This week I had the joy to tuck myself away in a quiet corner of the house and indulge myself in reading a copy Vogue with a cup of Earl Grey. It seems a wonderfully indulgent thing to do these days but it's important to take time out to relax once in a while!
Back in the olden days in London circa 1993 I'd spend a fortune on magazines and stock up every month. Vogue, Elle, ID, The Face and Dazed and Confused were my 90's magazines of choice. As a fashion student in London before the internet took over, Magazines were really the main source of trend forecasting for the fashion student. We'd also go to whatever Fashion Shows we could blag our way into and trail round all the important store creating "Shop Reports" but really magazines were the easiest way that you could get an understanding of what was going on in the wider world of fashion.
For a northern working class girl, studying fashion at London's prestigious Kingston University was a bit of a challenge. With an arts and crafts background, I loved drawing and creating but was really at a bit of a loss when it came to high fashion. I could never get a handle on the vast amounts of money that these clothes retailed for. Even the high street stores such as Miss Selfridge and Top Shop which catered for a young audience were a once a year treat when perhaps you had some Birthday or Christmas money, instead we made our own fashion by shopping creatively and making and customising our own clothes. Magazines were something of my saving grace - offering me an insight into a financially unattainable world and also a source of discovery and inspiration, I learnt a way to re-interpret some of these trends and aspirations in my own way.
These days you can follow a host of fashion labels, sign up to a trend forecasting agency, live stream the fashion shows from any city in the world, choose which celebrities and influencers to follow and aspire to labels or looks from a host of different sources at the click of a few buttons. Everything is more accessible. But this accessibility has also fuelled our consumption and our desire for the newest, the best, the shiniest. Interesting that has led to the most diverse fashion landscape we have ever had - "Anything Goes!" It's a strange time for fashion and it's discussed in the article from Vogue below:
I think it's a shame that this accessibility of the social platforms have led to the demise of so many great magazines and ones that are still around have had to evolve. These days, perhaps the content isn't quite as fresh as it could be, perhaps the ads are a little more intrusive than they used to be but I always find a few snippets in magazines to inspire me, here's what I took from Vogue Feb 2019:
Next time I go treasure hunting I can train my eye to look for things that remind me of these looks! I also noted a strong patchwork / print clash accent trend which is great inspiration for my new range. How awesome is that Chanel Crop! - The styling is so similar to some of the boxy re-worked crops I have in store like the orange linen crop shirt - see it here
Other magazines I enjoy these days are Frankie and Peppermint for artsy crafty inspiration. And Elle and Marie Claire for their own take on fashion which has a different focus to Vogue. There is something really comforting about reading the typed word, the turning of the pages, the viewing of the pictures. Your brain processes and absorbs this information with much more clarity than the endless scrolling. I'm going to try and allow myself more time for the pleasure of reading magazines - I haven't bought Frankie for ages - my next treat!