Girl With a Satchel

Pretty: Cute & Chic This Week

2009-12-04T14:30:00.004+11:00

Showing leg is so passe: right now it's all about titillating chest exposure, unless you are Blake Lively, in which case you are permitted to do legs AND chest, which is the sartorial equivalent of doing a smoky eye AND red lip.

Last week Kate Hudson had all eyes averted to her small and humble chest when she wore a sparkly silver dress at the American Music Awards; Liz Hurley has practically made a career out of exposing her ample, age-defying bosom on the red carpet; and who can forget the green Versace dress J.Lo almost wore to the Grammy Awards in 2000, which caused David Duchovny to announce to the audience, "Well, Jennifer, this is the first time in five or six years that I'm sure that nobody is looking at me."

You betcha. If you want to get ahead in Hollywood, this seems to be the breast idea. Reese and Katie clearly didn't get that memo.

Pic credits: Imnotobsessed, JustJared, GoFugYourself

Compiled by Sophie @ Girl With a Satchel

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Ed's letter of the week

2009-12-04T11:24:00.004+11:00

Glossy Talk

Writes Who editor Nicky Briger this week: "Tiger Woods didn't have much to say for himself after his bizarre car crash (see p.26), but what he did admit spoke volumes about a celebrity phenomenon that's more popular these days than spray tans. Conceded Woods: "I'm human and not perfect."

Now, where have we heard that before? Britney Spears used her humanity as an excuse in 2006 after driving with her son Preston on her lap: "I'm not perfect. I'm human." Naomi Campbell was "human" after a row with British Airways staff. Chris Brown cranked out the line after beating up Rihanna this year – "At the end of the day, I'm human" – and when Rihanna took him back after the ugly incident, she said she was "a human being. I'm not perfect." Sure. But are they also dodging the responsibility for our actions that comes with being, ah, human?"

Touché.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Online: It's all about YOU! + Marina Go on mags

2009-12-04T10:30:00.016+11:00

What's up online

Just weeks after the launch of Foxtel's female-friendly pay-TV channel LifeStyle YOU, Independent Digital Media has announced the coming-to-a-computer-screen-near-you April 2010 launch of YoungerYou.com.au. The media, it seems, is Mad About You.

Billed as a "one-stop independent anti-ageing beauty site" and the big sister to primped.com.au, it aims to capitalise on the $345m anti-ageing market.

“For many women, and also increasingly men, there comes a point where makeup alone is no longer enough. It’s then that they start searching for information to help them decide which product to buy or which procedure might be best for them. Currently there isn’t a media brand devoted to this increasingly dynamic area of interest,” says IDM publisher Marina Go.

Edited by former New Idea editor and Good Medicine launch editor Jenni Gilbert, the site aims to reach out to 30,000 unique browsers in its first year, though going by Primped standards, it may surpass that goal.

I recently chatted to Marina Go (pictured) about her venture into online media after a magazine publishing career spanning 20 years. She had some interesting things to say about the opportunities for magazines to complement online content (and vice versa).

GWAS: How are you finding online? Are you loving it?
MG: I really, really love it. I had 20 years in magazines and I've been in the online world for 12 months now. It's a fascinating medium. I do still love print, but I think there's a place for both.

In what way? How are they complementary?
Magazine journalists have resources that we don’t have online. We’re still running a lot leaner than they are. If I were running a weekly or a monthly, I’d be putting a lot more detail into absolutely every aspect of the magazine. It needs to be more than ‘here’s a picture with a caption’. Readers are getting news online, so magazines need to give them more information.

With Primped, when Zoe [Foster] writes about a celebrity look, she’s not just giving you a bunch of images, but going into detail about one person’s look. And magazines have an opportunity to do that in a much greater way. With more analysis, more insight, longer articles. We don’t have the resources to do big. And that's not the role of online in our consumers' lives anyway. There’s still a lot of money wasted [in magazines] on buying very expensive celebrity images, when they’ve been online a week earlier. Not all of our visitors are reading magazines and not all of them will continue reading magazines. What are we offering that they’re not offering? And what can they offer that we can’t?

Which magazines are doing this well?
Some of the women’s lifestyle magazines, like Madison, that do their own shoots, of people at home, and things like that, are great because that’s something I can’t get online. It’s harder for a magazine like Marie Claire that gets a lot of content from overseas, which I can get online. Local products, like Cleo and Madison, have an opportunity to create unique, authentic content and have a point of view. I think Sarah Oakes is doing a great job – the relaunch of Cleo is really good.

The trouble with the women’s magazine market, for the past almost decade, is it’s become so homogenised. In the past you were a Cleo girl or a Cosmo girl – one or the other. I think magazines need to be reinvented – stop thinking about competitor magazines, or you marry yourself to that competitor.

How are your sites performing?
Primped is doing really, really well. We’ve virtually doubled our unique browsers in a year. We had almost no advertising on the site in December last year and now we’re almost over-subscribed each month. So we’re hitting our targets.

What's been your strategy, since joining IDM as publisher?
The critical thing for me was getting the name out there. I was an industry insider and I’d heard of [editor-in-chief] Zoe Foster [pictured] but I hadn’t heard of Primped. It was a problem getting advertisers to look at Primped because they weren’t familiar with it.

We’ve reached a tipping point now where a lot of people have heard of us and we’ve managed to do deals to promote Primped – Zoe writes a column for Fitness First magazine and The Sunday Telegraph, so the name’s out there. We also did a print book with David Jones for September 2009 and we have another one coming out in March 2010. It’s our little foray back into magazines. DJs have told us that on the days that Zoe’s in-store the sales spike.

Zoe's definitely a strong selling point for you...
With Primped, as far as we’re concerned, the expert on beauty in this country is Zoe Foster. And the expert on weddings and brides and etiquette is Alicia Richardson, editor of The Knot. As we roll out our sites, a big part of our marketing push is to make the editor the expert in the category.

In the 'golden era' at ACP, when Richard Walsh was the publisher, it was all about the editors and the product. Not all about the editors to the extent of taking out an ad in the Media section of The Australian, but much more about putting all their confidence in the editor. It was very much about the editor understanding the market and the editors being promoted.

I was on Steve Vizard, I was the person the media spoke to about body image, I was on the Ray Martin Show, did the Today show every other week, I was on radio constantly… Some of the problem now is that the editors try to be experts on every single thing. When I was at ACP, we were very clear on what was my bit, what was Lisa [Wilkinson’s] and Pat [Ingram’s] bit, etc."

BIO: Marina Go's media career spans 20 years, several magazines and every major Australian publisher. She edited Dolly from 1989 to 1994, increasing circulation after her arrival, was the launch editor of Australian Good Taste for Text Media, and was an editor of ELLE Australia, working under both Hachette Filipacchi and Pacific Magazines, before its closure in 2001.

She has worked for Fairfax, as general manager of newsstand magazines, launched a luxury lifestyle magazine (Pinnacle folded when the GFC arrived) and as publisher at IDM is now responsible for content direction, ad revenue and marketing for Primped.com.au, TheKnot.com.au and YoungerYou.com.au.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Glossy Talk: Hilary gets her shine on for Nylon

2009-12-04T08:34:00.012+11:00

Glossy Talk

Hilary Duff is one of those rare young female celebrities who's managed to escape the vagaries of fame, which have been known to result in DUI charges, maintaining the wholesome image that started with her turn as Disney's Lizzie McGuire. A positive teen role model?! What's not to love about that?

Now she's done a stint on Gossip Girl and has created a clothing line with DKNY, the increasingly irony-lacking Nylon has given her a cover to celebrate. It's super-shiny. And comes with the festively seasonal coverline: "Hilary Duff: Naughtier and nicer than you thought".

Shockingly, Duff tells the magazine she loves her mum, while dropping an f-bomb: "My mom is rad. I feel I'm so much like her. I don't know if it's wrong to drop an F-bomb in he same sentence as your mother, but I'm so ****ing lucky to have my mom. She's just taught me so much and given me so much, and she has such an open heart."

Now all the teen girls are going to be dropping Duff-bombs and wearing sequined skirts with gemstone-encrusted stretchy '80s belts! On that note, they should probably stop by Sugared...

SPONSOR SPOT: GET SUGARED

Is your Christmas tree getting all the attention, while your wardrobe suffers seasonal neglect? Well, it's time to splurge in a little self-gifting via Sugared.com.au, which stocks delicious candy of the accessories kind, to ensure you sparkle just as brightly this party season.

Trinkets, pendants, charm necklaces, cocktail rings, adorable brooches, dangly drop earrings and lucite bangles are just some of the pick-and-mix choices offered by Sugared, which is sorted by jewellery type, designer and price (handy candy!).

Over coming weeks Sugared will be stocking three new designer lines, including American Tarina Tarantino's Wizard of Oz collection (for die-hard Dorothy fans), German Sabrina Dehoff's range of rainbow cord necklaces and bracelets, and Paris-based The French Factory's handcrafted teacup rings, macaron earrings and bunny necklaces.

Presents, schmesents. Ladies, Sugar yourselves!

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Four new blondes

2009-12-03T08:20:00.009+11:00

Glossy Talk

There's something about blonde hair that says Fresh New Year – that calls us to break off the brunette shackles and let loose with the highlights. January 2010 is shaping up to be a month of lighter locks. In addition to Catherine McNeil for Vogue Australia and Kate Hudson for Marie Claire Australia, here are four new blonde covergirls to consider...

Britney and her golden, gingerbread progeny for US ELLE, which gives readers two pop stars to choose from; the second being Lady Gaga...

Demure for Ms. Gaga, no? She tells ELLE: "My album covers are not sexual at all, which was an issue at my record label. I fought for months, and I cried at meetings. They didn’t think the photos were commercial enough…The last thing a young woman needs is another picture of a sexy pop star writhing in sand, covered in grease, touching herself." Like Britney?

