Vogue - August 2008

This month's Vogue is called  "The Age(less) Issue" and according to the cover text, is Vogue's guide to "looking amazing at every decade on every budget." I didn't see much inside that was devoted to budgets in the $60K salary range which is the average yearly salary of a Vogue reader but we can't be nitpicky right?

The cover model this month is Kate Moss, who to my eye looks every bit of her 34 years. The adjoining article covers her rise from supermodel to business tycoon. Yeah, she makes a lot of money and browsing the ads inside the magazine, she appears to still be getting a hell of a lot of work. Yet somehow, "tycoon" doesn't come to mind when I see her but whatever.

There isn't much that sets this issue apart from typical issues of Vogue but there are a few high points. For one, gorgeous Chinese actress Ziyi Zhang, who always looks flawless on the red carpet, is also featured in a profile that includes a brief photo spread of her looking, well flawless. Why isn't she on the cover in place of Kate? Because this is American Vogue, get your head out of the sand. Covers are for people who don't sell issues like Gwenyth Paltrow.

Like the "shape" issue, this one is full of spreads of twenty something skinny models, only this time instead of the shape issue's lineup of short skinny models, pregnant skinny model and tall skinny model, Vogue has young skinny models modeling clothes for women in every age bracket. Why they're don't use women who are actually 50 to model the clothes for the fifty-something woman is never touched upon. There is a piece on former supermodels like Yasmin Le Bon which recovering Duran Duran fans like me will appreciate. John Taylor was always my boyfriend of the group but I was glad the Yasmin was featured instead of that wench Renee Simonsen who I'm still mad at for having the nerve to be engaged to him back when I was the one who needed a date to the prom. 

Wow. I didn't realize I was still so angry about that.

This is not to imply that the August issue has no redeeming value. There are actually a few other things worth checking out this month.

For one, in an effort to maybe quiet the comparisons to Essence Magazine's annual "black don't crack" issue, this one actually features a non-white woman in the line-up. 73 year old Diahann Carroll is profiled and looks fabulous. It's actually nice to see a woman of such sophistication and grace get props on the pages of this rag. My favorite quote from the article is from Diahann's upcoming memoir:

[In the 1970s her career took a downturn Carroll found herself driving a fancy car in need of repair. This was the] "worst message you could send." "Show business had already started to change... Around that time I remember quite clearly the sight of a bright yellow Bentley convertible coming at me on Coldwater Canyon Drive... Behind the wheel of this lurid yellow car was a tiny black woman with a huge head of hair flying around in the wind. As she drove past me, I recognized it was Diana Ross. 'There goes the neighborhood,' I muttered to myself'

Yeah, I've got to read that book.

Second, rags to riches socialite and jewelry designer Genevieve Jones contributed a few paragraphs about her recent trip to Thailand which no doubt will piss off people who think she has no right to be a socialite in the first place.

Lastly, there is a profile on one of my favorite new musical artists Janelle Monae whom I hope becomes really big really soon. I just love everything about this girl. Sadly, there is only one photo of her but it was enough to make me do a happy dance when I saw it.

So while this issue isn't perfect, I still think it's worth picking up or reading while you're waiting at the bookstore for that second shipment of Vogue Italia to come in.