Out of Vogue

For the last ten years I have been a devoted fan of British Vogue magazine, buying it without fail every month - even when this meant spending half of my weeks wages when I was paid a pittance for washing pots in a pub. But that love affair, over the last few months, has sadly ended. For a while I was buying it, reading the Miss V section (which has recently gotten smaller and smaller anyway), flicked through the rest and discarded it somewhere in my room. Unlike with Elle and Nylon it was no longer getting my full attention and I wasn't willing to pay nearly £4 for three pages of back and forth e-mail conversations!

However, on a recent three and a half hour train journey, and in need of something to take away the mind numbing solidarity of long solo journeys (alongside the fear that I would miss a connection leaving me stranded in the wrong city), I purchased this month's copy. I will admit that, this time around at least, there was more articled I could get my teeth into. And while the pieces featured are way out of my price range, I did see a lot I liked and will search for copies or vintage originals/make my own versions.

But then, towards the back of the magazine, I came across what I can only describe as an article which was the most ludicrous waste or paper and ink I have ever seen! What makes it even worse however is that Vogue's chronicling of a new trend being seen among celebrities is in fact already filtering down to the hip stylista's of our countries capital as seen in the style spy section of Grazia magazine (with one commentator labelling it 'so of the moment').

I am of course talking about HOW YOU HOLD YOUR HANDBAG! Apparently gone are the days where you could just sling something over your shoulder or into the crook of your arm. Oh no, that is so O-V-E-R. Apparently we must be more insouciant and devil-may-care - crunching an over sized clutch up in our hand or leaving handles dangling rather than draping from our bodies.

I think I'm gonna sit this one out - maybe I'm not cool enough; maybe I'm just not sure HOW you hold an item can be of any relevance or importance and how it's suddenly become a bonafide trend!!! One thing I know for definate is I won't be wasting that four quid again.