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The Fall Guides
By LAURA J. VOGEL
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Monday, August 16th, 2004
Every August, dedicated fashion followers haunt New York newsstands like deprived addicts. Furtive, twitchy and resentfully sporting last season's looks, they desperately wait for a familiar thud.
The poor creatures can breathe a sigh of relief: The hefty fall fashion bibles, filled with wardrobe inspiration - and more than a little fantasy - will soon arrive.
September fashion mags are the thickest and most ad-packed of all. And they provide a sexy snapshot of what will be chic in the year to come.
We've taken a look under the covers of the most anticipated volumes. Cover girls, overwhelmingly non-models, run the gamut of actress-singers, from Jessica Simpson to J.Lo. But Vogue bucks the trend with an ethereal triple-gatefold cover, shot by Steven Meisel. The fabulous foldout features nine women who are famous for nothing but being gorgeous. (As Anna Wintour writes in her editor's letter, "Unknown cover girls ... allow us to think creatively again about fashion and only fashion.") The move may, many style folks hope, mark the return of the model.
As trend-watchers have no doubt heard, this season marks a return to "ladylike attire" (Elle), "quiet elegance" (W) and, yes, "ladylike touches" (Glamour). Elle and Vogue drive the point home with Stepford-esque spreads.
This fall, you'll be yanking your hair back into tight chignons and painting on bold makeup. And cancel your appointment with the colorist: Dark, long tresses - more Ashlee than Jessica - are enjoying a comeback as well.
But all the glamorous photos in the world can't pay the bills. And in the great ad race, some September glossies have achieved high-water marks. W boasts its greatest number of ad pages ever, a stunning 434, while Vogue, at 832 pages and 3.75 pounds, is the biggest volume in the mag's history.
The chic cheat sheet
Elle
Cover girl: America's favorite "Newlywed," Jessica Simpson.
Fashion flavor: Elle's the only glossy that devotes serious real estate to denim this issue, but ultimately falls into line with this fall's demure-lady movement. Find loads of retro silhouettes, fur accents and cropped tweed jackets, topped off by a cheesy Benetton ad.
Sexiest spread: The lovely, atmospheric "Stranger on a Train" piece filled with luxurious '40s-inspired looks, shot by Matt Albiani.
Glamour
Cover girl: Tom Cruise's ex, elegant Spanish actress Penélope Cruz.
Fashion flavor: Fun and formality mix it up - there's enough crushed velvet and fur to please even the most hard-core diva, but it's interspersed with casual, low-cost items like '70s-style T-shirts.
Sexiest spread: A slightly goofy, purple-themed piece featuring indie actress Zooey Deschanel. It mixes illustrations with photographs, and doesn't take itself too seriously - a feature hard to find in fashion mags this month.
Lucky
Cover girl: Chic model/actress Milla Jovovich.
Fashion flavor: If mags like W and Vogue offer a bird's-eye view of the style landscape, Lucky gives a down-to-the-inch survey of the pieces that constitute a look. Fashion coverage is more service-oriented and less fantastical, but explains how to incorporate the neo-hippie, glamorous and demure-schoolgirl looks into real life.
Sexiest spread: "Night & Day," photographed by Deborah Jaffe.
Marie Claire
Cover girl: Jennifer "It's Hard to Be Me" Lopez.
Fashion flavor: The de rigueur looks (ladylike, neo-bohemian and tweedy sophisticate) all make an appearance. Marie Claire's shtick is to break downa trend and offer ways to adapt to all budgets and bodies. (Extra credit for snagging First Niece Lauren Bush for their "Timeless Chic" fashion spread.)
Sexiest spread: "The New Tweeds," photographed by Matthew Rolston, features pitch-perfect Mrs. Robinson-inspired looks.
Shop, Etc.
Cover torso: An anonymous model shot from the shoulders down. (Apparently, it's better not to have a head when reading about shopping).
Fashion flavor: We don't want to be too hard on the premiere of a mag,but it is nearly impossible to tell editorial from advertising. The glossy is trying to be everything to everyone (or every ad buyer), and fashion pages awkwardly and abruptly bump up against home-décor coverage. Shop Etc.'s fashion is hard to get a bead on, but the magazine does break down the options among ubiquitous pencil skirts, round-toed pumps and brooches.
Sexiest spread: None featured.
Vogue
Cover girls: A lineup of the world's most beautiful faces, some known by just their first names (such as Gisele) and some not known at all.
Fashion flavor: Super-high-end, gorgeously photographed, including multiple variations on fur collars, tweedy tailoring and chiffon gowns. Vogue is pure escapism and fantasy. The reverie, however, gets a bit broken up with copy-filled pages. We want all clothes, all the time.
Sexiest spread: The sumptuous "Model & Supermodel."
W
Cover girl: Good sport Julianne Moore (who appears in three wildly different high-conceptshoots from three different photographers).
Fashion flavor: W offers very little in the way of useful interpretations of couture. And that's what makes it such a breathtaking ride. You'll find the cutting edge of design, with a good dose of the season's buttoned-down, tailored looks - plus hippie-chic ensembles.
Sexiest spread: The so-ugly-it's-beautiful"Metallica," shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
Let's do the numbers ...
Pound for pound
Most models don't have the upper-body strength required to heft many of the fall issues. Below, the results of our weigh-in, from the plumpest to the leanest. It may be the only instance in fashion where too thin is not in.
At a whopping 3.75 pounds, September's Vogue is the undisputed champ.
W tilts the scales at an impressive 1.82 pounds.
Elle weighed in at a respectable 1.16 pounds.
Shop, Etc.'s launch issue reached 1 pound even.
Lucky's 0.86 pounds was nothing to sneeze at.
Marie Claire, at 0.76 pounds, is close behind.
Glamour is a relatively slender 0.58 pounds.
The SJP factor
Another stat that bodes success is the number of Gap ads featuring Sarah Jessica Parker in the "How Do You Wear It?" campaign.
W is the winner. The thick-stock foldout of the former "Sex and the City" star is unique. Plus, it's set right in the center of the mag. Suitable for framing?
Vogue nips at W's heels, with an eight-page ad that starts on page 279.
Lucky's seven-page ad runs from the inside front cover to page 5, and includes a single split page.
Glamour, Elle and Shop Etc. run a two-page version.
And younger-skewed Marie Claire, the only September issue without SJP, has the Gap's Jessica Alba version instead.
Where is it?
The eternal quest for the table of contents is a leading cause of glossy-tossing. Below, some assistance:
W requires some searching: page 66, continued on page 137.
Elle requires a long slog: page 48.
Vogue makes us multi-task: page 44 ... then a jump from page 60 to page 76.
Lucky hides a bit: page 22.
Shop Etc., which doesn't bother with a page number: page 13.
Glamour is relatively up-front with it: page 12.
Marie Claire makes it blissfully easy: pages 2 to 3.
tFS seems to be well-informed!
