September Issues

Christmas has arrived! That's right, Mid-August, when every magazine drops their gargantuan fall fashion issues on shelves worldwide. I clear hours in my days to sit at Starbucks and pour over every page of every issue that Santa (aka the postman) delivers to me. I do not subscribe to every magazine imaginable, over the years I have tailored my list to only my favorites (Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, In Style).

I collect September issues from years past and love to look back each season at the evolutions (and sometimes revolutions) that fashion undergoes. (My very favorite of the collection is Vogue's September 2004 issue, which contained a 50 page spread celebrating Ann Taylor's 50th anniversary, my very first piece of work in post-college life). I often find the advertisements as exciting as the runway shots and editorial content of the fall issues. A few of my favorites this season are the new Gap denim campaign ads (and $20 off coupon on p. 136 of Harper's Bazaar), and Ralph Lauren's collection ad, featuring an ethereal velvet off-shoulder top paired with contrastingly masculine wool trousers. These 2 spreads remind me of the true beauty of fall- the disparity of what we can run out and buy, and what we can long for with the insatiable desire of a 20-something living pay check to pay check.

Fall '09 promises an array of bright colors, heavy metal details, and skinny jeans (including classes aimed at helping women fit into them). And of course the fall veterans (tweed, refined wools, leather boots, newsboy caps) are omnipresent. An apparent response to the past months of economic downturn and consumer guilt, fall shows breaks of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Pick up your copies at newsstands today and give yourself a little Christmas!