Unusually, while ELLE has gone all pop culture crazy, US Harper's Bazaar has given us Nine's sunshiny Kate Hudson, a pretty safe cover choice for a mag who pushed the boundaries in 2009. On tabloid rumours, Hudson says: "I'm not pregnant. I can't go two months without being pregnant, engaged, or breaking up because I'm too needy, which is always the one they love. I'm not needy. You kind of have to laugh it off, but it can kind of screw up other things around it."

UK InStyle's January covergirl is accompanied by a giant PIXIE LOTT coverline, just in case you're not already au fait with this "pop sensation." Of the reality TV show for which Cheryl Cole (who reveals her "best-ever beauty tricks" this issue) is a judge, Lott says: “The X Factor’s great for people like Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke because they start with a massive fan base. But I think it’s better to work your way up. If you get somewhere, you feel like you’ve really done the hard work to get there."

Lott and Huson both sport sparkly little frocks (SLF) – the season's must-have number usurping the LBD.

Yours truly,

Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Show & Tell (Shop Til You Drop)

2009-12-02T10:43:00.011+11:00

Glossy Show & Tell

Emma Watson recently dared to look less than a vision of sunshine and happiness – as she does on the cover of Shop Til You Drop – while on holiday in Jamaica, which sent The Daily Mail into a right speculative spin about her relationship with financier Jay Barrymore. The kids, it seems, are on the skids.

Sometimes the tabloids get it right (see: Madonna and Guy) but sometimes you just have a crap day and wear it on your face. So, as a) a girl and b) the owner of a face that has been known to contort itself into a deathly scold on occasion, I thought we might turn to Shop for a little 'Show & Tell' visual reprieve*. There's nothing like a little vicarious retail therapy to turn a girl's frown upside down, right?

I don't own a leopard tank, but my sister does, so I'm going to pinch it when I next pop into her room for a clandestine closet inspection (shhh). I love the simplicity of the 'Four ways to wear' layout. And who doesn't love a story involving mums? That would be like hating Santa or the Easter Bunny. This page is from 'One Style Fits All', a six-page feature by Meg Mason (styling Nadine Duncan) telling us that when it comes to fashion "there are no age divisions anymore" and, thus, "granny, mum and grand-daughter are filling up their Supre eco bags from the same racks." I don't think any of the women in the spread really shop at Supre.

Colourful still-life spreads are where it's at: take one $3450 Louis Vuitton suitcase and fill remaining space with more price-point-friendly items. To our right, we have one page from the 'A Beautiful Year' feature by Katrina Lawrence featuring Dame Edna for MAC and Miss Dior Cherie.

Christmas spreads! What would a December issue be without them?

These pages make fashion look very scientific and mathematical. Up goes your IQ!

Sometimes advertorials really hit the spot, like this one for the Shop Til You Drop branded Prepaid Visa Card (hello, genius branding idea). Then we have some skinny models in Versace maxi dresses. I'm feeling colour. Lots of colour.

Marie Hatzis-Ritchie, director of the Hussy and Madame Marie fashion labels, says "I represent my brand on a daily basis, so it's important I look the part." I think we can all apply that sartorial logic to our lives (tracky-dak days, notwithstanding)? I'm sneaking in the Penelope Cruz page because I'm simply a fan of her style. Sorry.

* Note: I have used creative, ad-free layout license with these spreads – they are not ordered as such in the mag.

Yours Truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Vogue & Marie Claire slim down for bikini season

2009-12-02T09:20:00.006+11:00

Glossy Talk

While The Australian Women's Weekly is positively BURSTING with Julie Goodwin goodness for December, two of our Aussie fashiony friends are sporting slimmed-down physiques for January 2010 after a bumper lead up to the end of the year.

Traditionally a leaner month (for both us and the glossies), Vogue Australia is down to 178 pages after a 258-page December book, while Marie Claire is down to 268 pages from 404 pages in December, which means neither are likely to break your beach tote (or satchel). How considerate!

Of course, sultry Catherine McNeil is representing Vogue on the stands this month, sporting a summery shade of blonde hair that's sure to send girls running to the salon for highlights (self included).

McNeil is nowhere to be seen inside the magazine, save for a pointer page promoting the magazine's website and behind-the-scenes cover shoot footage, which may cause some to speculate on her fashion-editorial-fitness. Instead, we get Claudia Schiffer, who is in fine supermodel form, Kim Noorda in 'Urban Eden', Rosemary Smith in 'Mix Master', Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in 'Tressed to Impress' and a fierce looking Melissa George in Balmain, Louis Vuitton and Burberry Prorsum.

The issue contains some fantastically fun features, including Vogue View's 20 new-season style updates (eye candy fiesta!), Tim Blanks' 'Irrational Fashion' column, 'Style Swap' (fashion assistant Ilona Hamer swaps wardrobes with fashion editor Meg Gray for a week), a big fat Vogue Talks section replete with pop-cultural goodies, Rebecca Huntley's writing on making new friends and '2009 A year In Fashion' (ting, ting, ting, jackpot!). But it's the single image of a model in a colourful Rittenhouse outfit on page 76 that's got me inspired: can a girl base her whole summer wardrobe on one designer look alone?

Marie Claire's Kate Hudson looks the life of the New Year's Eve party on this January cover. And I suppose that's the idea! Photographer Steven Chee pulls a similar facial in a 'Behind the Scenes' shoot snap page 20... followed by the model on the 'Eco News' page (22) and the Garnier girl who looks pretty happy on the DPS another page over.

I can't wait to read the Kate Duthie feature in which she road-tests Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP advice, as well as 'Same Age Different Stage' by Lollie Barr, 'The Summer That Changed My Life' by three different writers, and the Kate Hudson cover feature. The fashion section goes troppo, '101 ideas' never disappoints and the shopping pages feature what's in store now. 'Big Night Beauty' stuns with smoky eyes and spidery lashes, It's All About You asks, "Is your job making you fat?" and the book rounds out with a bio piece on Ted Kennedy.

Good summer reading for lazy days ahead.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: What's up online?

2009-12-02T04:43:00.009+11:00

Glossy Talk: What's up online?

- My Look Book is the Aussie girl's online answer to Shop Til You Drop and the ideal solution for pre-Christmas, work-desk procrastination and there's a fresh new December edition ready for the lookin' now. Packed with celebrity outfit inspiration, trend reports, beautifying products and the Olsen twins (almost reason enough to stop by), there are plenty of good reads, too. Like the interviews with Brisbane stylist Liz Golding (she discovered US Vogue in a public library aged 14 and has never looked back – her dressing room is TDF!) and Sarah Dines, the new owner of AustralianFlavour.com.au, and the profile of style blogger Dani Dupre of La Vie Boston.

- After Monday's Media Musings report of the effects of discounting online, word is that Flossie Media Group, which represents female-centric sites such as Mamamia.com.au, has decided to cut display advertising from its offering in 2010 citing the affect of rampant discounting in the online ad market on profit margins. The network will instead focus on one-to-one communication, including emails, newsletters, content syndication and integration into social media. Chief executive Janeen Freer told AdNews: "The market has changed incredibly over the last year and a half – there are more deals in the market for inventory, portals have alliances with other media and are able to bundle ad packages, while marketers are not buying outside a six week period. All those things together make it difficult for anyone to sell display."

- Is Rupert Murdoch mightier than Google? The Australian (his Aussie broadsheet) reports today that the online juggernaut will let publishers set a limit on the number of articles readers can view for free through Google.

- Marie Claire Australia is leading the Twitterati pack with its dedicated social media strategy. Digital managing editor Viola Wong (pictured) recently spoke to Ragtrader, saying, "In terms of our broader digital strategy, we wanted to expand the general marie claire audience and saw Twitter as the space for that audience to build a relationship with us. But we soon discovered the true value of Twitter wasn't just broadcasting links, it was an opportunity to engage in real-time communication, receive instant feedback and to join a community that was as passionate about fashion as we were."

- The New York Times' The Moment (T) is getting an online makeover, with its new look to be unveiled on Friday: "we’ll unveil a rejuvenated Web site, a daily style magazine that better displays T’s jaw-dropping images and seamlessly integrates our popular daily blog," writes online director Horacio Silver.

- Girlfriend magazine has also had an online makeover (watch the Model Search finalists make a TV appearance), with the Get-It-Guide opener page serving as the site's background theme each month.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

P.S. My Look Book readers also get 15% off at AustralianFlavour for a limited time, using the code 'mylookbook15'.

Mags: The Superficial Supermodel Appreciation Society

2009-12-01T14:04:00.012+11:00

Glossy Talk

UK ELLE has chosen Helena Christensen to be its first cover girl for 2010, with one cover line promising to take us inside her highly coveted wardrobe and another giving us "10 new faces to watch" on the modelling scene.

Over the past 12 months, Christensen has posed for the covers of French ELLE, Cookie (RIP), Citizen K, i-D (along with Claudia and Eva) and UK InStyle, as well as in several fashion editorials, including French Vogue, Italian Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

But to me this magazine event represents the meeting of two kindred spirits: the edgy ELLE and mesmerising Helena share a passion for rock stars and a very modern fashion aesthetic.

Of all the 90s supermodels, I find Christensen to be the most intriguing – possibly because of her Australian connections (dating Michael Hutchence, best friends with Gail Elliott of Little Joe), extra-curricular activities (starting Nylon magazine, freelance photography, opening a boutique in NYC) and relatively reserved celebrity.

Or maybe it's just her style – Kate has her skinny jeans and black blazers, Cindy has that all-American girl thing going on, Christy is the yoga pant devotee and Claudia is a little on the bland side of Chanel, but Helena has created an aesthetic all of her own: where beach bohemian meets Marc Jacobs.

I've been following her style since I was a teen (see below scrapbook evidence) and still get a kick when I see a paparazzi snap of her in a glossip magazine. Unattainable beauty, most definitely, but her style influence endures. Everyone had their favourite "super", Helena just happens to be mine.

But she's not a popular choice. Back in 2005, Mia Freedman wrote a piece on covermodels labelling Helena 'cover poison':

"Yep, despite being as famous and sexy as her super sisters, Helena Christensen is what editors refer to as "cover poison"; someone who can negatively affect the sales of a magazine by tens of thousands of copies. But one mag's dog can be another mag's golden goose. Just ask Nicole Kidman or rather, the editors who've been burnt by her cover appearances."

