Best and worst magazine covers of 2009

Top 10 (and Bottom Two) Magazine Covers from 2009

These images certainly caught our eyes at the grocery store, how about you?

This year gave us some really amazing magazine covers -- and a few that left us scratching our heads in confusion. Check out our picks for the best and worst magazine covers of 2009 -- did your faves make the list? See magazines

Guess which was among the worst magazine covers?

While not necessarily bad-bad, the February 2009 issue of Allure came in for criticism on account of Stephane Marais's applying a fake bake tan to fair-complected redhead Isla Fisher.

Worst recent magazine covers

Fashion magazine covers. You can't avoid them. You see them at the supermarket and drugstore checkouts: the placement is called "point of purchase."

Here are my selections as the worst magazine covers of recent months:


Victoria Beckham on the cover of the October 2009 issue of Elle.
From Red Carpet Fashion Awards.

Victoria Beckham in Hussein Chalayan for the October 2009 issue of Elle. It looks like she has Mickey Mouse ears on her boobs!

Elle didn't post this picture on its cover shoot story: wonder why?


Scarlett Johannson on the cover of the November 2009 issue of Glamour

Scarlett Johannson is beautiful, and her new red hair suits her. I like her red hair better than the platinum blonde that she wears in the ads for Dolce & Gabbana Cosmetics.

So what's wrong with this cover? It's more suitable for the cover of Playboy, as Scarlett looks like she's pulling down her tee to cover her nether regions (for all I know, she might be wearing a thong underneath). Playboy covers are often hidden from view, but anyone can see the Glamour cover as they go through checkout!

Domino to cease publication

February 2009 issue of Domino

While it was known that Domino was in trouble (other "shelter" titles have already ceased publication), staff were told this morning that Domino will cease publication. The last issue will be March 2009.

Domino, the sister magazine to Lucky, had a breeziness missing in other shelter magazines. I will miss it. I also feel for the staff, who will have to look for new jobs.

Missing IsaDora? Found.

Cover of February 2009 Allure

I was surprised to see a reference to IsaDora eyeshadow in the "Black and Blue" photo spread that appears in the February 2009 issue of Allure. Over a year ago, beauty advisors at Walgreen's (which had been the exclusive distributor for IsaDora in the U.S.) told me that IsaDora decided against shipping to the U.S.

I checked the credits in the back of the magazine, which indicated that IsaDora was available through walgreens.com. A search of walgreens.com did not yield any results for IsaDora.

The good news is that IsaDora is now being sold through Cosmeticmall.com and Amazon.com!

Condé Nasty

This is a lovely picture of Michelle Obama, as taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue.

Michelle Obama

The same cannot be said about the accompanying article, which trashes other political spouses:

"She's normal," Glanton answered, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "She stands by her man."

Normal. Interesting word. Certainly not one that applies to spouses Bill Clinton or even Elizabeth Edwards, who is battling metastatic breast cancer and lives in a $6 million, 28,200-square-foot house (the Obamas, by contrast, paid $1.65 million for their Georgian Revival home). Nor, frankly, is it a word that would have applied to Teresa Heinz, John Kerry's oddly flinty wife, or Howard Dean's MIA doctor wife. Or Cindy McCain, who once stole painkillers from the charity for which she worked. Or even the arctic Laura Bush, who can barely contain her contempt for the media in her rare public appearances ...

I particularly take exception to how Cindy McCain and Laura Bush are portrayed. Yes, it's true that Cindy McCain stole painkillers from the charity, but she is also a woman who found a Bangladeshi orphan with a cleft palate, obtained surgery for the child, and most of all, made that child her own.

I have never sensed contempt for the media on the part of Laura Bush. Perhaps that's because of my filters. I have contempt for much of the mainstream media, as do many Americans. If Mrs. Bush has contempt for the media, I suspect that's because she stands by her man. Fisking President Bush's decision to go into Iraq is one thing; however, the media has fed into a frenzy, as demonstrated by 1-29-09 bumper stickers, countdown clocks, and the continual jokes about the President's intellectual prowess, which pass for smart party conversation.

Mrs. Bush is a lady. She smoothed over Michelle Obama's comments "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country ..." which antagonized many Americans, including myself.

Anne Hathaway in People

Anne Hathaway in SELF

While the July 2008 issues of InStyle and Self with Anne Hathaway are still at newsstands, out comes this week's edition of People, with a cover story about Raffaelo Follieri and her.


