Editorial Writing: Critical Journal (chapters 1, 2, and 3)
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Chapter 1: A Historical Perspective
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History of Fashion Magazines 1800-present “Magazines provide the most diverse form of print media available today in terms of content, markets and formats, and are nearly as old as the other type of periodical regularly consumed, newspapers” (Whittaker, 2008, p1).
During the 19th century the French ruled the fashion magazine industry, creating illustrated journals of custom clothing to order as well as, sketches to see what was being worn and the latest trends.
In the 19th century there was better printing equipment, a falling newspaper tax and rising literacy rates, bringing magazines to more households. Due to rapid advances in printing technology and in mass media, publishing went from hundreds to thousands in the 19th century. “Technological developments involved improvements in presswork, the process of transferring impressions to paper, and composition, creating readable type,” (Whittaker, 2008, p6). Lithography was also invented (a printing method of oil combined with water) making the production of text and image cheaper. Overall, providing fast advancements for magazines, (Whittaker, 2008, p7).
One of the first published fashion magazines of the 19th century in the UK was ‘Records of Fashion and Court Elegance’ (1807-1809). This included pictures of Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth, and the Duchess of York. The pictures had high quality hand-coloured engravings of their morning and mourning dresses, riding dresses, afternoon dresses and court dresses. Each were accompanied with text, featured in each issue (Straus, 2014).
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Mourning dress
Morning dress (Straus, 2014)
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Timeline of Fashion Magazines published 19th century - 21st century
La Belle Assemblee (1806-1847)
GQ (1931)
Allure (1991)
Records of Fashion and Court Elegance (1807-1809)
Marie Claire (1937)
Dazed and Confused (1991)
Grazia (1938)
Jane (1997)
Glamour (1939)
InStyle (1994)
Elle (1945)
Oyster (1994)
Essence (1970)
Aesthetica (2002)
W(1972)
Teen Vogue (2003)
I-D (1980)
Life and Style Weekly (2004)
The Ladies Pocket Magazine (18241840) The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons (1824-1851) Harper’s Bazaar (1867) La Dernier Mode (1874) Cosmopolitan (1886)
Prima (1982) Vogue (1892)
= first published in UK
Paper(1984) Vanity fair (1913) (Briggs, 2020) Mabel Briggs Mabel Briggs
La Belle Assemblee (1806 - 1847) (Regency fashion, n.d) Mabel Briggs Mabel Briggs
Major Publishers: Harper’s Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar was published in 1967. “A repository of fashion, pleasure, and instruction” is how Harper’s Bazaar described itself on the cover of its inaugural issue, in 1867,” (Harper’s Bazaar, 2016). After the industrial revolution, the US was obsessed with all things European. There was room for a magazine aimed at women that worked as a guide on how to live well in the modern world. Fletcher, the youngest Harpers brother thought of the idea of Harper’s Bazaar magazine and presented it to the rest of the brothers, the magazine was then born.
The first issue was an unsigned editorial titled “Our Bazar” which sketched out the journal’s mission to become “a vast repository for all the rare and costly things on earth - silks, velvets, cashmeres, spices, perfumes, and glittering gems; in a word, whatever can comfort the heart and delight the eye,” (Harper’s Bazaar, 2016). From then, it was clear that it was going to go far beyond clothes, there was pieces of fiction and poetry. Writers such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy contributed to Bazaar. It is still one of the most popular magazines still running and is now published by the Hearst Corporation in the US.
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(Harper’s Bazaar, 2016)
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Zeitgeist Feminism: Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan magazine was first published in 1886 and has nothing in common, in look or content with Cosmopolitan today, (Cosmopolitan, 2007). It started off as a family/women’s magazine which focused on the concerns of women, fashion, household decoration, cooking and the care and management of children. Television was then introduced which created a decline in the demand of fiction magazines. The magazine then hired Helen Gurley Brown, the magazine began to change in 1965 by adding a ‘Love and Lust’ section, with sex Q&As and drawings of men and women in sexual positions etc, (Cosmopolitan, 2007).
Front cover illustrations were replaced with photos of young models wearing minimal clothing where sales increased as a result. Since then, the magazine is more sexually orientated in terms of how females are portrayed and has also remained popular to this day. This is an example of a type of zeitgeist (feminism) with how the two representations of females in Cosmopolitan has changed over time, with regards to consumer wants and needs.
