In My Copious Free Time

I love the smell of a new magazine in fall

I've been a fashion magazine addict (and a magazine fan in general) for a very long time. The first leaves turning red are lovely, and that first day when the sky is clear and the humidity has vanished is a delight, but since I was about 12, nothing signaled "fall is coming!" for me quite like the heft of Seventeen magazine's back-to-school issue as I giddily pulled it out of my mailbox. Even now I love a thick stack of September issues - right now I have Bazaar, Vogue (US and UK - I'd have bought French Vogue if Borders had had it in stock), W, Vanity Fair, Elle, and Elle Accessories stacked next to the bed. Yes, they are mostly ads, and that's why I like them. I won't wax philosophical; I'll just say that high-end fashion ads are typically striking, often artistic, and sometimes inspirational. What I take away from an ad is sometimes the product being peddled, but often it is something somewhat incidental. For instance, if I pick up Elle Accessories, the first ad is for Guess shoes and handbags. Yes, silver is going to continue to be hot this fall (as will metallics in general), but what I see is that the model in one photo is wearing 4 of the hottest trends for fall makeup: thick, defined brows; winged eyeliner; red lips; and short, red nails.

I really started this because I wanted to record this feeling of nostalgia induced by a 2-pound magazine (I'm probably rounding up), but now that I've started flipping through Elle Accessories, I think I'll comment on a few ads...

Prada shoes - I'm not a huge fan of Prada, but these shoes are lovely, particularly the brown and toast colored ombre patent ones. (Actually it's degrade when when the dip-dye look isn't on fabric. Ombre is pretty hot this fall, too.) But the ad also shows glimpses of skirt and dress hemlines that appear to be covered in cassette tape fringe. Similar to a Bottega Veneta ad I saw recently with some very 20s, flapper-esque fringed dresses. But uglier. Intriguing, though. That's the weird thing about fashion -- even when it's ugly, it can still be captivating.

50 best magazines, my ass

The Chicago Tribune apparently doesn't know jack shit about magazines. This might be the worst list I've ever seen. Actually, my ass could come up with a better list.

Speaking of my ass, I finally un-lazied it for a moment and created a category for this subject.