My Expectations Are Great

I've been a big fan of W magazine for years now, and if you'd told me about their current re-design last year I would have gone into panic; W was my favourite. But while I still enjoy reading W I have become less excited about picking it up it as the months go on this year. So the change is welcome.
Yesterday the new editor-in-chief (W didn't have an editor before) Stefano Tonchi gave an interview to WWD about the re-designed September issue. The cover is a triple gatefold shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin and styled by Alex White, and it features eight new(ish) faces including Emma Roberts, Zoë Kravitz and Yaya DaCosta.

I like all three cover images with my favourite featuring Yaya DaCosta, Jennifer Lawrence and Greta Gerwig. The biggest change on the cover is the new "W" font  (apparently it's called Benton - after my favourite ER Dr I hope...) and the introduction of the tagline "who, what, where, when and why in the world of style." I like the new font but I'm less keen on the tagline - it might take time for me to get used to it.
Obviously the content of a magazine is equally, if not more, important than the cover, so I'll have to wait until the issue hits the UK until I can fully decide what I like and don't about the re-design. But I don't think I'll be disappointed.

What are your inital thoughts on the W re-design? Do you like the new font and tagline? And do you think they chose the right cover stars?

The article that accompanies the cover can be read now at wmagazine.com

images from wmagazine.com and wwd.com

The Miu Miu Cover Girl

My subscribers copy of ELLE always used to arrive so late that for a while I really disliked the postman. But the August issue arrived on my doorstep bright and early yesterday morning and I read the whole magazine in one sitting. Lily Allen is obviously popular with ELLE readers as this is her second cover in under a year. Lily has had a her fair share of magazine covers over the years, but I don't remember liking one as much as I like the August cover; and this is probably down to the lilac Miu Miu A/W dress she's wearing.

In my not-so-professional blogging opinion I think the lilac lace dress is definitely the key look in the Miu Miu fall collection. It's the piece that comes to mind first when the Miu Miu collection is mentioned. You may remember Carey Mulligan wore this dress to the Met Gala in May - albeit a slightly altered version. Because it's already walked one of the most important red carpets of the year I would normally predict the dress would head into an early red-carpet-retirement to avoid any 'who wore it better?' situations, but as Carey wore a paired-down version of the look I think it could still make another appearance. Who would you like to see it on next?
And, of course, the mustard yellow Miu Miu dress appears on Eva Mendes' July W cover. I swear if my magazine man doesn't have W and US Vogue today I might actually throw a tantrum in his shop. It feels like I've been waiting forever.

What do you think of Lily's ELLE cover? And which Miu Miu dress if your favourite?

ELLE UK is out out Saturday 3rd July

Lily image: Photography by Rankin / Courtesy of UK ELLE Magazine
W image justjared.buzznet.com and catwalk images from style.com

W Magazine on Lunch Break

Ever since I saw W magazine's July cover I knew it would be a great issue. And I've just seen Terry Richardson's W editorial Lunch Break, so I'm super-duper desperate to get my copy now. Give me a fluffy white dog, two Miu Miu dresses, Jessica Stam and New York City and I'm won over.


There's an adorable little video that accompanies the shoot (which was styled by the amazing Alex White) too. But a word of warning: it's filled with shots of the hottest A/W shoes, so if you have a weakness for a fabulous heel you may need to sit down. My personal favourites are the OTT Miu Miu pair.



You can view the rest of the editorial at wmagazine.com.

Please tell me you guys get this giddy over W magazine too...

Eva Mendes Covers W Magazine



You know I adore W magazine, and the July 2010 cover actually blows my mind. It's their best cover all year, by miles. I've always thought Eva Mendes was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood (she has classic movie star sex appeal) so her W cover is really just the cherry on the well-iced-cake.
On the cover she plays up to her sex-symbol status in a very boobilicios Miu Miu dress while the editorial has a touch of Sophia Loren's look. My two favourite images are below.



You can read Eva's W interview, and view the full editorial HERE. As always I'll wait until I have the magazine in my hands to read the article, because opening a shiny new magazine is one of the few true pleasures left in life.

Do you like the look of Eva's cover and editorial? And who would you like to see on a W cover next? I'm crossing my fingers for Coco Rocha or Karlie Kloss.

images from justjared.buzznet.com and wmagazine.com

Cate and Blake Take the June Covers

Even though there are lots of UK magazines I really rate (ELLE is a particular favourite) the two glossies I get genuinely excited about are US Vogue and W. The reason they are my favourites is because they use the best photographers and models - resulting in gorgeous editorials - as well as the best writers. I'm a journalism student so I like words - both magazines always have brilliant articles.
The June covers of W and Vogue couldn't be more different, however. W has paired Cate Blanchett with Craig McDean, resulting in sophisticated yet moody editorial. And Vogue went to the beach with Blake Lively and Mario Testino, producing in a fresh summery spread.


