Where is the Love for Allure?

Yesterday afternoon, The Daily posted an imagined interview with the November issue of Allure. The story’s set up as a look at what it’s like to be a glossy mag in a world that’s constantly downsizing.

Its tone, however, made it feel more like an interview with a petulant, somewhat ditzy, undernourished starlet. Full Disclosure: I’ve worked at both places, but this left me wondering where The Daily’s flood of negativity towards the beauty book was coming from. Take this exchange for example:

Does it embarrass you to scream words like “sexiest” month after month?
Even a glossy can blush. We’re using variations of that word more than ever before. It must sell or something. But why not use it in top left then?

And this one:

Do you move on the newsstand? Be honest.
It really depends. Sometimes I linger, especially in bodegas. I do better at airports. Even with my strict exercise regime and all that green juice, I feel totally lame when the US Weeklys of the stand outperform me. If I could cry, I would. I think I have body dysmorphia disorder.

And then there’s the dramatic finish where the magazine walks out of the interview.

Sure, Allure seemed like it was on the bubble for a while; we heard some nasty rumors, but it survived all of Condé Nast’s cuts. And the bottom line is, it wouldn’t have if it wasn’t viable. They let go of a few senior staffers, but who didn’t? Someone’s reading the magazine. It certainly isn’t as pamphlet thin as some other titles out there and it’s altogether pretty innocuous.

I’ve been accused of being rather harsh on Harper’s Bazaar in the past, but I can truly say that I do that out of love and frustration that it’s not living up to its full potential. This just feels mean-spirited in a time when we need to be more supportive of our print brothers and sisters.

Which is all the more irritating after reading this quote, “People also trust us with things because we’ve never been mean to anybody. It’s not in our DNA. We’ve always looked at it from a positive perspective. This is fashion. Nobody’s starting a war anywhere unless it’s between a Fendi and Dior bag,” from The Daily’s Editor-in-Chief.

posted by shharvin

Nov 04, 2009 1:23PM

the best part about allure is the how to section.

posted by guest

Nov 04, 2009 1:28PM

I'd be happy to give Allure some love. I subscribe to all the traditional fashion mags, and have for years, and Allure is my favorite. The Condé titles often arrive on the same day, but Allure is the one I read first. Linda Wells is a great editor, level-headed and intelligent. The photography is lovely.

The articles do tend to cover the tired ladymag topics of aging, plastic surgery, insecurity, etc., but smart people -- novelists, sociologists, etc. -- are often hired to write them, which makes a big difference in quality. The prose isn't some Cosmo-level crap. I do wish the book were still oversized and that the legendary Polly Allen Mellen were still its fashion editor, but one can't have everything. :)

And Abby, I share your Harper's Bazaar dislike. I am so effing sick of the pointless, relentless "at every age" crap, it makes me want to hurl the mag across the room every month.

Nov 04, 2009 1:29PM

I actually kind of like Allure.

Nov 04, 2009 1:42PM

i don't know why, but i've been getting allure for free for years. i think maybe it just came along with another magazine or something else i bought. otherwise i'd never read it.

Nov 04, 2009 1:49PM

I've never been that interested in Allure. I find their focus on beauty stale compared to the fresher and more current beauty blogs online.

"It certainly isn’t as pamphlet thin as some other titles at there..." ---Don't you gals have a copy editor? Or did Tina Fey's "I want to go to there" daughter write this.

Nov 04, 2009 2:03PM

i read that interview yesterday and i thought it was pretty hilarious...

Nov 04, 2009 2:06PM

Is Allure still paying you residutals?

Nov 04, 2009 2:14PM

Innocuous isn't the same thing as good though, is it? Who has space for another magazine when the best thing you can say about it is that is hasn't folded yet and is "altogether pretty innocuous"?

Nov 04, 2009 2:50PM

Nice post Abby. Brandusa (EIC) is a huge b*tch, which is why this doesn't surprise me. There's no one else on that staff that would be retarded enough to put up a FAKE interview. That's really creepy and totally mean to Allure, a mag that doesn't make up interviews--even if it's just for fun.

posted by marsgaret

Nov 04, 2009 3:41PM

It takes me two minutes to read an entire issue of Allure. They don't have anything to say anymore.

posted by grammyweezy

Nov 04, 2009 5:11PM

I love it when people try to be snarky and they accidentally use a word that doesn't exist (see: residutals)

Nov 04, 2009 6:24PM

To be perfectly honest, I never liked Allure. When I started getting really into magazines in high school and college, Allure was always the most superficial and negative of all the magazines (and that includes Vogue, Glamour, Shape, Elle, and yes, even the dreaded Cosmo). The difference was that all the other major mags had so many other things going for them - funny articles, great photography, something new, something that made you excited to read it.

On the other hand, I've always felt that Allure was constantly trying to convince me that I had more flaws than I could have ever imagined. For a 19 year old to worry about large pores, wrinkles, while simultaneously fretting over not being tan enough is a bit excessive. I haven't picked up an issue of Allure since. I love reading about new products, I just don't want to be told that my beauty regime should be a solid 2 hrs a day.

I'm all for solidarity for our print brethren (I work for a mag myself) but I think if anything is going to come out of this, it's survival of the fittest. Like most Conde Nast publications, Allure could (forgive the pun) use a makeover.

Nov 04, 2009 10:48PM

I love Allure. Sure, it tends to be chock full of all those cheesy topics that dominate women's magazines but for some reason, that's the type of thing "normal" women buy into. What I love about their more in depth articles is that you can tell intelligent people who know what they're talking about have written them. They treat me like I have a brain which is way more than anyone can say about most other women's magazines.

posted by cesarcmma

Nov 05, 2009 12:01AM

I think it's a pretty good mag tbh, the eds are way more exiting than vogue's.

posted by louis

Nov 05, 2009 1:29AM

Grammar Police = Party Killers. :)

Allure introduced me to Kevyn Aucoin and his genius. It is high on my list of magazines to love (second only to Vogue).

That will never change.

posted by Keen Observer

Nov 05, 2009 2:35AM

Abby,

Great post. Thoughtful, articulate and tastefully aware.

Best,
Keen Observer

Nov 05, 2009 10:36AM

Snark is one thing but I didn't think the interview was even that funny, so that's kind of the cardinal sin. And as if anyone at the Daily should bust on another magazine for not moving copies or any lack of journalism. Wow.