A Vogue by any other name

As a fashion lover, it's been hard going months on end without the fashion bible, Vogue. Today I caved in and bought the french version, Vogue Paris. Although I could barely understand what was being said in the magazine I noticed some differences between the magazine and its American counterpart other than just the language.

First off, I thought it was interesting how the magazine was called Vogue Paris, not Vogue Français or French Vogue. The Italian version is called Vogue Italia and the British is called British Vogue but the French one is a direct homage to the city that holds so much importance in the fashion world.

The cover of this months Vogue is similar to the one in the U.S. Although American Vogue features much more text on the cover they both coincidently use red as their accent color this month. The cover stars for March are Rihanna and model Lara Stone, for the U.S and Paris respectively

 

This month's Vogue covers
While in America it is common practice to have a celebrity on the cover every month, it is quite the opposite in Paris. If a celebrity is on the cover, it is usually a model that has become a household name, like Lara Stone or Kate Moss. Occasionally French actresses like Marion Cotillard will grace the cover and Victoria and David Beckham were on the cover together back in december to honor Victoria being a guest editor. In general, the cover of Vogue Paris is usually given to a model who is not a household name.

The other main difference I noticed not just in Vogue but in French fashion magazines in general is that ads and editorial spreads often feature nude models. When this happens in America body parts are strategically covered but in France, you can see everything. It was quite a shocking difference!

Stay tuned to see if I managed to learn anything from Vogue Paris about French style and managed to apply it to my own!