Oh Elle!

Think back to when you were at school and there was a boy who you knew for ages but never took notice of because he was just there. Then one day you looked up and he had gone from being just some boy in your class to this drop dead gorgeous guy. You just shook your head and went - wow - when and where did that happen? Well that is what has happened with UK Elle magazine. In the 70s and 80s UK Elle was the very poor relation to Brit Vogue; not as heavy, not as glam and not as glossy. Then in the 90s and the heyday of maverick, Glenda Bailey, UK Marie Claire started kicking ass and put Elle even further in the shade. Now it seems that has all changed because Elle is right up there making waves. Since Lorraine Candy come to the helm in 2004 she has shaken the magazine to the core by bringing in the popular and much respected Chloe Sevigny as a style advisor and snapping up photographer, Mary McCartney. She also commissioned a new design that would shape the magazine into a style and fashion bible.

The April issue of Elle features the Elle Style Awards with pictures from the event, there is a black and white pictorial of the winners as well as profiles. Donning the cover is Hollywood's sweetheart a la Jennifer Aniston. We are also treated to an interview with Burberry's creative director, Christopher Bailey which is conducted by his close pal and original Pop Idol, Will Young. With wonderful images and great layouts the overall look is extremely fresh. Normally when I buy a glossy I have only found one or two articles that are worth reading but with Elle there have been at least four or five stories that I could sink my teeth into. The next issue in May looks to be a real scorcher with pop kitten Kylie on the cover looking all 60s. So with Brit Vogue getting all generic on us and Marie Claire now getting a touch bland it looks like Elle is here to save the day for glossy magazines.

The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable

Ok, brace yourself because this is a heavyweight of a style book. Fashionista journo, Hadley Freeman's writing debut is on the ethos of fashion industry and all other elements. The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost all Things Fashionable is an A to Z of fashion with a twist. It does not cover the all and sundry of fashion but topics and subjects that the author finds intruiging. This approach results in a very funny, witty and very well researched book. As an officiando of The Guardian and ultimate style mag, Vogue, Ms Freeman certainly knows her stuff. However, unlike other fashion journos, she posseses a look on the industry that is cynical and analytical. Freeman like her books teaches you how to embrace the fun in fashion and not to take it too seriously. I mean it is only clothes right? Ok as well as shoes, handbags etc. Every echelon in the style stakes is covered here; vintage, music, film, fashion designers and even a certain Kate Moss. Normally I do not care for blurbs on press releases but the statement issued from the PRO that this title 'shucks off its imposing mystique of fashion and makes it relevant to people beyond the usual Vogue readership' is true to its word. Hadley takes fashion from the snooty elevators and brings it right down to grass roots level with her delightful entries.

The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable is published by Viking and out in February.

Maga-holic

There was a time a few years back when I used to buy every magazine out there. Cosmopolitan, Company, Marie Claire, InStyle, New Woman - they all came home with me. Now I have toned it down a bit and only buy a couple of titles. There is Glamour which I took out a subscription to a few years ago and never got round to cancelling. Glamour is famous for being the publication that had the balls to be different from all the other mags out there. While its rivals were A4 sized, Glamour came in a A5 format that was designed to fit in your handbag. Clever eh? How could any respecting woman resist that? Unfortunately, Glamour has not maintained the standards of its earlier years and the articles are looking old and a bit samey so it will be goodbye to them soon. I also like Elle and Marie Claire - well what I mean is I like the look of them till an hour later when I have ploughed through and realised how crap and totally useless both magazines are.

I don't touch Cosmopolitan because the poor old thing reminds me of an out of date pub that is in desperate need of a lick of paint. In the 70s Cosmo was the voice of post modernist women and published articles on career and marriage while cajoling women that they could have it all. The publication was also a pioneer in awakening women's sexuality and held bold articles. In fact Cosmo was seen as the magazine that you bought if you wanted to know how to cook a three course meal and perform a blow job. Sadly Cosmo's circulation is no longer what it was in the 70s and 80s and is now just seen as just another magazine while other titles like Marie Claire, Glamour and now Grazia have surpassed it. Ah, Grazia; described by a media honcho as a woman's guilty pleasure. It is like bad men and alcohol, fantastic at first till you realise that it is simply not good for you. Upper class fancy magazines like Vogue, Tatler and Harpers do nothing for me. All fur coat and no knickers with very few articles of interest. The magazines that I do have time for are Psychologies, Easy Living and Happy. Also magazines that come free with the Sunday newspapers are pure class; Stella with The Sunday Telegraph, YOU with The Mail on Sunday, Style with The Sunday Times and Observer Woman are all gorgeous publications that remain in my collection. Yes, sometimes the best things are for free. What magazines do you guys read? Picture from The Observer website