Fashion Magazines

I looked at the gene Fashion Magazines and analysed 3 different titles of magazines but still in the same genre. The first magazine I looked at was Harpers BAZAAR magazine, which was first, published in 1867 in New York and is a magazine that considers itself as to be a style resource for women. Its audience is mainly women (92.2%) and its average age is 46.3 years old. It aims its magazines at mainly married women that are in middle or upper class as they deliver a sophisticated look into fashion, beauty and culture. When the magazine first started out and was known as Harpers Bazar, it used illustrations to represent the images they were getting across and since technology has developed, they now produce high quality images. I think that having progressing technology has helped because it makes the images more detailed rather than having illustrations because it doesnt have that same effect than having photography does. The font has also changed over time as it first started off as quite small with the H and the B being in an old, floral font that was perceived and feminine. But then over time it became thinner and a font, which doesnt look as bold on the page and elegant, and it also has enlarged over time and I think this makes it look more attractive on the page and less cluttered. They also used black and white illustrations where as now they have developed colours, the images are now displayed in colour and this gives it a lot more details to the image and I think it makes it more eye catching for the audience as it stands out on the magazine stands. When the magazine first started, they never used captions

to describe what was being put in the magazine, but now they use captions around the image and this helps the audience understand what is featuring in the magazine. The next magazine that I looked at was VOGUE. This magazines audience is 87% women that are middle to upper class and the average age of this magazine is 34. It was first published in 1892. They also used sketches and illustrations like BAZAAR did for their magazines, as they had no welldeveloped photography back then. They still used models on the front of their magazines like they do now. The Gibson girl was the personification of feminine ideal and beauty and their audience perceives the models they use now and the general public as an idol like the Gibson girl was and they also personify beauty and people try and look like they do. The title of the magazine has been enlarged over time and this makes it stand out more on the page so people notice it when quickly walking by it and it also gives it a more modern look in my opinion. They also didnt use captions on the cover of the magazine unlike now where they use captions to link to what is being said in the magazine and I think that having the captions there gives the reader some general knowledge of what is in the magazine. The final magazine that I looked at was ELLE and their total audience is 5,644,000 and 5,088,000 of the audience are females so it is mainly aimed at women who again are middle or upper class and their ages range from 18-49. The magazine was first published in 1945 in France because thats where ELLE is based and similar to the 2 other magazines I looked at, they didnt use captions around their images to explain what was in the magazine unlike now where they do that on the front

because I think that without having the captions, the reader wont know what is in the magazine and this makes them query whether to spend around 4 on a magazine without knowing what is in it so this acts like a guide for the reader. The font of the title has stayed the same apart from it has been enlarged which makes it easier for the reader to see in shops in my opinion and this helps drive sales. When the magazine first was published it had only 24 pages and since then it has progressed up to 200 pages in an issue which gives the reader good issues for the price. The images used when it first came out, the models were still made to be the people the readers looked up to and they made the models look perfect for the cover and now they still do that by airbrushing the images so that the readers want to look like them. Fashion magazines are the genre of magazine that doesnt really have any negative representations because they aim their magazine at an older audience and they are mainly females. The models used on the cover of the magazine are represented in a respectable way and are there so that the audience are inspired by them because of how the magazine represent them. Where as, another magazine like FHM would represent women in a completely different way because its a magazine aimed at men and a younger audience and how the women are in the magazine appeals to that audience. They completely airbrush the models and make them up to be completely different to make them perfect and more attractive and they also do this by sexually exploiting them to fascinate the reader. Fashion magazines have a few negative representations because

they pose the models to be there to inspire you and this will make the readers want to look like them which is seen as impossible because they are airbrushed to make them look better themselves and remove little imperfections so they are perfect to the reader. On some fashion magazines they also have articles on how to look better in yourself and these are displayed on the front of the magazine too as a caption. For example, on an ELLE magazine, they have a caption saying the secret to the best behind ever and this encouraged people to try change their body by something which sounds easier to do then it actually will be and tries to make women more attractive and this is trying to perfect the audience. Fashion magazines have more positive representations because of the respectable way they present their magazines. The models on the front are usually dressed respectable and normally covered up and look formal but still look natural and comfortable. They are not usually put on a magazine with loads of make-up on or revealing clothing because this then appeals to the audience more as they are an older audience and more middle class and would relate to how they dress. Even though they airbrush the models to make them look perfect they are still quite natural and sometimes it is difficult to tell if they have overly airbrushed them like some other genres of magazines. Most of the captions on the front of the magazine relate to mainly fashion and speak about different lifestyles. There isnt too much focus on improving the look of the audience unless it links to fashion and there isnt too much mentioned about getting perfect body shapes and how to look slimmer. For example, on a

