Trendin' - The Vogue Factor

Bed Book and Breakfast

Quite simply the best combo in the world but often hard for me to achieve as I'm frequently running off in the early hours of the day to some exotic place (shopping malls included), castle or, quite simply, work/ uni. I found this book, The Vogue Factor by Kirstie Clements, a while ago in WH Smith in York train station whilst I was waiting to go home and finished it pretty much in one go. It's an excellent read that illustrates Clements's career at Vogue Australia, starting off with being a receptionist to becoming the Editor-in-Chief for 13 years straight before being sacked in May, 2012.

I <3 my Lucky Charms (and book) :-)

Speak out

One of the key things I learnt from the book. Clements (2013) didn't get position after position in Vogue just by sitting back - oh no. In fact, she wouldn't have gotten into Vogue without speaking out for herself and saying that Vogue ought to let her fill in the receptionist's position so that they wouldn't have to call her back if the other person they had in mind wasn't successful. Sometimes in life, you just need to take the chance and ask. Don't worry about whether or not you get what you want. As long as you did what you could at that time in an attempt to achieve something, then that's all that matters.

A simple and classic front cover - the gateway to a metropolis of dark secrets and stories

No pain, no gain

What basically reflects a model's life (the majority of them anyway - we can't generalize anything in life - that's what I've learnt in Anthropology). If you want to be "in", you'll have to make some sacrifices - eating less and over-worrying about weight. Even the smallest gain in weight can make you lose your job; Clements (2013) references several occasions where models have lived on tissues as a source of nutrition (it fills the belly up apparently) and even those in drips. It's a beautiful tragedy I guess. Of course, there are other models with can have a perfectly healthy diet and still stay in perfect shape and figure (lucky) but, the truth is, nothing comes without us putting a bit of hard work into it, even if it goes against or physicality at times.

Trendin' on my shelf

Living in Irony

Fashion can be portrayed in many different forms. From casual to evening wear, each is represented by a stereotype that's often been personalized to help each and everyone of us to easily associate what we do know about it with the new piece of information we've received (I am indirectly referring to a bunch of things I learnt in Psychology ages ago). When we think of the lives of those that are from the higher ranks of the fashion industry, it isn't uncommon for us to think that they do indeed live a luxe life (and definitely a richer one than mine! cries*). The Vogue Factor, rather than simply being an short autobiography, also reveals the deep dark secrets of the lives of such people. From daily chaos, stressful meetings to even breakdowns due to the impossibility of finding the "correct" shoe, Clements (2013) beautifully crafts together an ideal companion for all fashion-lovers (like myself) that shows the world what life really is like behind all the designer catwalks, visits to exotic places, makeup and clothing.

A personal yet realistic read, if you want to know about the deep and darkest secrets of the fashion industry, then this book is for you :-)

Harold's enjoying his morning read

Bibliography

Clements, K (2013) The Vogue Factor, London: Faber and Faber Ltd.