumer focus? The fact that retailers have come to expect new deliveries monthly, not semi-annually? Do you ponder the impact of nonetheless timing the ready-to-wear collections twice per year, and the effects of having pictures of next season's clothing available instantly online months out from production? If so, you're probably a designer, and the CFDA wants to hear from you this July 28, at a townhall meeting that promises to put up for discussion everything about fashion week. What with MAC looking to produce competing shows at Milk Studios, and the coming change in venue from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center, the talk — moderated by Diane von Furstenberg — is timely. [WWD]
• Alexander Wang is debuting his first menswear collection later this month in the pages of T. And according to rumor, for his women's wear show this September, Wang will be eschewing the styling help of his friend, model Erin Wasson. In Wasson's place will be Karl Templer, who styles Calvin Klein (and worked for Interview magazine last year — or maybe he's been hired back, we can't keep track of that revolving door anymore). [Sassybella]
• Meet 20-year-old Rochelle Owen, whose job it is to help customers with Beth Ditto's clothing line at the Evans store in the Meadowhall shopping center in the UK. Her pic is fierce! And the "voluptuous size 20" says: "Beth's style is very much my look, I dress to be noticed and love girly clothes, bright colours and funky dresses with leggings and loads of accessories." [The Star]
• A day at the office with Aussie brand Ksubi: "Shit fucking happens." [BlackBook]
• Uh-oh: "The Consumer Product Safety Council recalled 3,200 pairs of Charles David of California women's shoes sold at Nordstrom." One report of a heel breaking off, resulting in bruising. [WWD</a.]
• Juicy Couture is closing its 3,300 sq. ft. store at Madison Avenue and 70th St. The rent ran $2 million a year, and the company simply cannot afford to continue paying it. [WWD]
• This June, retailers saw on average a 4.7% decline in comparable sales, supposedly because it was such a rainy, miserably month, nobody felt like shopping — and certainly not for summer clothes. But if that's the case, why were sales in the largely sunnier month of May down 4.2%? We think it's the economy, stupid. [Crain's]
• Abercrombie alone saw sales tumble 32% on last year. And a lot of companies' spin-off brands — like Abercrombie's now-closed Ruehl — are suffering even worse. American Eagle's Martin + Osa isn't faring well, and Aeropostale's Jimmy'z has already closed. J. Crew now thinks it priced offerings at its Madewell spinoff too high. [WaPo]
• And the apparel crowd doesn't expect the back-to-school season to be much better. [WSJ]
• One sector that still has the luxury of 35% margins: online, members-only designer sale e-tailers, like Gilt Groupe, RueLaLa, and HauteLook. They have virtually nil marketing costs, and their small inventories actually enhance demand by creating scarcity. [WSJ]
• New York-based fashion chain Scoop, which is being sued for employment violations by 17 ex-staffers, is allegedly behind in its payments to numerous of its creditors, too. "They're unresponsive in their accounts payable department," said Gary Wassner, president of Hildun Corp. "They're not cooperative. They're not providing any financial information to make any kind of analysis of how they're doing. In today's market, it's important to be transparent...Clients are shipping at their own risk." Rosenthal & Rosenthal's Michael Stanley said, "We're very concerned about the status of the account." Robert J. Wichser, a representative of Scoop's owners, says the company is "financially sound" and currently looking for a new CEO. The last one left in February, which is when Hildun Corp. says the company stopped paying its bills. [WWD]

According to the Times, she once designed a collection with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy (played by her daughter, Lulu) leading a rented Toto. What's the appeal of this 1939 Sepiatone/Technicolor fantasy about a farmgirl from Kansas? I've asked myself that question so many times.

I'm almost always Dorothy for Halloween. Partially because I already have the dress, which a friend made for me when I was in high school. The shoes I made (with the help of a friend) out of old suede Mary-Jane flats using lots and lots of glue, spray mount and glitter; they leave a trail of "rubies" wherever I go.

But it's also because I really, really, unapologetically love her. She's a dreamer, but she's feisty. She's friendly and adventurous, but focused on her goal. And in traveling with her dog and a bunch of misfits with issues, she unknowingly proves that the journey is the destination. Sure, the Wizard is a disappointment: Because you can't rely on other people for your happiness. The answers to your questions and powers to make your dreams come true are inside of you.

Of course, it does come back to the shoes. The shoes! Has there ever been a more beautiful, iconic fashion item? Magic slippers made of rubies. Red, the color of power. Glittering like hot coals. They look just as great with black and white stockings as they do with blue ankle socks. Shoes with the power to transform and transport, who doesn't dream of such a thing? Don't we always want our shoes and clothes to infuse us with energy, charisma and strength? Throughout my life, I have definitely closed my eyes and clicked my heels three times. It's tons of fun staying out all night and getting smashed with the Munchkins and the Tin Man in downtown Emerald City, but there's no place like home.

We’re Off To See The Ruby Slippers [NY Times]