Since Helena's heyday, that supermodel cover-poison batton has been passed onto Gisele Bundchen, which makes me wonder, what do these ladies share? Is it their reluctant celebrity? Aloofness? Overwhelming aesthetic fortune? My friend Beck found Harper's Bazaar's June/July issue Gisele cover feature to be the most vapid piece of journalism she'd read all year, while I'd rate Elle Macpherson a definite dud interview (see #10 here). But Helena?

She tells ELLE: “I have no problems with showing my body. I love the female shape. It’s crazy – you can have movie posters with men with machine guns but oh, God forbid you show nipples. That never ceases to amaze me. It’s flabbergasting. So I have no problems with it. But I’m Danish. Everyone’s naked on the beaches.” Which sounds very Eva Mendes post Calvin Klein nipplegate to me (though Helena ventured into this territory way before Eva – remember that Chris Isaak clip? Naughty girls, both).

She also says of her supermodel contemporaries: "They all had interesting personalities and were fun. They were versatile in their way of posing and expressing themselves. They had a certain depth to them that made you interested in more than just the facade... to be a part of that whole group of girls - at the end of the day, I was there. I did it. I am a million experiences richer."

Whether the full ELLE interview will be an enriching reading experience remains to be seen. But should we simply admire some model/celebrities for their style alone and not expect them to dazzle us with their wisdom, humour and intellect? And, for that matter, can you be a card-carrying member of The Superficial Supermodel Appreciation Society and still call yourself a feminist?

The January issue of UK ELLE is on sale tomorrow.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Cosmopolitan Pregnancy

2009-12-01T09:05:00.009+11:00

Glossy Review

First: no, not pregnant (sorry, mum). But, incidentally, 24 hours after I picked up the Summer 2010 edition of Cosmopolitan Pregnancy ($13.50), lured by the vision of my long-time girl-crush Toni Pearen on the cover, I found out a friend of mine is! So as soon as I'm done with this review, guess who's getting the mag?

For this very reason, I imagine Cosmopolitan Pregnancy, edited by Franki Hobson (the mother of Cosmopolitan Brand Extensions at ACP Magazines) would do well on the readership front, though this information isn't available on the corporate website. However, from 2010, the magazine – along with its Cosmopolitan Bride sister – will be printed four times, up from this year's three issues. The yummy mummy market is clearly a lucrative one.

I do wonder, however, how the rapid rise of the mummy blogger is affecting the power and reach of the pregnancy magazine. Hobson says, "We are a 'mothers' group' in a magazine – an outlet where real women can share their personal experiences with other mums and get advice." And that's exactly what the mummy bloggers – from Christie Burnett of Childhood 101 to Cath Oehlman of Squiggle Mum and Nicole Avery of Planning With Kids – are doing. For FREE.

These articulate women are blogging from the parenting frontline as their kids nap or husbands take over so mummy can do a different kind of work, and they're attracting loyal followings. Of all the jobs in the world, motherhood can be the most isolating of all, and these women and their blogs and instantaneous commenting facilities and forum-style feedback are a lifeline to the deliriously tired mums just trying to get through each day and those who can't bring themselves to attend mother's groups or simply don't have access to one (think about all those Farmer Wants a Wife new mums!)

The advantage Cosmo Pregnancy has is the power of an international masthead (which helps to secure ad dollars – the mummy bloggers are slowly getting ad support) and its Little Black Book of celebrities and parenting experts. The celebrities, like Pearen, offer up their own experiences, which are comforting in an even-she-has-issues way, while the experts offer comforting advice.

Billed as "Australia's Most Stylish Guide to Pregnancy", the magazine is also about the business of looking, and feeling, fabulous as you gain 25kgs over the period of nine months. Like Cosmopolitan itself, the title is replete with images of Hollywood celebrities in various stages of their pregnancies, like Celine Dion, who at 41 has the figure of a 25-year-old and is expecting her second child in May, or Ellen Pompeo who is sporting the kind of pregnancy belly most of us get after a night of too much Thai food. Then there's the omnipresent pregnancy poster model Heidi Klum, leggy Gisele Bundchen and itty-bitty Sarah Michelle Gellar to contend with. Pressure much?

Also this issue is a feature on former Playboy Bunny and E! reality show star Kendra Wilkinson, 24, who is due on Christmas Day, three professional fitness instructors who are also with child, four women with model figures in fitted denim jeans, actual pregnant models in lingerie and summer frocks, and a former Cosmopolitan Pregnancy covergirl (Amber, 36) who is stunning in an Alison Brahe way. Mildly depressing, though, reading over my shoulder, Husband chimes in with, "Why on earth would that make you feel bad?". Do images only have the power to make you feel self-loathing if the seed is there to start with? Pretty for pretty's sake, these ladies are lovely to look at.

The magazine is also packed with the stories of real women not styled by Cosmo, accompanied by their self-snapped pictures, who share tales of gestational diabetes, prenatal massage, birthing triplets, pre-eclampsia, emergency c-sections and epidural induced migraines. In 'Bon appetit' we meet three women whose pregnancy diets are assessed by a nutritional expert.

Toni Pearen has kept her pregnancy diary for the magazine, starting at week seven and going through to week 32. She experiences nausea (week 8), has her pregnancy outed on radio (week 10), throws up on the carpet (week 11), has a cry to a girlfriend about all her anxieties (week 13), gets scolded by the receptionist at a public hospital for booking in so late (week 16), is called "daggy" by The Daily Telegraph for wearing tracky daks in public (week 19), has her feelings hurt when people ask if she's expecting twins (week 20), buys a Combi stroller (week 24), attends birthing classes (week 27), "can't watch or read anything about sick or disadvantaged children" (week 30), and declines an invitation to attend a good friend's wedding, which strains their friendship (week 31). Clearly, pregnancy is no walk in the park – a personal diary is a fantastic way to get to know what to expect.

Other features include a trimester-by-trimester guide to bodily changes; a first-person account of CVS and amniocentesis; health professionals talking about labour options; 'Brest or Bottle'; and 'When's the right time to have a baby', which features three couples who had babies a year, five years and 10 years after getting together to show us anything goes.

I also enjoyed the 'Get Glowing' beauty feature by new mum Katrina Lawrence (of beautyeditor.com.au), whose skin goes bananas, finds a safe fake-tan to use, talks about "accentuating the positives" from the neck up, has an epiphany in yoga class about her changing body and makes herself happy with floaty frocks from Tree of Life and pretty pedicures. There's also an extract from Mamamia blogger Mia Freedman's book and a cute baby shower spread with theme, decoration, food, game and gift ideas.

The pages towards the end of the book are stuffed with product (toys, clothes, DVDs) for littlies, as well as an 'Old Skool' spread that educates us in toy history. 'Dream a little dream' shows us what the perfect nursery can look like – as styled by blogger Mandi of Babyology.com.au. Perhaps, like the fashion glossies and fash bloggers, all the mummy bloggers and mummy magazines can get together and have a little tea party?

Glossy rating: 4 - yes, skim at your leisure, then lend to a pregnant friend!

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

GWAS Media Musings

2009-11-30T10:40:00.009+11:00

Bits and (Anna Wintour) bobs from about the glossy media beat...

- Magazine editor/anonymous blogger Liberty London Girl writes on 'Publicists vs Bloggers': uses word "oleaginous" and derides rude PRs: "I’ve been on the receiving end of both oleaginous sucking up and jaw dropping rudeness... to presume that an inch square placement in a glossy has wider reach than a blog with say 100k unique visitors a month & a high GPR is naïve in the extreme."

- Yet more coverage of fashion bloggers. This time c/o The Guardian. But, wait, there's more! See: 'The Latest and Greatest Designer Blogs Out There' c/o Refinery 29 (pic: Refinery 29).

- Brit blogger Ondo Lady interviews of youth lifestyle pub Flavour magazine who says, "Flavour’s aim is to inspire and empower its readers. After all there’s enough negativity in the world so why add to it. We love to showcase creative talent as we feel photographers, fashion designers, artists etc need a platform...".

- Patty Huntington of Frockwriter is producing for Channel Seven's Today Tonight, a gig she has returned to after a 10-year hiatus. And she still has reason to report on copycat production activities in the apparel industry.

- Still with Seven – it's been a very good year for the network, reports TV Tonight. The AFR also reports that Packed to the Rafters, the jewel in Seven's crown, may be heading to the United States via ABC: "They haven't committed to making it, but it's looking good," says Seven's director of programming and production Tim Worner.

- Aussie magazine retailer mag nation has launched its flip-through video mechanism, which reflects the company's in-store browse-at-will policy. "One of the perennial issues we face as internet retailers is the vast chasm of difference between the sensorially rich in-store experience and the comparative blandness of shopping on the web," informs the mag nation via its blog. "We’ve made a big step towards providing more of a taste of this on our website today, as we launch flipthrough videos of many our popular titles."

- Alexis Bryan Morgan will commence her fashion director posting at US ELLE in January 2010, reports Fashionologie (via Fifi). Morgan was fashion director at Vanity Fair and is the daughter of Anna Wintour's boyfriend, Shelby Bryan. She replaces Nina Garcia... who left the magazine in mid-2008 for Marie Claire! (Pic: Fashionologie)

- Covert online porn is putting an end to stash-under-the-bed magazine titles (aka 'The P Mags'), reports Sally Jackson for The Australian, though "shrinkage" in the Aussie market is on a smaller scale to the US of Porn.

- "Reality star Julie Goodwin isn’t just on the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine this month, she is the Weekly," writes Amanda Meade for The Australian. "We didn’t have time to count how many times her picture appears in the Christmas edition, but it’s enough to put off even the biggest of fans of the MasterChef winner, whose motherly image is now being used to sell everything from kitchen gadgets to plastic wrap." Meanwhile, Meade also writes: "Therese Rein may have had a makeover and appeared in several glamorous magazine spreads but she is still committed to community service."

