Magazines & A Waiting Room

You may recall that awhile back I was moaning about being a bit disappointed by Vogue and other fashion magazines and that I had let my subscriptions run out.  Then I saw this amazing photo shoot and offered a public apology to Vogue and once again, I found myself filling out subscription forms like a woman obsessed.

I couldn't have timed it better.  With a record breaking snow fall winter here in the North East, they proved a welcome distraction with a hot cup of tea or a glass of wine to help get through the long winter we endured.

Marie Claire arrived yesterday, so I grabbed it off the table on the way out the door for an appointment.  As my daughter and I sat in the waiting room, I flipped through it casually, pointing out eye catching ads and tearing open the "sniffer" for euphoria by Calvin Klein (which is quite lovely, in case your wondering).

Then I turned the page and found this:

(Photo credit: May 2011 issue Marie Claire p.74 & 76)

Livia Firth gets a great plug as "The Queen of Green" in "Feel-Good Fashion".  I make a sound that comes out as a sigh tinged with just a bit of disgust. (In case you missed my previous post @ not-so friendly fashion you can find it here.) A conversation ensues between my 9 year old daugther and I.

"What's the problem?"
"Oh, nothing....well, remember the lady at the Oscars who had her dress made by cutting up those 11 lovely 1930s gowns?"
"Oh, Colin Firth's wife?  Yeah, I remember."
"Yes, her name is Livia Firth.  Well, she gets a great plug in this article about how eco-friendly and conscious she is.  Except that I don't think what she did with those dresses was very friendly at all."
"Hey, did you ever hear back from the designer?  What did he say?"
"His name is Gary Harvey.  Yes, he said that  "Just because you don't believe it doesn't make it untrue."   That may be so, but I still don't believe it."
"Cool.  But what's the big deal about THIS article?"
"Well, it's just that, I guess, I mean -- oh, I don't know!  Listen to what she says: "The story of a piece of clothing or an accessory is as important as how it looks."  What about the story those 11 dresses told?  What about their history?  Doesn't that matter?  Or the story is only important if it's a new story made from old stuff?  That's practically fashion plagiarism."
(Our eyes meet, she knows what plagiarism is.  She tilts her head to the side, her eyes widen and she looks up with raised brows.)
"Mom, please!" 
"I know, I know.  I can't help it...."

The nurse appears and calls our name.