Die, Vogue, Die

This article in Today’s NYT Style section exemplifies everything I hate about the fashion industry — how the big wigs try to declare a flattering trend dead just so that they can get people to stock up on another item.  In this case, the forecasters, magazines, designers, and department store buyers are trying to decree the death of the dress, despite the fact that dresses make every day dressing simple and flattering.  All so that they can get us to stock up on separates the boost their bottom line (i.e. the combined price tags on a trousers plus blouse combo are often times much higher than a dress plus tights combo).

The Web 2.0 conference has forced me to think whether there has been some sort of consumer revolt, where fashion magazines have lost their relevance.  When I was in high school and college, I would purchase the arm-breakingly heavy Fall Fashion issue from Vogue, but now, I just skip Anna Wintour’s voice all together and look to the street, the store displays, and fashion blogs for cues instead.  If the print editions of newspapers are bleeding eyeballs, this leads me to wonder if the fashion mags are suffering equally.