Anne Hathaway in People

I don't know whether or not she was "stunned and heartbroken" by Follieri's alleged wrongdoing, but I do know that stories of betrayal play well. Just witness the media attention given to the marital woes of Alex Rodriguez and Christie Brinkley.

She hath a way ...

Anne Hathaway

I subscribe to InStyle, but I'm thinking about dropping my subscription when it expires next year. I seldom go to the movie theater, and I don't even have a subscription to Netflix. Consequently, I don't know the "work" of the stars featured in the pages of InStyle. The only time I catch up on movies is when I'm taking cross-country or overseas flights. On my flight between DC and Copenhagen last month, I watched The Devil Wears Prada. That shows you how out of date I am.

Which brings me to the July 2008 issue of InStyle, with Anne Hathaway on the cover. There's a series of Q&A with Anne inside the magazine; here's a very small excerpt:

[Interviewer] Let's talk about your boyfriend, Raffaelo Follieri. What does he do?
[Anne] Real estate and finance.

Now that's a terse reply. Follieri made news himself, right on the front page of the Wednesday, June 25, 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal. He has been charged with fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Follieri claimed that he had close ties with the Vatican, which would enable him to purchase surplus Church properties at favorable prices for investment. However, money from investors was diverted into funding Follieri's lavish lifestyle, including the $37,000 a month NYC apartment that he and Hathaway shared.

Fortunately for Hathaway, Follieri's troubles didn't spoil the successful opening of her latest movie Get Smart. Moreover, press reports claim that Follieri and Hathaway have split.

Women With Hats: 2008

Madonna on the cover of Elle (UK), May 2008

What makes women in men's hats with lots of leg look so sexy? I ask this after seeing Beauty Addict's article Madonna Madness: May 2008, on three magazines that feature Madonna on the cover of the May 2008 issues.

Madonna is the latest incarnation of this archetype:

Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola in  Der blaue Engel (1930; The Blue Angel)

Judy Garland in Summer Stock (1950)

Lisa Minelli in Cabaret (1972)

Keira Knightley for Coco Mademoiselle fragrance by Chanel (2007)

LeBron James and Gisele on the April 2008 cover of Vogue

This picture of basketball star LeBron James and supermodel Gisele Bündchen (so well known that's she's called by her first name only) on the April 2008 issue of Vogue has become controversial:



One African-American commentator said it played upon stereotypes of the sexuality of the African-American male that appears threatening to whites. He also said that the photo reminded him of King Kong and the woman whom King Kong takes captive!

I am ill-equipped to address the African-American experience. It's hard, for example, to accept Michelle Obama's comment that she is proud of her country for the first time in her life. I try to explain it as more a sense of alienation (despite her privileged Ivy League education) than a lack of patriotism.

I'd like to hear from readers what they think about the cover of the April 2008 issue of Vogue. Do you see a subtext here?

Now that's more like it!

After the travesty that was the cover of the March 2008 issue of Vogue, it's nice to see Drew Barrymore, well, looking like Drew on the cover of the April 2008 issue of Domino:



I love the royal blue blouse with sheer sleeves. The necklace is incredible. I then checked the credits: the necklace is from Amrapali of Jaipur (India). No wonder I like it. Jaipur is as well known for its jewelry as for its block-printed textiles.

Also, look at the decor: elements such as a settee upholstered in contrasting fabrics and the Chinese garden stool.

BTW Drew's called Domino's first cover girl. Seems that Domino might have had the same problem its sister publication Lucky had: you need recognizable faces to sell magazines.

And now, another gratuitous picture of Drew in ET:



She's so adorable!

The Three Graces

I'm amused by the post by Beauty Addict about the cover of the April 2008 issue of Vanity Fair and comments on the post.



They totally don't see that this cover is modeled after paintings of The Three Graces. No, I am not talking about The Graces, the short-lived band that featured Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos, Gia Ciambotti, and Meredith Brooks (whose song Bitch was prominently featured in the Mel Gibson-Helen Hunt movie What Women Want). I'm talking about The Three Graces, goddesses from Greek mythology. Here is the depiction of The Three Graces from Boticelli's Primavera:



Now tell me if you can't see the similarities.

Drew Barrymore en Vogue

Drew Barrymore on the March 2008 cover of Vogue

Both Beauty Addict and Christopher Drummond are aghast about this horrid Photoshopped picture of Drew Barrymore on the cover of the March 2008 issue Vogue. Beauty Addict notes the changes to Drew's facial contours, while Christopher notes how thin her arm looks.

I'm aghast, too, as it looks nothing like Drew, and I don't like the overly arched eyebrow.