- Media advertising markets will post little growth in the first half of 2010, but the following 12 months will see a boom in ad budgets, according to Harold Mitchell, executive chairman of Australia's largest media buying company, Mitchell Communications Group, reports Neil Shoebridge for The Australian Financial Review. The company books about 10% of all ad spend in the Australian market, with 80% of business coming from Australian-based companies, which have proven to be more resilient than the multinationals. Chief executive Stuart Mitchell predicts the online ad market will grow 50% in the next four years, lifting its share of the media ad pie to 16% this year to 25%, and yet...

- Something's not adding up online: the number of advertisers rose 41%, and banner ads were up 19%, in the September quarter, yet revenue fell 3.8%. Online = clearly suffering from insecurity issues masquerading as heavy discounting. (Source: mUmbrella)

- UK magazines are branching into retail, reports WWD, citing Wallpaper's Wallspace outlet, Monocle and Another Magazine's online shops and News Corp's minority stake in online private sales site Brand Alley. Daily Candy is also due to launch its private sales site, Swirl, later this month, while German titles Brigitte and Stern have stakes in private sales site Buy VIP.

- "Hearst Magazines isn’t terribly worried about Oprah Winfrey’s exit from her talk show in 2011," reports WWD. "Winfrey plans to end her broadcast TV program in September 2011, and in January 2011 will launch her own cable network, OWN, to develop and appear in original programming. With the talk show’s demise, O — and its advertisers and sponsors — lose a huge promotional outlet. For example, Winfrey in January broke her silence about her weight gain with an essay in the magazine and a before-and-after image of herself for the cover. She used the topic as a kickoff to Oprah’s “Best Life Week,” a weeklong series on her Web site, Sirius radio show and on the TV talk show geared toward life improvement. The January issue sold 1.1 million single copies, the largest in three years." O The Oprah Magazine, which is in the midst of a transition under new editor-in-chief Susan Casey, has a circulation of 2.4 million and sells 700,000 copies on the newsstand each month. No bad. Not bad at all.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

GWAS Short & Sweet

2009-11-30T09:00:00.015+11:00

You know you are a (deranged) magazine obsessive when: a) You nearly wet your pants with excitement paging through the 25th anniversary issue of Good Weekend; b) You buy two copies of said magazine for posterity; c) You fall asleep with the magazine nestled next to you and wake up with it plastered to your face.

Yes, friends, that is the level of my dedication to this fine example of Australian magazine publishing, which celebrated 25 years in print this past weekend with a bumper issue choc-a-block with editorial excellence. Is there truly a finer publication in this country, I beseech you? One that resonates as well across gender, cultural and educational demographics (the required reading level being slightly above the tabloid papers' 14 years)? One that records, reflects and anticipates the Zeitgeist as if it were God himself editing its every page? Okay, getting carried away now. But you get my gist. Good Weekend is top of the publishing pops.

The top 10 highlights for this reader?
1. The Upfront Mega Quiz. My dad and I have been doing the Quiz together for yonks. It bonds us together like bees and honey. He is hopeless at the pop culture stuff; I suck at geo-politics.
2. 'The editors of Good Weekend celebrate its birthday' - six pages, seven female editors, one male editor and each editor's take on the best covers, most important story, most controversial story, most moving stories, favourite column, funniest story, best portraits, biggest near-disaster, best innovation and favourite memories. A veritable trip down publishing lane. Should be compulsory reading for all students of journalism.
3. Four pages of 1984: the year of my sister's birth, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Ghostbusters, the inaugural MTV Music Awards (Madonna vamped it up performing Like a Virgin), Cabbage Patch Dolls, Molly Jone's death on A Country Practise, the first Apple Mac, the first warnings of the greenhouse effect and Band Aid raising awareness of the Ethiopian famine. Congratulations, Caitlin Chang (who wasn't yet born in 1984!), on a great compilation.
4. Revisiting popular 'Two of Us' interviewees in 'Us Again'. Gobsmacked for the second time over the sheer, um, narcissism (for want of a better word) of Sommer Belle Shiels, who told Good Weekend back in 2005 that she was initially repelled by her boyfriend Kale's "very ethnic" looks and would accept nothing less than a $200,000 engagement ring with no sense of irony. Still wondering if she is really serious.
5. 'The Change Makers' - 25 people who have changed the nation most. Paul Keating declined to be photographed, telling the magazine he regards group shots with "bucket-loads of fake bonhomie" and as "naff in the extreme". Overly image conscious or just a wanker? Fellow former PM John Howard was happy to be snapped. Germaine Greer, Rupert Murdoch, Gough Whitlam, Judith Wright, Patrick White, Eddie Mabo, Tim Flannery, Kylie Minogue and Fiona Wood all made the cut amongst others. A keepsake for students of Modern History.
6. Fenella Souter's profiles of five inspiring 25-year-olds, including a ballerina, foreign exchange executive, Roman Catholic deacon, climate change activist and clerical assistant who is guardian to her two brothers. Interesting interview subjects all and Souter always delves deep enough to leave you satisfied.
7. The Dalai Lama is a bit of a spiritual father for Good Weekend, garnering more than a few column inches over the years. He scores five full pages care of Amanda Hooton this issue. I love her writing and the three-dimensional quality of the features.
8. Mark Dapin, celebrity interviewer extraordinaire, writes on his brushes with fame and "being given the brush-off by Gordon Ramsay". His subject credits include Nick Cave, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Archer, Snoop Dogg, Rolf Harris and The Veronicas (whom he declined an invitation to share a sauna with on account of a "fat day"). Press conferences, PR disasters, over-protective publicists, missed opportunities... it's another must-read for journalism students, which starts with this analogy: "A celebrity interview is often like a blind date where only one of the parties wants to make out." Good Weekend is certainly not bereft of humour... like Paul Keating.
9. David Sedaris writing on encounters with Australian wildlife and roadkill: "a lump of dirty fur lying beside a fallen tree... A teenage kangaroo?".
10. The 80s fashion spread fronted by Maggie Alderson's column, 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' (biggest bummer: the glaring grammatical error in the first paragraph. "In it's heyday"? I die.).

The Glossips

Angelina Jolie is in serious trouble: like a teenager sprung with a stash of weed in her bedroom, the cat is out of the bag. Apparently her whole life is a highly (pun intended) orchestrated act of manipulation and deception, from the love affair with Brad Pitt, to the kiddie adoption and charity work. New Idea has an exclusive extract from Brangelina: The Untold Story of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie by celebrity biographer Ian Halperin, which must be a relief for Tom Cruise. Perhaps Halperin is on his payroll? Now there's a new story angle for the glossips. Speaking of the Cruises, little Suri and her Tickle Me Elmo score two pages in New Idea, too.

Famous, Grazia and NW are more concerned with Jennifer Aniston's supposed sneaky love affair with Orlando Bloom, with Grazia running with "Exclusive Pictures" and asking, "Where's Miranda?". Grazia has also taken the time to speak to Catherine McNeil's mum, Melissa, who poses sitting in her daughter's bedroom and says, "She worries about what is written about her. She gets angry and says, "It's so unfair!" And I worry that she gets depressed. Wouldn't you, if people talked about you getting fat every time you were photographed eating... She's a normal, wonderful girl. But sometimes she just needs to take a break."

Yes, I think we all need a holiday from the celebrity rumour mill on occasion.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Party Of Five Review Special

2009-11-27T13:32:00.002+11:00

Glossy Review (with a silly-season lemon twist)

In lieu of an actual office Christmas party, I decided to host a glossy party, inviting five of our fashiony friends to eat, drink and be merry. Who was the best company? Who wore the best outfit? Who brought the best gift? Who drank the most? Who's invited back next year? Pop on a compilation of your favourite Christmas tracks and be my guest...

INVITEE: HARPER'S BAZAAR
Party representative: Miranda Kerr. She looks tired, like she could drop off the perch at any moment. Life's hectic for this supermodel and she tells the magazine as much: "Arrgghh...the fairytale of 15-hour days, six days a week, two different countries a week and no life. I pretty much get there, work, sleep, go, work, sleep go...I'm tired." We’re tired just reading about it. Kerr is probably also going to make us feel guilty for over-indulging at lunch ("I eat mainly organic and stick to the 80:20 rule"), suggesting that we sip on green tea between helpings. Still, she's a true-blue Aussie girl, and you just want to pinch those dimpled cheeks till they’re pink.

Party clothes: Sparkly dresses, full-volume minis, Antonio Berardi frocks, Prada prints, a $2999 white Dolce & Gabbana dress, $950 glittery Miu Miu shoes, and a fur hood inspired by Where The Wild Things Are. Fur in summer. Tres practical!

Party look: red lips and a nonchalant hairdo like one of the French It Girls (Charlotte, Lou, Julia, Melanie...), perhaps?

Party conversations: Nikki Gemmell tells it like it is in 'My Story' – she finds herself downtrodden by a mortgage, her husband's retrenchment and pressure to bring in the bucks as a novelist, but is humbled by the kindness of close friends; Laura Brown tells us all about The Year of Shoulder Pads that was 2009; Tamara Davis recalls her Top 10 Fashion Moments; Interior designer Sibella Court explains why she wears only four hues (cream, white, caramel and black, I'm guessing); beauty director Eugenie Kelly talks about genomics, sirtuins, oxofulleram and disport, and my head hurts. Then, for added punishment, we get a serving of exo-bot Tracy Anderson.

Party tips: "To balance out dark circles, go with a yellow colour corrector," says Chanel celebrity makeup artist Kate Lee. "Brighten your eyes by rimming your inside bottom lid with a white or navy pencil," says fellow guru Joanna Schlip.

Party presents: A $9400 Cartier watch, $895 sequined Pierre Hardy shoes, bags by Pucci and Phillip Lim and a $615 Hermes notebook. Santa must have a big budget this year!

Party on a plate: "Tasty hors d'oeuvres and glass after glass of Moet can add up to an extra five kilos by January," warns Dr. Stephen Gallo. Harper's lends a hand with its "tips to avoid packing on the pounds", including "Wear formfitting clothes to parties. You'll know instantly if you are gaining weight."