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(McGuire, 2010)
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Chapter 2: Reflective Learning
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Reflective Learning:
“We define reflective learning as a process which involves dialogue for others for improvement or transformation whilst recognising the emotional, social and political context of the learner” (Brockbank, 2017, p1). I have used reflective learning by using different platforms to help me with my assignment e.g. looking for sources of inspiration from the magazine I wrote for, Aesthetica, with how it has laid out and designed their magazine, along with its house style of writing. I have also looked at other publications like Vogue when writing my interview to help with the narrative flow.
One particular interview which helped me was the ‘Serena Williams on Motherhood, Marriage and Making Her Comeback’. The writing style was how I wanted to portray mine, it flowed well with Aesthetica’s style of writing, rather than a standard Q&A. Other sources which helped me was Pinterest when looking for different layouts. Also, just generally reflecting over what I had wrote, making improvements, thinking about Aesthetica’s market and what content I can write which will tailor to the magazine.
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(Aesthetica, 2020)
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Project: Aesthetica magazine is an art and culture magazine, founded in 2002, with a readership of over 455,000 with national and international distribution. It covers topics such as visual arts, photography, architecture, fashion, and design, (Aesthetica magazine, 2020).
I decided to cover this, as it follows the subjects Aesthetica tend to write about, but it also ties in sustainability which as of now is a ‘hot’ topic in the world today. The world is facing more climate change issues every day, making it important for people to try and be sustainable in any way they can to help. By including topics like sustainability, it gives consumers an Aesthetica is a consumer magazine. As McKay (2004) element of real-life issues they can relate to, as well as topics remarks: ‘What most people immediately think about when they enjoy reading. This may broaden Aesthetica’s audience magazines are mentioned are consumer publications, that from using topics Aesthetica don’t usually write about. is the ones which give readers information, advice and entertainment which relate to the time when they are not at work’ (Whittaker, 2017, p14). Consumer magazines are available to the general population to buy. I researched into previous articles by Aesthetica to see what it had already covered and what I could do differently. I researched into different things that had happened recently in line with the types of subjects Aesthetica cover. One article I wrote, was about 5 sustainable homes in the UK and their unique designs/architecture. A website which helped with research was ‘Self-Build’ a website for people looking for inspiration of different house building styles.
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Chapter 3: Editorial and Marketing
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Promotion of the Project: Pitch: Part 1: I have decided to do a pitch to the editor. “The UK has a considerably diverse range of titles - approximately 2,800 consumer magazines compared to 3,200 in the US” ... “However, this diversity brings its own problems, making the market much more competitive in the UK. Added to this consumer titles have declined in circulation,” (Whittaker, 2017, p14). I maintained the house style when writing for Aesthetica and I added some extra subjects to write about, closely related to what it already publishes, to differentiate it more to its competitors, giving a competitive advantage of covering differing subjects, opening its target market. It’s three main competitors are Art Market Monitor (a museum creating regular reports about global art), Artnome (a large database of artists), and ArtTactic (an art market research firm)…(Owler, 2020).
Today I will be pitching to you, a piece I have wrote for an existing magazine title, Aesthetica. For the content I have wrote, I have decided to keep within Aesthetica’s house style. I have done this to maintain Aesthetica’s overall brand image, this is the same for the types of content I have wrote too. By writing similar content and more, it is giving Aesthetica’s target consumers something they are already interested in reading but also similar topics, closely related to the ones they already like, opening subjects they may enjoy reading too. It also helps broaden the audience for Aesthetica, for people interested in topics I have chosen to write about. This will help provide new possibilities for Aesthetica which may generate more money for a beautiful magazine which deserves the appreciation. For example, I have written about sustainability and culture, linking it within subjects already wrote about such as architecture and photography. This may give Aesthetica the little boost it needs to help itself against its competitors such as Art Market Monitor.
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Promotion of the Project: Part 2: Aesthetica is not a very wealthy magazine, its circulation is not the best, cover prices are high, and it is bi-monthly. Their revenue is on average, £23M annually, it is generated mostly from their events such as short films festivals (Owler, 2020). On social media there is little coverage on these events which they succeed on. My idea is to promote these events on social media to get more people interested to attend them, which will generate more revenue. Examples can be posting dates, times, and places of where the events will be held, and short videos of previous events to catch users’ attention. At the minute, their social media has not grown much, and this may also gain them more followings, getting the Aesthetica name out and spreading awareness. Finally, they can broaden its event horizons to further down south, as they remain within the Yorkshire area, not helping the magazine to grow. This would benefit them in terms of readership and circulation and would overall make the magazine more popular.