VOGUE cover, they use a caption which says real style in real life and this shows that they are showing the audience realistic ways to dress and this will be something the audience will want to read because they mainly buy the magazine because it is based on fashion and with them stressing that its real it just puts the point across that it isnt fake and thats what I think when I read it. The average age of the magazines starts from 34 and go up to 45 and the models used on the 3 magazines I looked at ranged from 28 to 39 so this shows that the models used are around the age ranges of the magazines audiences and this then makes it easier for the magazine and the audience to relate to each other. If they used models which were really young for the magazine then this would make the audience feel insecure and not as tempted to buy the magazine because they might feel intimidated by the models on the front so using an older range of models makes the audience feel more relaxed and comfortable. They wear clothes which cover them up and are styles which an older audience would like, where as if it was for a younger audience they would prefer more revealing clothes to show off their body so that younger people could work towards looking and having a figure like they do. Because the audience is a middle class audience, they use quite wealthy people on the covers and show off things which are designers and these are things that middle class and upper class can afford and this is why these magazines dont attract younger people. The audience for a magazine called chat for example would be a lower class audience so the model on the front of the magazines are quite

fake and dont look as wealthy but this relates to the audience and links to them. There arent a lot of social issues represented in fashion magazines. All of the magazines have a model on the front that is mainly a well-known celebrity. The magazines then contain articles, which may speak about their personal life, issues they have had or their fame, and this can be seen as expressing social issues. Also some magazines may contain articles, for example, about fur and this then brings up issues that can be thought about and discussed, as it can be a big issue to people. But because they dont have many social issues, the audience obviously dont feel interested in buying a magazine to debate about social issues. A magazine like Chat or Take a Break are magazines which strongly show social issues because the audience buy the magazine so they can relate to their problems and maybe link them to things that are happening in their life. This could include things like domestic issues or illnesses or sexual abuse and this is what people might want to read about and if it has happened to them it can comfort them in a way because they will know that whatever has happened, it has happened to someone else too. In fashion magazines, there can be a lot of stereotypes portrayed. Some people will see the magazines and the models on the front and will think that because of the way they are and how they are celebrities, they will think that they are perfect and that they are quite full of themselves and snobby. They will also see that because they look perfect, they know they are and this will make them better than everyone else and because

they will be wearing designer clothes, they will think that they are better than everyone else because they can afford things most people cant. Also, because their magazines are highly priced and their audience can afford the price because they are a wealthy audience, people may also think they are stuck up and that they may look down on people. The models on the front of the magazine are giving direct eye contact to the reader and this could be seen as them showing people what they can have. Fashion magazines have a middle aged, wealthy and feminine audience and all of these are in the presence group because they are the ones that read the magazines. These types of magazines dont aim their product at men; elderly people and not so wealthy people who are in a lower class and these would be classed in the absence group. Men wouldnt be into a fashion magazine as the products in the magazine are mainly womens clothing and aimed at women and they would prefer to read more sporty magazines or fitness magazines. The elderly would prefer to read magazines that are more factual and more about things like knitting or train magazines because they are simple and something which would appeal to them. Then the lower class audience that dont really want to spend 4 on something that doesnt interest them would prefer real life magazines or soap magazines. But the middle and upper class would prefer fashion magazines because they can afford those magazines and it has things that they like and it appeals to people interested in fashion. The magazines also use models that are well known celebrities and appeal to the reader.

Those paragraphs focused on the representation of fashion magazines, so then I looked at the general style and genre of the magazine and why this would appeal to the audience it has. The content of all fashion magazines are very similar and base their magazine on mainly fashion, beauty and lifestyles and every fashion magazine contains this. They have articles and images about advice mainly on make-up, different styles for different people and sometimes maintaining a decent figure. For example, the 3 magazines I looked at all displayed captions on the front that were linked to fashion. ELLEs said your all-season shopping guide; BAZAAR had a caption saying, The big fashion issue and VOGUE has a caption saying, real style in real life. These captions all refer to fashion and style and all the captions are very similar. On the front of the magazines, they use well know celebrities that act as models for the cover and these are usually in or around the age range of the audience and they are also all women. For example, VOGUE has only ever used 4 men models on the front of their magazines before because women are looking at the magazine for fashion and will be more inspired with women figures on the front of the magazine and makes them more likely to buy it. They use very high quality images on the front of their magazine because they focus of the magazines are the images, as these appear a lot more than the text does and they are paying a lot of money for the magazine so they have pretty high standards for the magazine and expect decent images to look at. The font that is used on the covers of the magazines is very similar. They use