Party-girl rating: 4/5. Fashion obsessed much, Harper's makes for frivolous festive company and gives expensive gifts. Watch she doesn’t drop off after a vino or two on an empty stomach.

INVITEE: MARIE CLAIRE
Party representative: Eva Mendes: the kind of girl who gets all the male attention in the room. Still, says Harvey Marcus, this beauty has hidden depths: "an intellect, with all its attendant anxieties and fancies, that hasn't always been apparent in her film work." She has been described as not entirely "girl-friendly", is a proponent of therapy and checked herself into rehab last year ("nothing happened"). She also loves her dog and cemeteries. Interesting company.

Party clothes: Marie Claire has the most enviable wardrobe of all. The flirty French ensembles in 'Bonsoir, Mademoiselle' will have you craving a pair of Jonathan Aston lace tights, a pretty bow for your hair and a pouffy skirt and jacket. But you will also want to dress up in a printed frock and wear your hair straight with a centre part as per 'Child's Play'. Then 'Flower Power' will pull you in with its luxe pairing of florals and neutral pieces, and 'Summer Breeze' will tempt you with tailored shorts and a little black Collette Dinnigan dress that's sure to sell out. But it doesn't end there – ‘101 ideas’ is replete with even more party dresses and the shopping pages are a treasure trove of editor-approved clothing (I'll take the $1750 Josh Goot dress!). Marie Claire will make you want a whole new wardrobe.

Party look: Primping Marie Claire style involves rainbow bright hues. Applied incorrectly you will look like a clown and scare small children. A great tactic if you don't like small children. Saving grace = 'Back to Base', which enlists all the best foundations and application tips. Perfumes are in abundance and a page of hair accessories for grown-up girls are a fancy proposition.

Party conversations: Marie Claire can always be counted on for a bunch of provocative, informative and challenging stories – a verbal buffet for the conversationally challenged. This month she's talking about: Tantric sex, YouTube celebrities, "intersex", Patrick Swayze, business success stories, swimming pool statistics, crap presents, London fashion, bullying, relationships, overeating and Powderfinger's new album. Christmas makes an appearance via the annual Christmas light displays, while festivals, books and films fill up the silent moments.

Party tips: "Keep to one or two colours when decorating your tree to streamline your Christmas palette"; "Only eat until you are comfortable and could eat more, never until you are full and bloated." Stephanie Conley is the ultimate hostess. Her secret? "Good food and keeping everyone's glasses topped up."

Party presents: Marie Claire caters for all the people in your life with its Gift Guide but your eyes will gravitate towards the things you'd like for yourself - just like real Christmas shopping! Necklaces, journals, wedges, makeup cases, notepads, purses, lingerie, sweets, books and sneaks... for him, her and the kiddies. Everyone is happy. It's the little things that count.

Party on a plate: Salmon tartare on crostini, turkey and leek pies, turkey with chestnut stuffing, Christmas pudding and a selection of sophisticated wines.

Party-girl rating: 3.5/5. Marie Claire definitely sits at the grown-ups table. Best behave accordingly.

INVITEE: VOGUE AUSTRALIA
Party representative: Abbie Cornish. Best not to put this party girl in the same room as InStyle (see below). "Strong but delicate" is how she describes her Bright Star character, and she's quite the same. She's a serious actress: "I just think life is too precious to mess around with things you're not interested in. I don't really see the point, and there are so many other things that I like to do that I don't really want to be on a set 10 months out of the year. I just don't. I prefer to have time to make music or paint or be with friends and family...it's the time between that allows you to live and to learn and [also to] fuel the mind, the body, the spirit, which then goes on to affect the kind of work that you do." She hints to Vogue that she may do an album a la Scarlett Johansson. Is she Australia’s answer to intense, voluptuous Scarlett?

Party clothes: Vogue has helpfully organised your summer wardrobe by occasion: beachside brunch, poolside, market day, music festival, road trip, outdoor cinema, picnic in the park and boating. It's like sartorial tourism - lots of fun. Electric blue, floral prints, pink heels and Fantastia-inspired girlie things populate single trend pages. But things get really fun with 'Be Good, For Goodness Sake', which sees models Holly Thompson and Sarah Stephens playing with giant props, like two Christmas fairies lost in Wonderland. Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood, Harry Who, D&G, Viktor & Rolf, Giorgio Armani, Madame Hall and Marni have all sent frocks out to play. A page over, it's all boring block colours and shapeless shifts. 'The Frill Of It All' is opulent with rich textures and colours. But what I really, really want is the Josh Goot outfit on p76 – jacket, cardigan and mini in black and soft pink.

Party look: Elegant up-dos and a jewelled hairclip, gleaming skin, graphic eyeliner and false lashes are the recommendation. But perfume takes centre stage with Vogue's Ultimate Fragrance Guide occupying seven pages. Aerin Lauder makes the natural look oh-so appealing.

Party conversations: Jo Abbie confesses to a Twilight obsession; Brenda Harvey introduces her bag collection; Kit Willow-Podgornik recalls her earliest fashion memory; three party girls (Bianca Brandolini, Emily Pero, Alexis Elliott) reveal their beauty, health and style rituals; Vogue works its Little Black Book to get fashiony types to tell us about their holiday plans; Ryan Kwanten is an Aussie hottie; Bridezilla are the band du jour; Natalie Imbruglia makes sweet music with Chris Martin; and Sarina Lewis yearns for a life threaded with elegance (“We want that Sophie Dahl ideal: successful model-turned-author making an organic stew in a gorgeous cashmere sweater dress”). Did you know brain cancer mostly affects young professionals in the prime of their life? Eek! On a positive note, Felicity Loughrey writes on the Australians In New York Fashion Foundation (AINYFF) – a fantastic initiative and inspiring bunch of Aussies living the Manhattan dream.

Party tips: “An impact lipstick or smoky eye alone will help you feel like you have changes for the evening,” says Emily Pero, who also advises, “Never buy an outfit on the day for that night. You’ll make a panicky choice and never wear it again – guaranteed!”. Note here: GWAS ALWAYS buys on the day of the event, and usually winds up wearing the outfit again, and again – believe in sartorial serendipity and it will come true for you, too!

Party presents: Vogue’s Christmas gift guide is like a nativity calendar bursting with surprises. The best thing? It’s studded with FREE GIFT IDEAS, like “give an overworked loved one a day – or a week – off from domestic duties” and Sophie Lee’s suggestion, “I once made a gift for my husband of a small Moleskine notebook with poems, stories, illustrations and little collages.” What a fabulous idea. Thank you, Vogue, for imbuing the materialism with some heart.

Party on a plate: Not a single canapé in sight! Vogue doesn’t do food, darlings.

Party-girl rating: 4/5. Girlie, witty and sophisticated, Vogue never fails to impress me with its array of girl-crush-worthy interview subjects, while the warmth of personalised contributions in the form of anecdotes and quotes keeps it from being too lofty and unapproachable. Still, now I think I have brain cancer, and what’s a party without foooooood?

INVITEE: INSTYLE AUSTRALIA
Party representative: Reese Witherspoon. She says, “I’m an open book. I’m not about intimidating women or making them feel like less than what they are.” I still find her intimidating. But perhaps her life experience has softened those hard edges? She runs and trades clothes with her girlfriends, likes to cook, has chickens and grows her own tomatoes, and says her ideal scenario is to do one movie a year and has stopped spending so much time thinking about the future. Right now, she’s learning to “live more in the moment, and have more fun.” Me too! I think we could be friends. Plus, she’s a shortie, so we could swap clothes!

Party clothes: Reese’s black Alexander Wang dress and killer heels do it for me, but there’s much more inspiration to whet the appetite: celebrities in mustard coloured frocks and little navy dresses; Diane, Erin and Audrey in Chanel; Teresa Palmer in an AMAZING J’Aton beaded French lace dress ($5,800 – a girl can dream); looks for brunch with the gals; a Yeojin Bae sequined-nylon mini skirt ($590); garden party frocks; Christmas lunch outfit suggestions (white dresses mostly – skip the beetroot); exotic pool party ensembles; sparkly heels; bustiers; Emma Booth sporting a White Suede one-piece and Sass and Bide jacket I Have To Have; pretty Natalie Bassingthwaighte in frou-frou frocks… so much to contemplate!

Party look: ‘The Disco Flip’, ‘The Flapper’ or ‘The Pin-Up’ for your hair; classic, trendsetter, seductress, bohemian or bombshell for your makeup.

Party conversations: Mostly just celebrities talking about themselves. Join in ‘A Couture Christmas’ with J’Aton Couture designers Anthony Pittorino and Jacob Luppino or ‘Island Time’ with Gail Elliott and Joe Coffey. Fake fashion friends!

Party tips: “For glamorous party locks like Eva Longoria Parker’s, Great Lengths Hair Extensions could be what you need.” Are we really still doing hair extensions? “The finest parties are ones filled with laughter,” says Poppy King. “A well-thought-out playlist is a conversation starter,” says Stephen Ormandy of Dinosaur Designs.

Party presents: 101 items hand-picked by InStyle’s experts! In a world plush with funds, I would request the $1,500 Prada silk bag and keyring ($430); $550 Ginger & Smart silk dress; $389 Miu Miu silk key ring coin purse; Harry Ellen resin and silver-plated rollerskates ($575); My Wonderful World of Fashion by Nina Chakrabarti; Bally leather computer bag ($2,580)… yes, there’s much to love.

Party on a plate: Top points for presentation: InStyle does entertaining guests like no other. This month the glossy has enlisted the services of chef Christine Mansfield to give Aussie personalities a cooking class (way to work in the celebrity angle!). On the menu: vanilla cream and balsamic strawberries and roast suckling lamb leg with sticky rice and green mango salad.

Party-girl rating: 3/5. Loads of personality, pretty celebrities and people having fun. Superficial festivities.

INVITEE: MADISON
Party representative: Charlize Theron. She’s the kind of woman that could give you the cold shoulder (ha ha). She wouldn’t suffer fools lightly. She’d be tricky to buy a gift for. She comes across a hard sort of person – but I guess you get that way when your childhood wasn’t an idyllic walk in the park. However, there are elements of the every-woman about her that could make for a good conversation. Like, she says “I work out just like everyone else”. She’s a lover and a fighter.