Cate is obviously promoting Robbin Hood, and if I'm honest I was expecting to see her on the cover of Vogue instead. Lucky W snapping her up first! I adore the image of her in the blue Etro dress, below right. You can read the accompanying article HERE but I always prefer to wait until the magazine's in my hands.



Blake doesn't appear to be promoting a new movie or series of Gossip Girl right now. I think she must just be on the June cover because Anna likes her - that and she looks good in a bikini. I hated Blake's last Vogue cover, which made her look a lot older than she is. This time it's much better. The image of her sitting in the car dressed in a leather Versace dress is fabulous.



You can read the feature HERE which is mostly about surfing but includes this very insightful quote from Blake: "Ostrich flats don't really work on the beach!"

What do you think of the June covers? Which is your favourite?

images from style.com and wmagazine.com

Balmain Dress + Magazine Cover = Smart Move

Sarah Jessica Parker is on another magazine cover. This time it's Marie Claire. She's of course promoting the new Sex and the City film. Marie Claire seems to have interviewed all four women, but SJP is naturally on the cover. I guess her face sells more issues. It would be nice to see Kim, Cynthia or Kristen on a cover for a change, as I love all the SATC ladies, but I'm not really complaining, because SJP looks amazing dressed in Balmain on the cover.
The massive hype that has surrounded Balmain for so long (and the fact people still pronounce it wrong) has slightly put me off the label recently, but Balmain dresses look great on magazine covers. Remember Demi Moore for W?


I'm not going to do the 'who looked better?' thing because quite frankly they both look amazing - photoshopping or no photoshopping.
And on a slightly unrelated note I just started reading The Carrie Diaries. It's a really easy read and is pretty entertaining. Is anyone else reading it at the moment? What do you think?

images from justjared.buzznet.com

A Boy Named Sue






I just found this amazing W editorial, A Boy Named Sue, from 2004. It was photographed by Craig McDean, and the model is the gorgeous Jessica Stam. I'm not sure who styled the shoot, or which month it was published, so if you know either please leave a comment. The full editorial can be found HERE for those haven't seen it before either.

A Quick Goodbye: For the next two days I'll be visiting my Gran in Wales, so won't be blogging. Regular posting should be back to normal by Friday, and if I get good mobile signal I'll hopefully still be tweeting. See ya soon.

images from thefashionspot.com

Julianna Margulies Covers W Magazine

Here is an embarrassing fact about myself. Last summer I started watching the 15th season of ER. I had never watched the show before and became completely addicted - 15 years too late. In less than 12 months I have watched every season of ER apart from 5 and 6. For a short period of time I even questioned whether my true calling was medicine and totally went off fashion. Luckily the Burberry S/S 10 show snapped me out of it.
Why am I telling you this? Because Julianna Margulies, aka Carol Hathaway, aka George Clooney's soul mate, is on the May cover of W magazine.
And she looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!



I adore the Dolce & Gabanna dress on her, so beautiful, and the editorial is gorgeous - especially the picture of her modelling the Giles sunglasses. I want them so bad.



W is one of my favourite (if not my ultimate favourite) magazines ever, but recently I've been a little worried about its future. The issues keep on shrinking, and there have been rumours about W's future. But this cover made me squeal with delight. So it looks like W still knows how to whip up a great fashion story.

What do you think of Julianna's editorial? And are there any other secret ER fans out there?

images from wmagazine.com

Five Years Ago





Looking at this Kate Moss shoot from the March 2005 issue of W you notice how much Lara Stone looks like Kate. If I saw the second image in a magazine now I'd probably think it was Lara at first. It's those bleached brows.
I love looking at 'vintage' Kate Moss editorials just as much as I love flicking through old copies of W. Either activity is a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

images from katemossonline.net photos Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

That Love Triangle Again

I know, I know, it's pretty predictable to write about Jennifer Aniston's W cover with Gerard Butler and compare it to Brad and Angelina's. But really, I do sometimes wish I was Jennifer's life coach. Because I would have warned her against a double W cover.
Brad and Angelina's 2005 cover was epic. So iconic that I actually bought a copy for my magazine collection on eBay last year - it sells for quite a lot too, I might add. It is the kind of shoot a magazine lover lives for. A shoot that has gone down in the history of one of Hollywood's most infamous couples.
If you are therefore - in the case of Jennifer Aniston - going to do a shoot for the same publication with a man you're also rumoured to be dating, comparisons will be made. And when you're up against Brangelina you never win.
If only someone told Jen this. You can see her cover HERE (and by the way, could Gerard be airbrushed any more?) but what you really want to look at is below. The original is always better, after all...







