So I came to the Mary Couts Burnett Library to get my Vogue on! I usually study in the periodicals section of the library so I set my books down at a table with a friend and decided to start roaming the stacks. I quickly realized I had no idea where the magazines were. As every intuitive honors student should do, I asked for help!
The librarian who helped me was so sweet and patient. She even showed me where to find them instead of just giving me the reference number. We walked down the stairs, turned left, and kept walking and walking and walking. I honestly would have NEVER found this spot on my own. I was so thankful for her assistance. I grabbed two books and returned to the table with my hefty load. I decided to grab both Vogue and Good Housekeeping, but for this response I’ll only reflect on Vogue.
The edition I am focusing on is the February 15, 1924 publication of Vogue. Seeing as my birthday is February 20th, I felt this was as close as I was going to get. I’m not sure why I chose 1924, but I did. I’m pretty sure the mass publication of these magazines excluded the cover because I could not find them for any edition in the book. It was interesting, however, to notice that Tiffany & Co. had the first full-page ad. I realized that most of the ads were crammed onto the pages to fit as many as possible, not unlike ads today for magazines to make as much money as possible off of advertising.
Another discovery was that many of the illustrations were drawings. Nowadays, everything is photographed. I can’t imagine how long it took for artists to draw each picture! Now we can click a button on a camera a million times in a matter of minutes. That may be an exaggeration, but you get my point.
Some similarities include:
1. Featuring a new fashion style
2. Predicting new trends of the season
3. Designing discrete maternity clothes
4. Focusing on individuality
5. And lastly, a few classic designers.
In conclusion, it was really interesting to see the similarities and differences between a 1924 edition of Vogue and one published now. It’s funny to see what was in style then compared to now. Needless to say, I am glad I live now!
I love the photos you included in your blog post...I think photos always make things more fun. :) I did Vogue too and I definitely agree on the whole "glad I live now" idea. Some of the styles I encountered were very...interesting to say the least. The discrete maternity clothes actually make me laugh, because showing off your baby bump is the trend nowadays!
ReplyDelete