Drew has brought new glamour to Cover Girl as that brand's latest face. It's easy to forget that she first made a name for herself playing Gertie, the little girl in E.T. When I last watched E.T., I was blown away by how this five- or six-year-old girl (which is how old she was then) took direction.


Gertie encounters E.T. for the first time

What gives?

For me, sitting around at the hair salon is an opportunity for me to catch up on magazines. I was waiting as my husband got his hair cut, and picked up the current issue of Allure, with Britney Spears on the cover. It was surreal. The photo spread, which featured a topless Spears (with her breasts discreetly covered by her hands or arms), was accompanied by Judith Newman's article about her unsuccessful efforts to get an interview with Spears. Then, there was Editor-in-chief Linda Wells's tortured (and ultimately lame) justification for putting Spears on the cover. What gives?

Just go to the Allure web site - it's all about boosting magazine sales.

PS I didn't watch MTV's Video Music Awards, but by all accounts, Spears' headliner performance was a disaster. While Kanye West's insistence that he should have been headliner is proof of his overweaning ego, he was probably right when he said that MTV "exploited" Spears for TV ratings.

Does this woman (Spears) have anything else to offer than exposing her body? Are Allure and MTV so deficient in imagination that they must exploit this woman's tabloid-worthy escapades and problems to promote themselves?

Design*Sponge: r.i.p jane

The premiere issue of Jane (L) and the current issue

The Style Page has reported on the demise of CARGO (Lucky for men) and SHOP Etc. (Lucky rip-off) magazines. Now comes news via Design*Sponge that Jane magazine will cease publication with its August 2007 issue.

The New York Times also reported on the demise of Jane in its article A Women’s Magazine That Tried to Be Otherwise. The authors described Jane as the grown-up version of Sassy, the groundbreaking, but now defunct, teen magazine. Detroit-based conservative columnist Debbie Schlussel has her own take on Jane's demise: So sad, too bad ...

I find the way that titles such as Glamour, Marie Claire, Vogue, and O conflate articles on fashion and beauty with articles on social and political issues jarring. Moreover, these magazines don't reflect my views on social and political issues. I also dislike the way that magazines geared toward women in their 20s and 30s are obsessed with sex. No wonder I prefer magazines such as Lucky and InStyle, which don't contain such articles.

Shop ETC is no more

Shop ETC. ceased publication with its October 2006 issue.

Looking for Shop ETC on the newstand? Then read this notice from its publisher Hearst Magazines:

Due to the challenging economy and rising paper and postal costs, SHOP Etc. will be discontinued after the October issue. more

My first impression of Shop ETC is that it was a blatant rip-off of Lucky. However, Shop ETC. began to grow on me, and I became a subscriber.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Shop ETC lasted as long as it did (about two years). While its graphic design was ho-hum compared to Lucky, I did find individual items of interest in its pages, like this Spanx "Tight-End" Tights Five-Day-a-Workweek set.

PS Rising paper costs??!! Then why I am getting more unsolicited mail-order catalogues than ever?

CARGO bites the dust

Categories: Bookstand, Media, Magazines, Clippings

Two years after I wrote What Guys Want, my review of the premier issue of CARGO, hyped as the men's version of Lucky, I learned through the New York Times that Condé Nast has stopped publication of CARGO: O.K., Fellas, Let's Shop. Fellas? Fellas?

While the article facetiously suggests that CARGO failed because guys don't like stickers, the best explanation was provided by Jimmy Jelinek, editor-in-chief of Stuff magazine:

"They [CARGO] failed to realize how men shop," Mr. Jellinek said. "You don't buy a cellphone based on what it does for you as much as it matches your sneakers. Shopping is about using possessions as a means to augment your power."

Or, to put it in another way: He who dies with the most toys, wins. Readers, I put it to you: how do men's shopping patterns differ from women's?

Great sources for fashion styling

Categories: Fashion

I've hesitated to editorialize about fashion because fashion is personal. Moreover, I'm on the other side of 40 and don't shop the trends.

Styling is key. If you want to shop the trends and wear them right, there are a few resouces that I recommend, some obvious and others that might surprise you (they surprised me).


Lucky is the best source for styling and deconstructing whole outfits.


While InStyle focuses on celebrity fashion, its Great at Any Age feature provides advice on how to wear a look in your 20s, 30s, and 40s. The looks created for women who are older than your age group won't look frumpy.