thin yet really large titles to make the title stand out to the audience when they walk past the magazine. The fonts are delicate and feminine and use a range of different tones of colours that would appeal to women. Soft pinks and purples are used a lot because they stereotypically attract women and are very feminine colours. They also use white coloured captions or black to make it stand off the image in the background and use a small font so it doesnt overcrowd the image. In every fashion magazine the advertising is very alike and used in a way that doesnt make the advertising as obvious than it is in other magazines. The advertising is mainly of products that are either designer or really expensive make-up, jewellery or perfumes and they all link into the magazine so that even though it doesnt provide much detail for the audience, they still know what they product is because it will be generally well known to them. The 3 magazines I looked at all contained similar adverts which showed the product with a model on the page and also the name of the product and thats all. But they will know that is the audience want that product they know that they will know the product. Sometimes for perfume adverts they provide little samples of perfumes for the reader so they know what they smell of, mainly if its a new perfume that has just come out. The articles that are inside fashion magazines are usually very similar from every name of fashion magazine. They tend to not add constant articles within the magazine because the reader isnt buying the magazine to read articles, as they are mainly interested in the fashion element of

the magazine. So the magazines mainly put a main image that takes up either a double spread or single page and provide a little caption to go with it so it explains what the image is. For example, the article in VOGUE I looked at just shows the fashion with a few captions that describes what is being shown. But then they can sometimes put lengthy paragraphs that can be about fashion, beauty or different lifestyles and advice. For example, in ELLE, the article talks about beauty products that the reader would find interesting and suitable for them. Fashion magazines can also include articles that are about some of the staffs or celebrities lives and speak about different elements of their life. This could then give the reader something to look up to or find out interesting gossip about parts of people lives and could maybe relate certain parts to their lives. The style of the fashion magazines is that they use a main image on the cover of the magazine and then around the image they use little captions to give the reader and insider about what is being said. They use soft toned and high quality images that would appeal to the audience and they also use feminine and soft fonts. The cover of fashion magazines use similar styles and also this also include the inside of the magazines. They mainly use images that are either in colour or sometimes displayed in monochrome, depending on what is being displayed and they all base the images around fashion and make-up. They use quite bold fonts and are sometimes in italic. All the titles of the 3 magazines I looked at use the same font for the title and the models or actresses are well known and they are kept natural and this gives the reader something to

look up to. Where as a magazine like Kerrang use quite heavy and bold fonts that are quite distorted and the covers are really clumsy unlike fashion magazines because they have an organised layout and this keeps it very feminine because women are mainly organised and tidy. The fashion magazines use symbols by using the models. The models on the front dress in a way that is seen as symbolic to some people and they say a lot about them by the way they dress and what they wear. The models on the front of the three magazines I looked at are all wearing designer clothes, make-up and jewellery and this shows to people that they can afford that style of clothing they wear compared to people who dont wear designer clothes and this suggest that they arent in a higher class as to people who do. This also encourages people who read the magazine to buy the clothes they wear because some people look up to them and they can afford the clothing and this makes them want to buy it if it makes them look a bit more like the models do. It can also mean that they look more respectable wearing a designer label and at a more higher class than others because they are expensive clothing. Also having the models on the front is symbolic because people look up to the models and this encourages them to make them look like them because models that are airbrushed symbolises fakeness where as these models symbolise beauty. Fashion magazines are not only produced in the UK, they are also international and produced in a range of different countries. For example, VOGUE is printed in 18 countries, BAZAAR is printed in 29 countries and ELLE had 43

international editions in over 60 countries. This makes the magazines more successful and makes it easier for other countries to understand and read their magazines. But it can make it difficult for some countries because they translate the language and some words/symbols that are mainly used in the UK could make it hard for other countries to understand and this could create dilemmas for magazines and audiences. They use different models to symbolise different cultures and by having different models from different cultures and countries on certain magazines, makes it easier for their country to engage with the magazine. By having their magazines translated into different languages, it makes the audience understand the magazine easier because they understand the language and it makes it less difficult for people while reading the magazine. In my opinion I think that all fashion magazines represent women in a positive way. This is because they are not airbrushed, dressed in a respectable way and this doesnt make them revealing and put on there to be sexually exploited unlike some magazines. They are symbolised so that the readers have an idol to look up to and are on the covers because of the gender of the readers and this can relate them to the audience more.