Party clothes: ’50 Accessories for Under $250’ will make you consider festive bling and oodles of shoodles populate ‘Luxe to Less’. Elyse Taylor models creamy, dreamy, drapey dresses; Pania Rose sparkles in mini dresses; Sarah Stephens strikes a pose in black dresses… then we get more Elyse in summer swimmers, which we could probably do without seeing as we approach the fattest month of the year. A full-page picture of leggy Alexa Chung in a button-up men’s shirt and tiny denim shorts is memorable.

Party look: Madison advocates the deep side-part, grey smoky eyes, Chanel highlighter, metallic eyeshadow, lash-enhancing treatments and the natural look (which can be achieved with a commitment to facials, eyebrow shaping, bronzer application, drinking two litres of water a day…). And no party outfit is complete without the perfect perfume. Of course. Are we sensing a smelly theme across the glossy spectrum?

Party conversations: Puppy dog adoption; Australia’s “pride and prejudice”; domestic violence; having good sex; David Penberthy on a decade of politics; Tim Footman on pop culture; Alexandra Carlton on “premium denim, designers for the masses and the Bradshaw effect”; Jessica Montague on the sports scene; Elizabeth Wilson on ‘The Waiting Game’ (hold your horses, good things come to those who wait – like JK Rowling, Martin Scorsese, Coco Chanel and Tina Fey… and Pandora jewellery’s Karin Adcock); Richard Gere, the ladies man; ‘The Twilight Zone’; Alexa Chung’s innate coolness; ballet, running or Wii workouts; Cindy Crawford’s supermodel awesomeness.

Party tips: “By giving your tummy, liver and body chemistry a little TLC, you can help minimise hangover symptoms” – water, Vitamin B and crackers before bed should to the trick. “Fat delays the stomach emptying. So if you’re going to have pate and cheese for starters, choose a low-fat dinner and avoid big serves,” suggests gastroenterologist Jane Andrews.

Party presents: A puppy! Turn to the ‘Shopping’ section for five pages of gifting ideas for the kids, him, her, mum and dad. Doing Secret Santa this year? Dominique Bertolucci suggests a book, a voucher or a bottle of wine (p288).

Party on a plate: Prawn and avocado stack; fried zucchini flowers; negroni cocktail; roasted chicken sandwiches; spinach, goats cheese and pesto salad; pistachio cannoli… all lovingly layed out for us, on silver platters, in the home of Alex Zabotto-Bentley.

Party-girl rating: 3/5. I'd be paranoid about spilling red wine on her perfectly plush cream carpet but Madison would make a fine dining friend.

Party issue verdict: Marie Claire is the best dressed; Vogue works her Little Black Book best; InStyle invites us to appreciate Aussie celebs; Harper's is light on conversation (blame it on fatigue) but produced a pretty cover; and Madison is doing her best to strike the perfect seasonal balance.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

CHICTIONARY by Clare Press

2009-11-27T12:57:00.011+11:00

(I speak, you speak, we all speak...FASHION)

They say (sigh?) that regional dialects are dying out, thanks to Hollywood creep and the ever-expanding tentacles of the World Wide Web. But as every serious fashionista knows, they be wrong (note: that works best if you say it in a bumpkin accent like an extra from Midsomer Murders). There might be fewer Yorkshire souls yapping on about putting wood in t'ole and there being nowt so queer a' folk, but clique-alects rule okay in elite circles.

It's nigh on impossible to understand what the f’row is saying half the time ("f’row" = front row...don’t you read Grazia? Hello?!) but happily I’m here to help by acting as interpreter via this regular new post for GWAS. I’ll be decoding le fashion speak for readers each week in the hope that karma's gonna get me…a Phoebe Philo for Celine jacket for Christmas. Capiche? Stay with me. I hereby launch, Chictionary. Ta-da!

F’row Word of the Fortnight

Nonvin (non-van) adj., Derog. 1. Denotes a fashion crime; something ugly, hideous, shockingly off trend. Literally, to be a long way indeed from the work of revered French fashion house of Lanvin [currently headed up by one Alber Elbaz, A.K.A. le chicest homme alive].

In conversation. Hints and tips for daily use:
On seeing a short and scary frock covered in alarming plastic bling as sewn in Bali, Fashionista 1 says, "Ouch! Plastic, c'est pas chic!”
Fashionista 2 replies, “Eiuw! I know. That is so Nonvin!"

CHICTIONARY CREDENTIALS: In case you didn't know, Clare Press is a former fashion director for Vogue Australia and has her own fashion label, the wonderful vintagey Mrs. Press. Pretty and witty, she's also a really lovely lady, so I'm delighted that she'll be gracing this here blog on occasion to impart some words of sartorial wisdom. Visit her frolicking new blog here.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Pretty: Cute & Chic This Week

2009-11-27T12:51:00.006+11:00

Short and sweet with a side of frou-frou is the sartorial order for this party season, as demonstrated by Ashley, Melissa, Dakota, Leighton and Natalie. While Leighton lets a pair of pom-poms do a dance on her Little Black Heels, Melissa (as in Joan-Hart) must have lost one along the way. Where for art thou, ankle puff? Maybe she used it as a shower buff?

Pic credits: JustJared; GoFugYourself

Compiled by Sophie @ Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Glossy Report Card (Famous)

2009-11-27T08:50:00.004+11:00

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

GWAS Mid-Week Media Musings

2009-11-26T13:18:00.019+11:00

Bits and (Anna Wintour) bobs from about the glossy media beat...

- A blonde Catherine McNeil appears on the January cover of Vogue Australia, on sale next week. Check out the behind-the-scenes clip from the photoshoot here. This week McNeil's mother, Melissa, spoke to the press after cuts on her arms, as seen in pictures taken of her at Girlfriend's Model Search event, drew attention: "She's been through a lot. She hasn't had it easy. She hasn't had much of a life. I never forced her into modelling, it was her decision, it was her choice...But it's not as glamorous as it appears. There's a lot of pressure to maintain your looks and sometimes it gets her down." In response to reports of McNeil's supposed weight gain, Vogue editor Kirstie Clements said earlier this month: "Catherine came in to see us and she looks completely glorious. She looks exactly the same, except she's blonde."

- AdNews reports that Allure Media has launched women's lifestyle online network Sugar in Australia with three sites focused on 18 to 34-year-olds – celebrity and entertainment site PopSugar, fashion site FabSugar and beauty site BellaSugar. The network's advertisers include Acer, Sony, Johnson & Johnson, Hoyts and Clinique.

- Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been named Rolling Stone Italia's Rock Star of the Year. "This year the choice was unanimous, due to a lifestyle for which the words 'rock and roll' fall short," said editor Carlo Antonelli. "Silvio Berlusconi's daily behaviour, his furious vitality, his inimitable lifestyle have given him, especially this year, incredible international popularity." Perhaps Time will declare 2009 The Year of the Sexual Deviant? The Telegraph reports that the cover was produced by American illustrator Shepard Fairey.

- Still with illustrators, Australia's Kerrie Hess, whose credits include Vogue, Tatler, Elle and Notebook, has put her creativity to work for the fall/winter edition of Net-a-Porter's Notes, a quarterly publication that goes out to the online retailer's premium customers.

- Nine staff at Time Inc.'s InStyle Weddings magazine are to be let go before Christmas, hot on the heels of Conde Nast's closures of Modern Bride and Elegant Bride, reports Min. "Time Inc. sources admit that the spin-off of InStyle was no longer viable in the current environment where the wedding market has deteriorated sharply." This is despite InStyle magazine itself performing well.

- Good Weekend magazine, the Weekend Sydney Morning Herald/The Age colour supplement, celebrated a birthday this week. Twenty-five years ago, writes former editor John Huxley, "Good Weekend dropped in like an old friend, with a wealth of fascinating stories, insider gossip, great photographs and entertaining, informative and occasionally infuriating opinions." Since 1984, the magazine has published 1200 issues, overseen by eight editors, with many memorable interviews and Walkley awards to its credit.

- Speaking of the Walkleys, they are to be hosted by Annabel Crab and Anton Enus tonight. This year awards will be presented, for the first time, for Best Online Journalism, Best Scoop of the Year and Outstanding Continuous Coverage for an Issue or Event (will it be Famous for its in-depth Twilight coverage, Who for The Brad/Ange/Jen Love Triangle or Grazia for its dedication to reporting on Nicole Richie's weight?).

- "Gone are the days when you pounded the pavement for modeling gigs or worked your way from the bottom of the fashion food chain. Now all it takes is a digital camera and a Blogger account to make yourself the belle du jour," writes Lindsay Ibarra for Evil Monito Magazine online in an excellent appraisal of the fashion blogosphere. "They each have their unique style, yet one has to wonder if a closet full of designer labels and 1000+ Twitter followers are really all you need to climb the fashion ranks. If so, someone better tell all those kids out there schlepping as assistant stylists and marketing interns that they’re sure wasting a lot of time." (Image: Style On Track)

- GQ magazine continues to go from strength to strength. After posting a significant readership gain in the September quarter (a rise of 62% to 81,000) after other men's titles lost ground, it has now secured a NSW Government campaign targeting "gents with a taste for luxury and adventure travel", reports AdNews. The December/January 'Man of the Year' issue contains a 28-page travel supplement tied into the Government's "Boy's Own Adventure" campaign.

- Jezebel has given Sarah Palin her first American Vogue cover.

- "Celebrity mags are what they are - trash - and if you don't like it, you're free to go read Tolstoy or Rick Warren, or maybe just take a nap," writes Erik Sass in his review of Star magazine, which he finds to be disappointingly mediocre in a sea of tattle rags "zeroing in on the wretched personalities, dysfunctional families, sexual perversions, and surgical misadventures of its subjects". Read the review at Media Post.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Glossy Report Card (UK Harper's Bazaar)

2009-11-26T13:15:00.003+11:00

Mags: Paris Vogue (Guest Review)

2009-11-26T09:12:00.007+11:00

Guest Glossy Review

Demi Moore's cover for W may be causing a stir right now for all the wrong reasons, but Isabeli Fontana's Paris Vogue cover will certainly be one of the year's most memorable for the right ones. Tripping over the language divide, Lucie Goulet dips into the gilded issue to give us a taste of Carine Roitfeld's creation, where too much (of zis and zat) is never enough and political correctness need not apply...

