One could pass by this Vogue cover without a second thought, regardless of how vibrant the font’s color or how striking the portrait is. Magazine covers on newsstands or in supermarket checkouts are such a fundamental, natural part of daily errands that, like most stimuli, is contributing to our American schema without us realizing it, yet the content on the cover speaks volumes about our culture precisely because it is so integrated in our daily lives. This issue’s cover story is “100 Looks 100% American,” but the related stories, like the correct choice of handbags, the style of New York, or the portrait of Rooney Mara are also featured prominently and are even more telling about what Americans desire. Vogue magazine sells 1.2 million copies of each edition, mostly relying on subscriptions, but over one-sixth of the buyers purchase single copies in situations like the newsstand above. The magazine is targeted for a readership that is 88% female, makes a median household income of $58,612, and 65% of whom have had at least some college education (Condé Nast). Thus, this is a readership that strongly holds the middle class values that permeate the European American cultural model present in much of American media. In order to attract new customers at the newsstand and satisfy existing subscribers, this magazine appeals to independent values such as uniqueness and individual freedom, both of which are dependent on fundamental equality, by celebrating success and markets products by emphasizing key desirable attributes such as novelty and attractiveness.
On this cover Vogue celebrates uniqueness, both of the individual and of the city of New York, advertising Rooney Mara’s “mysterious ways” and “the [emphasis added] spirit & style of New York.” The recent success of actress Rooney Mara’s career has been notable for her unique image, both in her dramatic roles, most famously her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander for which she had piercings, a partially shaved head, and fake tattoos in the American film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and her fashion sense which has largely focused on emphasizing her pale skin contested against her bold, dark hair. Her runway presence is alluded to here, adding the title “pale fire” above her name due to her defining, particularly in tanned Hollywood, pale skin. Additionally, the phrase “mysterious ways” is coupled with “her red-hot career” emphasizing not only her uniqueness but the eventual success that being unique brought her. In connecting the ideas of uniqueness and success, Vogue is emphasizing the importance of first being unique and then, more crucially, capitalizing on one’s uniqueness.
In celebrating the uniqueness of New York, Vogue is showing the cultural legacy of America’s main cultural capital. This alone is celebrating uniqueness, positing that New York itself has a unique spirit and style, which by extension as a representative of the culture of the United States, means that our nation has a unique style. Yet, almost hidden in blue are the words “after the storm” which precedes the declaration of uniqueness. With the addition of this phrase, the celebration of New York is not only celebrating uniqueness, but also celebrating resilience and productivity during the recovery following a natural disaster, namely Hurricane Sandy, which appeals to the work ethic emphasized in Protestantism, an ideology which permeates the foundation of our American identity.
Being unique allows one to make choices based off of one’s own character. Multiple choices have to be present in this model because each person’s uniqueness supports a different set of criteria for decision making. This individuality manifests itself through making choices on one’s own, but this quality inherently depends on the existence of choices, thus Vogue supplies the choices to facilitate the American reader’s expression of individuality by offering options for the reader to choose from. The obvious, and most advertised, set of options is the “100 looks,” written in a font size second in size only to the name of the magazine. These hundred options are not only numerous, but are also all appropriate and good. Each of them is described as “100% American,” which along with the red, white, and blue text conjure images of the flag and American patriotism, both of which have positive connotations for Americans. Thus the choice is made not between bad or unequal options, but rather equally good options, truly offering the freedom of choice to the individual. For one of the smaller stories, the magazine discusses “cool, sexy, choices” for evening wear, specifically using the word “choices” in advertising that smaller story. Picking for oneself requires acting on one’s individuality and solidifies uniqueness by collecting over time unique style, friends, and life plans through these, often mundane, decisions.
But both uniqueness and individuality depend on equality. Being able to choose between options means that one has to view oneself as capable of making that decision, indicating autonomy, and beyond that, worthy of making that decision, indicating greatness. Both of these concepts are reflected in the concept of “equal but great,” an idea that rejects rank and hierarchy, providing an egalitarian view of each being, but also emphasizes the potential for growth and improvement, where the growth of certain individuals does not form new ranks. This desire for improvement is the “but great” part of the declaration of the equality of individuals. On this cover, one sees it implicitly in the portrait of Rooney Mara. Staring out at the reader, Rooney Mara’s gaze suggests equality in that her eyes are neither looking up nor down at the audience. The equal footing implies that, despite her greatness and “red-hot career” and fame, her success does not contradict the conception that we are equals.