I've noted that the Wall Street Journal has expanded its lifestyle coverage to the point of launching a weekend edition and even a Wall Street Journal Weekend TV show on the Fine Living TV network. WSJ articles summarize the trends and how to wear them, analyze the market, and feature the expert views of people in the fashion industry about the durability of trends.

Another surprising source for styling is the fall Newport News catalogue. I had long thought that the Newport News catalogue was tawdry, but I am impressed how it's been redesigned as a "magalog" (magazine+catalog) featuring fashion trend reports, styling tips, and different color stories.

You'll find sites that link to Lucky, InStyle, The Wall Street Journal, and Newport News through a search of The Style Page. We have also added new content to our Fashion pages - don't forget to update your bookmarks!

WHAT'S NEW: Media

The Media page on The Style Page has undergone major changes.

The media page links to three major publishers of lifestyle magazines in the U.S:

Conde Nast - publishers of Allure, Architectural Digest, Cargo, Lucky, Vogue, and Domino, the shopping magazine for the home, which will debut in April 2005. Conde Nast is already seeking charter subscribers on the basis of a sneak peak into a few of the pages of Domino.

Time Inc. - publishers of InStyle, People, REAL SIMPLE, Southern Living, Sunset, and of course, Time.

Hearst Corporation - publishers of Cosmo, Marie Claire, O (Oprah), and SHOP Etc. While I was critical of SHOP Etc., it's growing on me, even though their style is still too frou-frou for me. I bought the first three issues at the newsstand, and then decided that it was time to subscribe.

The media page features links to Fashion and lifestyle coverage from major newspapers, such as the International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Telegraph (UK). Please note that access to online coverage for these publications might require registration or even a paid subscription.

Finally, the media page features links to "new" publishing ventures, such as femail.co.uk (featuring Trinny and Elizabeth of BBC's What Not to Wear), handbag.co.uk, and MochaSofa from Canada.

For those of you who track this blog via news aggregators such as Bloglines, you can track updates to The Style Page web site by subscribing to http://www.thestylepage.com/thestylepage.xml

I hope that you like the updates to the Media page. You can subscribe to many of the magazines listed here through amazon.com.

NYT and WSJ recognize benefit of lifestyle coverage

Categories: Bookstand, Media, Magazines

When I visited my folks in St. Louis in early September, I began each morning reading the Wall Street Journal (IMO the only journal of record in the U.S.) Maybe it was because of New York Fashion Week, but I was surprised by the amount of coverage given to fashion in the WSJ: for example, there were articles on how to wear the new retro styles (tweeds, brooches) without looking dowdy and the importance of patternmakers to fashion designers. The WSJ has greatly increased its lifestyle coverage and plans to launch a weekend edition in Fall 2005 to compete for advertising dollars. Meanwhile, the WSJ has launched a television show The Wall Street Journal Weekend on the Fine Living TV network.



The New York Times has revamped its fashion and interior design coverage into a new Sunday magazine simply called T: The New York Times Style Magazine. To learn more about T, read this press release from the New York Times Company.

Yahoo News - Cheaper Chic Spills Into Vogue

Categories: Fashion, Media, Magazines

Yahoo News - Cheaper Chic Spills Into Wintour'sVogue

"[The] 832-page September issue hitting newsstands this week is the magazine's biggest ever, with 647 ad pages and weighing around 4 pounds."

This article notes that shopping titles such as Lucky are much cheaper to produce than Vogue and Harper's BAZAAR. What it didn't mention that Lucky is much more honest than other fashion magazines in that women's magazines are about delivering the audience to its advertisers and Lucky is unabashed about its purpose. Magazines such as Vogue and Marie Claire feature both fashion and social commentary witihin its pages. For example, the September 2004 issue of Vogue had articles about John Kerry's daughters (photographed in couture gowns) and a former punk rock singer now with the leftist MoveOn.org and a review of a book on India that perpetuates the image of that country as poor, dysfunctional, and corrupt.

This article first brought to my attention SHOP Etc., a new magazine from the Hearst Corporation (which also publishes Harper's BAZAAR, Cosmo, and Oprah's O), designed to compete with Lucky. SHOP Etc. uses the metaphor of a store with departments for fashion, home, and beauty and includes bifold pages to demarcate each department. While Lucky has its Lucky Breaks and stickers page, SHOP Etc. has coupon inserts.

Overall, I am not excited about SHOP Etc., because it's nowhere as visually appealing as Lucky. This magazine will probably go the way of HotDots, another shopping title that tried to integrate a print format and web shopping, which discontinued publication after only a few issues.