There's no competing, right?

Publication: W, July 2005 - Photographer: Steven Klein

I Am… Sasha Fierce





If I could be any celebrity for one day I would choose Beyonce. Not because I like her style more than any other celebrity, just because I'd know what it's like to be so fierce. Have you seen her live? She is amazing, her energy rivals Madonna's. I saw her live last summer and ever since I've wanted to be Beyonce for just one day. And I would spend that day doing the Single Ladies dance.

Images from Beyonce's 2002 W magazine cover. What I'd do for a cover this fabulous today... I think W should put her on the cover again, no?

And if you could be a celebrity for one day who would you be and why?

images from thefashionspot.com

Rihanna Does W Magazine

You know I'm a huge fan of W magazine - I love it, love it, love it! And I'm really excited to see Rihanna on the cover, wearing a white cut-out dress from the S/S 2010 Gucci collection.


She was photographed by Craig McDean (who is one of my favourite photographers) and if you like the cover you will adore the editorial, which I can only describe as fierce! Rihanna and animal print is a match made in heaven.


And I always forget how many tattoos she has. I'm not really a tattoo kind of girl, I don't have any, but I really like the one running down her back.


You can view more pictures at W's site (HERE) or wait to buy the issue. W is so satisfyingly big, why is it the only magazine that hasn't shrunk in recent years? There is nothing that makes me happier than a big coffee-table sized fashion magazine.

What do you think of the shoot?

images from thefashionspot.com

The November Issues

I only read i-D magazine every now and then, so it's taken me about a week to look at the three covers for their Fall issue. I love the Linder Sterling cover, so creative. It's definitely one of my favourite covers of the year.



There seem to be a quite a lot of fantastic covers this November, actually. I love the Frida Giannini/James Franco i-D cover (the third cover in the i-D trio features Shakira - kind of random), and Lily Cole on Dazed & Confused. W's November cover is the best they've had all year, you can't go wrong with Linda Evangelista, can you?



And then there's the 'controversial' Vogue US cover. I have to say the photoshopping is bad, but what offends me most is the presence of Nicole Kidman, for some reason I just find her hugely annoying. I blame Nicole, not Anna!

I'd love to know what you think is the best Novemeber cover. And let me know what you think about the Vogue cover...

My favourite November cover is...
	i-D, Linder Sterling
	i-D, Frida and James
	Dazed and Confused, Lily Cole
	Vogue, Nicole, Marion, Pen and Kate
	W, Linda Evangelista
pollcode.com free polls

all images from thefashionspot

Autumn Leaves

While I hate the cold I have to admit there's something about Autumn that I do love. Curling up on the sofa with a blanket, Sex and the City boxset, and maybe a magazine too is complete bliss. And when the leaves turn golden and cover the pavements (which they're not far from doing now) I always feel happy.
Yesterday I was looking through editorials styled by Alex White, the Fashion Director at W magazine, who I am totally in awe of, and I found this great shoot from 2007 that is so beautifully autumnal.

Title: "Into the Woods"

Publication: W August 2007

Photographed by: Mert & Marcus

Styled by: Alex White

Modeled by: Doutzen Kroes

It's great to see Doutzen looking more 'edgy'. I always associate her with L'oreal and 'pretty' editorials. I kind of forgot what a great model she is.

scans from thefashionspot.com

Mossy gets a Perm

My obsession with Kate Moss has died down, but I still get excited over a really great Moss cover, and W’s September issue is pretty damn fabulous. Not so much because of the Moss factor, but because of the perm.

"Because isn't the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the immonium thygocolate?" - Elle Woods Legally Blonde

I was born with very fine straight hair, I have tried many times to make it look voluminous and wavy but it just won’t budge (any tips are welcome). Because it is so straight it tends to look flat, boring and always the same. And because the grass is always greener I dream of curly hair.


Wavy beachy hair has been in fashion for a while now, but on the runways curls are starting to get supersized. For the Chanel Cruise 2010 show the models resembled Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons, with red hair curled tightly around their faces.


Then there was Christian Dior A/W 09 Couture where Kim Noorda had a bouncy bundle of ringlets on the top of her head. The super-perm looks fantastic on the runway and in editorials but I think the softer look translates better into real life.
You could always try scrunching (not that it works on my hair) like Sarah Jessica Parker did everyday to get Carrie's fabulous curls. She's my hair idol.


What do you think of the perm look? Do or don't?

images from wmagazine.com and thefashionspot