This November, Paris Vogue went for an extreme luxury theme, showcasing extreme fashion and the obvious extreme price points which goes with it. The "Envies" pages list a golden MacBook, a €15,000 Goyard caviar case and an €80,000 bicycle. My personal favourite? The Louis Vuitton Malle “Marylin”, a monogrammed case which contains 33 Marylin handbags made with alligator skin.

There is an obvious, easy and nearly cliché criticism to make about indecent luxury in the midst of recession. If you’re interested in the luxury industry, however, the issue presents a basic, though slightly advertorial-like overview of what is produced at the moment. It, for instance, features Peter Nitz, an American clutch maker who spends 15 days making each and every handbag in exotic skins complete with vintage fastening. Each bag weighs about 200g and price-wise “makes a kilo of beluga look like a mass consumption product”.

The Good:
- This month, "Une Fille Un Style" features a woman for her own merits, rather than her birth name. Iris Apfel, eternal fashion muse and collectrice, has an elegance, style and uniqueness every Vogue reader would wish for at 88. Keeping things au courant, there's exhibition dedicated to her in Massachusetts.

- Leonor Scherrer, daughter of Jean-Louis, is launching her own line, Leonor Scherrer Funeral Couture. That’s right, clothes to wear to burials. Incapable of finding anything appropriate enough for Yves Saint Laurent’s funeral, she decided not to go and realised in the process that there was a market for stylish funeral clothes. Ricardo Tisci, of whom she’s muse, will design the first line.

- In Parfum Borderline, Lili Barbery ponders the meaning of perfume in a socio-cultural context, from sexually charged musk to the light perfumes that appeared in the 1990s with the first AIDS deaths.

Pretty Pages
- "La Bonne Heure est dans le Pré" is a shoot inspired by cult French movie Le Bonheur est dans le Pré. The model, wearing leather or jean overalls, strikes awkward poses with a shovel or on a tractor, all in the name of showing off her watches.

- "Keith Me" displays Keith Haring-inspired graffiti on “ethnically” clad models. Cue to the usual statement necklaces, raffia and feather headgear, pearls and seashell belts and exotic skin bags.

- Street style vs couture probably is the most obvious opposition of the moment. In "Graffi-Couture", Raquel Zimmermann poses in Atelier Versace, Armani Privé and Valentino Haute Couture in front of graffiti-covered walls.

- In "Fur Play" animal prints take over the streets. Some will appreciate the humour of Emmanuelle Alt’s styling choices; animal lovers may not.

- "L’éternel fantasm" isn’t about girls kissing girls, despite what the models could let you believe, but rather diamonds and their eternal beauty.

- In Peintures de Guerre, make-up artist Tyen, navigating between playful shots and de façade seriousness, shows you how crazy and artistic you could go with the powders and eye shadows he creates for Dior.

Glossy stats: Novembre 2009, #902, £4.95
Glossy bosses: Carine Roitfeld, Condé Nast
Glossy ads: Lancome Paris, Dior Joaillerie, Estée Lauder, Gucci, Chanel, Rolex, Emporio Armani, Miu Miu Eyewear etc etc
Glossy rating: 4 - Yes... skim at your leisure then lend to a friend.
Website: http://vogue.fr/

Yours truly,
Lucie @ Girl With a Satchel

Book Shelf: You Better Not Cry (Augusten Burroughs)

2009-11-25T19:59:00.008+11:00

Last year David Sedaris' short story collection, Holidays on Ice, made me chuckle as I filled those rare few book-reading minutes in the lead up to Christmas.

This year, I could barely contain myself as I hurriedly paged through Augusten Burroughs' You Better Not Cry (Hachette; $29.99), his equally hilarious and often cringe-worthy first-person homage to the holiday season.

As those who've read his memoir Running With Scissors would know, Burroughs' confrontational style is not for the faint-hearted nor the homophobic. His formerly debauched, hedonistic, dysfunctional lifestyle doesn't sit entirely comfortably with me. But don't look a gay gift-horse in the mouth, I say – especially if you are a six-foot-tall Santa with a plastic face, as Burroughs may eat it off (see chapter one).

Burroughs had me at the get-go with his self-deprecating assessment of his limited intelligence as a child – stacking chairs, the Pledge of Allegiance and the difference between Santa and Jesus all tripped him up ("I could identify Coke or Pepsi with just one sip, but I could not tell you for sure why they strapped Santa to a cross... was Santa Jesus's father?"). This first chapter details the Santa face-eating incident, as well as his mother's concept of "special occasion cocktails in the morning", which indicates that Burroughs, even as a child, was rather peculiar. Therefore, this is going to be no standard book of merry missives.

His overzealous enthusiasm for tinsel ("my favourite product"), advent calendars, his scratchy copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and an attempt to make a gingerbread house as per the recipe in his mother's Woman's Day magazine fill the second chapter, 'And Two Eyes Made Out of Coal'. Next up is 'Claus and Effect' where we meet Glen, the Twinkie kid whose birthday falls on December 26 ("a disability more disfiguring than a burn"), and Burroughs bates his parents with the notion that he will be beyond disappointed if he doesn't get a pony for Christmas.

Things get a little uncomfortable, for us and Burroughs, in 'Ask Again Later', a tale from his alcoholic days when unsavory interactions with old men in Santa suits were apparently not uncommon. This leads into 'Why Do You Reward Me Thus?', which begins with highly entertaining dialogue between Burroughs and a sarcastic friend jibing each other about the "mandatory participation" the silly season requires...unless you are Chinese or Jewish or an alcoholic, which is why Burroughs likes New York so much.

A serendipitous encounter with an alcoholic homeless woman named Shirley, who has the voice of an angel but lost her way and never lived up to her potential, is a turning point in Burroughs' recovery – he becomes a hopeful rather than hopeless alcoholic. I'm reminded of the homeless woman in Home Alone, the one to whom Kevin bestowed the turtle dove. Note to self: must do something kind for homeless person.

Burroughs falls in love in 'The Best And Only Everything', but the beauty of his burgeoning relationship is tainted by the touch of AIDS. Fast forward and we're given reprieve from the depths of his despair in 'Silent Night' – ten years sober and he's now with Dennis and life is good: "I saw this tableau – the Audi wagon, the fake-looking real tree, the snow blanketing the landscape, smoke from Atkins bakery ovens curling into the air in soft, sweet plumes – I thought, This is ridiculously perfect." Of course, a minor drama ensues, but this only brings out the best in him, his brother and his Christian neighbour, Carleen (this passage, I love):

"Carleen had brought more than towels and a Shop-Vac and sandwiches into our home; she had brought grace itself, carried it in her bare hands and left it there for us. In that basket, hidden beneath one of the sandwiches and cunningly tucked right between a chocolate chip cookie and a bag of Cape Cod brand potato chips was Christmas itself. Pure, true Christmas. Unavailable at any mall or even Cartier. The hardy, incorruptible, and now exceedingly rare variety of Christmas – more of a substance than a holiday."

Burroughs has rather generously imbued his book with many hopeful messages – particularly his own recovery from alcoholism. It's a call to wake up and smell the dysfunction in your life and choose the path more ordinary, for the greater good. What's more Christ-like than that?

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Indi love & lament

2009-11-25T11:30:00.017+11:00

Glossy Talk

Australian actress Indiana Evans is the quintessential Girlfriend girl: girl-next-door gorgeous in an Alison Brahe meets Bridget Hall sense; 'down to earth' in a non-Taylor-Momsen way; and a girlie-girl at heart who loves her friends, fashion and travel.

On the occasions that I've met, interviewed or watched her saunter by at the Kirribilli markets in Sydney (her favourite), she's affected a sort of nonchalant coolness, but having come to Aussie screens aged 12 via Home and Away, you'd expect her to be affected in some way.

Her style is not unlike Isabel Lucas' (they worked together on H&A and I believe Lucas was a bit of a girl-crush), and I imagine that if she achieves the same kind of international success as Lucas, the paparazzi will soon cotton on to the worth of an Evans snap.

One casually-cute, mixy-matchy ensemble she wore to a shoot I worked on – consisting of a long floral skirt and a band tee-shirt (possibly The Beatles) – I had to seek out an emulate immediately (I even gifted the very same outfit to my sister one Christmas). Of course, I couldn't pull it off, but she just has that affect. You want to copy her (even if you are roughly 10 years her senior!).

Traditionally she makes for a good November Girlfriend cover (see November 2007 and 2008 above). But this year she's been usurped by Miranda Kerr (admittedly more newsy/current than Evans, whose show H2O: Just Add Water is bigger in the UK and Europe than in Oz) and relegated to the inside cover of the magazine's quarterly Love 2 Shop fashion supplement, shot by Jason Ierace.

She tells the magazine in her every-girl fashion: "I go for walks and stuff and I enjoy Pilates, but I'm not very huge on it. I don't have very good self-discipline. I try to do it regularly, but I go up and down. Sometimes I spend a few weeks not doing anything, just junking out, and other times I'll get really motivated to be fit." Despite her acting credits, she envies a girlfriend who works at Sass and Bide ("she gets, like, 60 per cent off or something") and, like most other 19-year-olds, she has a crush on Robert Pattinson.

While I wouldn't wish a Sienna Miller paparazzi frenzy on any girl, this is one young celeb whose style I'd like to see more in magazines; what's more, her healthy attitude is something for teen girls to emulate.

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: Goodwin Glossy Goodness

2009-11-25T09:43:00.008+11:00

Oh, my glossy goodness!