The concept of the American dream is also emphasized in this gaze. Instead of being intimidated by greatness or feeling inferior, Americans look at Rooney Mara as a goal to aspire to. The “equal but great” mantra allows for mobility of any persons since there is no hierarchical system and no one is born into limiting castes. Thus, advertising powerful figures or wealthy individuals will not inspire envy in Americans, but rather will instill new goals for them.
Explicitly, this concept is also emphasized in the corner story, saying that there is a piece on “the most in-demand skin experts.” In advertising these experts, Vogue is establishing the experts’ greatness, but more importantly they are suggesting that any reader is worthy of getting these experts. These people who are the “most in-demand” (implicitly meaning best) are available to any reader, allowing the readers to improve themselves by improving their skin. But even the phrase “in-demand” fits in with the narrative of greatness in American society. These experts who are great were not advertised poetically as skin experts to the Gods, aristocrats, or kings and queens, rather they were advertised in a more populist way. They are described as “in-demand” precisely because people have equal access to them. The greatness of these experts does not propel them up or away from common people, thus even those two words clearly emphasize this American idea that nonhierarchical equality and greatness can coexist.
On the cover of Vogue, there are no explicit advertisements for products directly, but the whole cover is in itself an ad and, in connecting readers with options from designers, each story will itself function as an advertisement for a brand or style of dress, thus the cover uses marketable words that align with the themes researchers found were prevalent for a middle class audience. Because they have a college-educated readership, Vogue markets products by emphasizing different qualities than they would to a non-college-educated readership. In an analysis of advertisements, researchers found an increased emphasis on ideas such as productivity, attractiveness, and choice in advertisements that targeted college-educated readers versus high-school educated readers. Themes concerning the novelty of a product or the greatness of an individual, however, were present in both ads from publications that targeted the middle class and ads from publications that targeted the working class.
The concept of novelty is expressed in fashion’s emphasis on seasonal variety, emphasized here with phrases such as “now!” and “the bag of the moment” both of which place an urgency on owning these projects. The time frame for their relevance is not even an entire season, but this instant. Such words emphasize that these products are not only new but also that they are the products one needs today. The recommendation of a fashion magazine to purchase certain items emphasizes that these items will improve style and thus overall appearance, something that many Americans, particularly the middle class, think is important, if not vital, to success.
This idea of attractiveness is one that is always present on Vogue covers, because it is largely a fashion magazine, but is also emphasized because this is a value or goal shared by its college-educated readers. Attractiveness is seen explicitly on this cover in the main cover story and the story on evening wear. The attractive portrait of Rooney Mara is the most obvious celebration of attractiveness on the cover. The emphasis on appearance is seen in the words describing her complexion, “pale fire,” but also in the corner story on skin experts, implying that skin is a significant and important part of one’s appearance. The idea of sex, tied closely to attractiveness, is brought up in the story “Starry Nights,” by using adjectives such as “cool” and “sexy” for articles of clothing and emphasizing the night-time setting for these clothes with words like “nights” and “evening.” In marketing attractiveness and novelty, Vogue both creates and reflects the reality of what is important to American readers, namely the role of appearance and maintaining temporal relevance with trends in determining success.
Vogue magazine operates on the assumption that Americans desire constant improvement and ever-increasing greatness. The cover and content of the magazine fuel our potential for greatness by providing not only the right choices but also a great number of them so that there must seemingly always be enough so that one exists that is appropriately targeting our unique selves. “Equal but great” is the foundation for the American way of life, allowing each person to be an individual, use that individuality to make choices, and then improve themselves to the full extent of their ability. Rooney Mara used her unique style and appearance to create a “mysterious” image and acting style which ultimately lead her to a successful career. In featuring Mara, Vogue is celebrating the concept of the American dream, where each individual can, through possessing and utilizing uniqueness, achieve success.