(Owler, 2020) Facebook followers for Aesthetica have remained similar over the past years, meaning effective use may cause growth in more followers/recognition.
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Critical Journal References: - Aesthetica Magazine. 2020. Aesthetica Magazine – The Art & Culture Magazine. [online] Available at: <https://aestheticamagazine.com/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Brockbank, A., 2017. Facilitating Reflective Learning. 2nd ed. London: Kogan page, p.1. - Cosmopolitan. 2007. How Cosmo Changed The World. [online] Available at: <https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a1746/about-us-how-cosmo-changedthe-world/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Harper’s BAZAAR. 2016. 150 Years Of Harper’s Bazaar. [online] Available at: <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a18658/history-of-harpers-bazaar/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Owler. 2020. Aesthetica Magazine Competitors, Revenue And Employees - Owler Company Profile. [online] Available at: <https://www.owler.com/company/ aestheticamagazine> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Straus, D., 2014. Fashion, The High Life, and “The Duties of Married Females”: 19th Century Fashion-Plate Magazines. [Blog] n/n, Available at: <https:// www.nypl.org/blog/2014/09/25/19th-century-fashion-plate-magazines> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Whittaker, J., 2008. Magazine Production. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, pp.1, 6, 7, 14. Image references for Critical Journal: - Aesthetica Magazine. 2020. Aesthetica Magazine – The Art & Culture Magazine. [online] Available at: <https://aestheticamagazine.com/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Briggs, M, 2020. Timeline of Fashion Magazines in the 19th-21st Century. - Harper’s BAZAAR. 2016. 150 Years Of Harper’s Bazaar. [online] Available at: <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a18658/history-of-harpers-bazaar/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - McGuire, L., 2010. The Evolution of Cosmopolitan Magazine. [Blog] Society Pages, Available at: <https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/04/26/ guest-post-the-evolution-of-cosmopolitan-magazine/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Owler. 2020. Aesthetica Magazine Competitors, Revenue And Employees - Owler Company Profile. [online] Available at: <https://www.owler.com/company/ aestheticamagazine> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Regencyfashion.org. n.d. La Belle Assemblee, June 1817. [online] Available at: <http://regencyfashion.org/bell/ba6-17.html> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Straus, D., 2014. Fashion, The High Life, and “The Duties of Married Females”: 19th Century Fashion-Plate Magazines. [Blog] n/n, Available at: <https:// www.nypl.org/blog/2014/09/25/19th-century-fashion-plate-magazines> [Accessed 3 June 2020].
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Project References: - Aesthetica Magazine. 2020. Aesthetica Magazine – The Art & Culture Magazine. [online] Available at: <https://aestheticamagazine.com/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Architectural Review. 2013. Manser Medal Winner: Slip House, London By Carl Turner Architects. [online] Available at: <https://www.architectural-review. com/today/manser-medal-winner-slip-house-london-by-carl-turner-architects/8649720.article> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Asme.org. 2014. “Waste House” An Example Of Sustainable Building. [online] Available at: <https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/waste-house-example-sustainable-building> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Build It. 2020. 13 Sustainable Eco Houses To Inspire Your Project - Build It. [online] Available at: <https://www.self-build.co.uk/10-sustainable-eco-houses-inspire-your-project/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - HomeDSGN. 2013. One Kind Design. [online] Available at: <https://www.homedsgn.com/2013/02/04/meadowview-by-platform-5-architects/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Homeli. 2020. Black House At Camusdarach Sands In Scotland By RAW Architecture Workshop - Homeli. [online] Available at: <http://homeli.co.uk/blackhouse-at-camusdarach-sands-in-scotland-by-raw-architecture-workshop/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Instagram. 2020. Niamh.Cusack. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - International Women’s Day. 2020. IWD: International Women’s Day 2020 Campaign Theme Is #Eachforequal. [online] Available at: <https://internationalwomensday.com/2020Theme> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Pinterest. 2000. Pin On -Amalgamation -. [online] Available at: <https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/332984966193675183/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Pixabay. 2020. Girl-Face-Colourful. [online] Available at: <https://pixabay.com/photos/girl-face-colorful-colors-artistic-2696947/> [Accessed 3 June 2020]. - Theresident.co.uk. 2014. SOUTH LONDON’S MOST ECO-FRIENDLY HOME. [online] Available at: <https://www.theresident.co.uk/homes-interiors/inspiration/ south-londons-eco-friendly-home/> [Accessed 3 June 2020].
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