This morning I got the same feeling when I entered the newsagent and eyed off the women's stand as I did the Christmas morning when I unwrapped my first Cabbage Patch Doll (Sally-Anne, where did you go?). Because there, nestled amongst all the gossipy weeklys and show-offy fashionies, was a fresh new Australian Women's Weekly glowing with all the joy of Christmas.

I really don't know what to be more excited about – Ellen on the cover of O The Oprah Magazine or MasterChef's Julie Goodwin resplendent in red and glowing like a superstar (with perfectly arched eyebrows, may I note), her diamond earrings a-sparkling and bountiful bust a-heaving, for the Weekly.

Then there's the Weekly's bonus bag to consider, which comes lovingly plastic wrapped with the words 'This Bag Is Not a Toy Made in China.' The Weekly had a little joke (see here to get my drift)! A gift AND a little humour. Oh, it's almost too much. I need to sit down like nanna after a few too many Christmas sherries. Someone fetch me a cold face cloth.

Let's take a quick peek inside this festive tome: lots of ads, of course; personalities posing in their festive finery; Penelope Cruz (bonus!); stories of love and giving; David Leser reporting on Jerusalem; Joe Hockey on being a dad; Serena Williams sizzling in a swimsuit; Del Kathryn Barton fronting the new 'Inspire: Women we admire' section; Santa in a fashion shoot; a 12 Days of Christmas Diet Plan; psychologist Kati St Clair on 'Keeping the peace at Christmas'; Kathy Lette on festive fun (see 'Inspire Laughs'); Wendy Squires on A-list parties; Pat McDermott's 'yule rules'; pages and pages of Julie's festive food; Maggie Tabberer and Monica Trapaga setting the Christmas table; a 12 days of Christmas giveaway; DIY decorating ideas; AND a book of Christmas carols.

Naysayers may pooh-pooh the return to airbrushing the cover after Sarah Murdoch's sans Photoshop issue, but I am blinded by all the goodness on offer here. Bless you, Helen McCabe – you've totally hit the right note.

Yours truly,
Girl With a satchel

Mags: 5 Reasons to get Jamie magazine

2009-11-24T16:02:00.013+11:00

5 Reasons to get... Jamie magazine

Jamie Oliver continues to concentrate his culinary energies on expanding his Jamie branded media empire via his TV series (Jamie's American Roadtrip is the latest), books (he beat out J.K. Rowling to become Britain's biggest selling author in 2008, while Jamie's Ministry of Food has sold more than a million copies), social media (iPhone '20 Minute Meal' clips and shopping lists, anyone?) and magazine, which celebrated its one-year anniversary in October. Keeping with the program, he has 241,850 Twitter followers.

Of course, little Jamie doesn't have the BIG time to attend to all of these things himself as he backpacks across America evangelising about his asparagus and potato tart. So he has left his bi-monthly Jamie magazine in the very capable hands of editor Andy Harris, contributing a welcome message, one or two stories (see 'Jamie's Diary') and perhaps an interview, recipes or some photographs each issue (more than Oprah usually contributes to her magazine, mind you, though hers is a monthly). The execution, from start to finish, is all Jamie.

In the August/September issue still on newsstands (or else on eBay!), British culture collides with lashings of amazing food to create a visually inspiring and engaging magazine experience. Herewith a 'Top 5' highlights package...

1. The 'Cooking with the Royal Ballet' exclusive coverline caught my eye, so I flicked straight to the 'Swans Bake' (ha ha) feature. I love the idea of exploring the idea of food within professions and sub-cultures. Over 15 pages, we meet seven dancers, including Sian Murphy, who has an eggs and bacon fry-up on a Saturday or Sunday, likes her steak and is "known to grab a bacon butty between rehearsals." Of course, one can afford to indulge when you spend the better part of your day shaking your tail feather in a tu-tu.

2. Pete Begg's tribute to food writer Ambrose Heath, author of Good Food: "The chapters in Good Food each resemble a 20-page chat, reading like a letter from one foodie friend to another... The treasures for me are Heath's charming recipes, his quirky turn of phrase and boundless enthusiasm for food." A man out for Matt Preston's heart?

3. French chef Pierre Gagnaire relates "the energy, the buzz, the eccentricity, the creativity and the madness of London" in his story on the River Café on the Thames, where Oliver was a sous chef for three years under the tutelage of Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. Gagnaire enjoyed bruschetta ("extremely good"), salmon ("a little overcooked") and stracciatella ice-cream. Preferential editorial treatment aside (Jamie looks after his buddies), the accompanying black-and-white picture of Gray and Rogers is exquisite.

4. 'Cricket Teas' takes recipe inspiration from the main cricketing nations: South Africa, India, West Indies, England, New Zealand and Australia (tropical fruit pavlova, if you're curious). Delivers a clever international spin (get it?) on a summer food feature.

5. Raspberries take centre stage in 'Sweet Surrender' and photograph beautifully – raspberry ripple ice-cream, chocolate and raspberry tart, raspberry puffs and a sponge known as 'Victoria Sandwich' have been shot on location at Priory Farm in Surrey. What a lovely experience for the food – I hope it took in the idyllic countryside views on the way.

Cheating... Of course, the 'Monthly Menu' fold-out sheet and Emma Tissier's illustration round out the book, making for a novel after-taste (and two extra points!).

Pop: Mags go ga-ga for fash bloggers

2009-11-24T11:15:00.008+11:00

Glossy Talk

Late last week I eavesdropped on a little Twitter chat between Grazia magazine and fashion blogger Bryan Boy. The exchange went like this:

Grazia: "Would love to run shot of you in Grazia Australia on front row of D&G with Anna W. Running feature on best blogs. Please email us.... at nhigham@acpmagazines.com.au if this is possible. Thank you!"
BryanBoy: woohoo! done. please check your email :-) email sent :-)

Obviously the tweeting worked a treat, because front and centre in the magazine's 'Our 20 Top Favourite Fashion Blogs' feature this week is, guess who? BryanBoy's response: "Thank you Grazia Australia for this week's mention! Woohoo!"

According to BraynBoy's other recent tweets, he has also scored mentions in ELLE Norway, Marie Claire Thailand, Spanish newspaper El Pais, Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias, Vogue Russia and The Sunday Times (his email address, if you're looking to get in touch, is bryan@bryanboy.com).

Such is the growing symbiosis between fashion bloggers and mainstream media. Thanks to Scott Schuman, who earned his street-style-photography stripes via The Sartorialist before being commissioned by the likes of Style.com, ELLE and GQ, fashion blogs have become a virtual playground for glossies looking to populate their pages with fresh faces after what seems a decade of Hollywood celebrity overkill and talentless Paris Hilton types.

Out with J.Lo, Jennifer and Jessica and in with Imelda (aka Matt Jordan), Susie Bubble (aka Susanna Lau) and Jak and Jil, these bloggers – with their personal spin on style, global audiences and penchant for publicity – may just become household names for Generations Y and Z.

While the glossy magazines now have their own blogs, they've also cottoned onto the potential to drive visits to their websites through these power-blogs. Rather than compete with them, some are forging relationships, while others are leveraging their content to fill column inches.

Joe Zee recently profiled a bevvy of beautiful bloggers for an ELLE fashion feature; Teen Vogue celebrates Susie Bubble and teen blogger Tavi Gevinson in its December issue (both of whom have scored indie mag covers for Sketchbook and Pop respectively); Blackbook covered fashion blogging in an extensive feature last week; and now Grazia Australia has given over four of its glossy pages to mini homages to its online sartorial favourites.

Then there's Lady Melbourne making the cover of Peppermint, magazines like Cleo running fashion features employing the craft skills of bloggers and Cosmopolitan creating a blogger category in its Fun, Fearless Female Women of the Year Awards.

In today's Gold Coast Bulletin, fashion editor Sacha Strebe writes of DIY careers where "nobodies can be somebodies and have their say on anything". If Lee Tulloch's Fabulous Nobodies had been written in 2009, her protagonist Reality Nirvana would have definitely had a blog – perhaps like 4th And Bleeker, which has seen Alexandra Spencer signed to Chic Model Management with a booking for Korean Vogue thanks to her self-portraiture efforts.

Though not a "fashion blogger' per se, as a new media maven of sorts, I feel very much a part of this craze (though this too shall pass). On my recent trip to Singapore for the Nuffnang Blog Awards, I was amazed by the cult following some of the bloggers attracted as they walked the red carpet, while blogging and social networking skills were practically a prerequisite for a nomination in this year's Gold Coast Bulletin '50 Best Dressed' awards, such is the youthful marketing appeal of new media.

What does this mean for glossies? Megan Aney of An Australian Wintour (pictured) tells Strebe: "The fashion industry can seem very exclusive to those not involved, something like a secret society... Editors and fashion critics should be paying attention to these bloggers and blog readers because ultimately they are their consumers and understanding them means understanding how to market their product."

The risk for the bloggers, of course, is becoming too cozily ensconced in the glossy world, thereby alienating their dedicated readerships. As Strebe writes: "The original attraction to fashion blogging was its allure as an alternative to glossy magazines."

Still, there's an ongoing, deer-in-headlights buzz about the blogosphere that just can't be ignored right now and the bloggers, like BryanBoy, can't quite believe their luck: "OK maybe it's just me but like I am still not used to being in the news around the world. 5 yrs ago I didn't expect to be in WSJ IHT FT NYT."

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel

Mags: International glossy covers

2009-11-24T09:43:00.009+11:00

Rihanna has appeared on the cover of The Mail On Sunday's You magazine (UK); Georgia Jagger does demure for i-D.

Amy Poehler is one of Glamour's Women of the Year but gets an exclusive BUST cover; Abbey Lee Kershaw is 'wild at heart' for Dazed and Confused.

Frockwriter reports that the December issue of KAREN magazine is "a surrealist composite by London-based Australian photographer David Standish"; Eva, Helena and Claudia are super-natural for a second i-D cover (one cover's rarely enough for this glossy!).

Taylor Momsen dons Rapunzel-as-a-rock-chick hair extensions for Nylon Japan; Ashlee Simpson does the LBM (little black mini) for Women's Health.

Yours truly,

Girl With a Satchel