1941: Early July
Well, we are starting out strong with some pre-war vibes. I hope our pilots ACTUALLY got stylish yet comfortable loafers.
1941: Mid July
I want to know how they calculated that it's 3.5 hours of reading, and also, more print magazines should do that so that when we are at airports again we know which ones to buy for our flights.
1942: Early July
What an ambiguous message.
1942: Mid July
"Studies showed that 3.5 hours of reading time was SIMPLY TOO MANY for the mind. So we scaled back."
1943: Early July
Well, never let it be said that Vogue didn't try to do its part, in its own way.
1943: Mid July
I do not have subscription that lets me plunge into the Vogue archive, so I haven't read the essays that Winston Churchill (!) or The Duchess of Windsor (!!) provided to this month's publication. I do enjoy imagining Winston in one of his velour onesies (they're on display at the War Rooms!) pecking at a typewriter to get it JUST RIGHT for his big Vogue moment.
1944
"I'll just give it five more minutes, and if nobody comes, then it's really just me FINDING lost money."
1945
"Damian's head made SUCH a mess of this window. When he wakes up and stops bleeding I shall insist he repair it."
1946
Yes but does everyone look hotter in THESE sunglasses?
1947: Early July
"And what if I just NIBBLE on your walkie-talkie, like this. Will you arrest me, officer?"
1947: Mid July
"Don't talk to me. Do you KNOW how long it takes to use the lavatory in a COAT DRESS?"
1948
"I'm busy. Just shoot the flower on my desk."
1949
Conjoined shower caps were so popular this year.
1950
A skim milk diet sounds positively horrific.
1951
This cover is fabulous. I also appreciate the "Collector's Item" inside that is just a bunch of pictures of men in work clothes.
1952
July is a new fashion month, and we can all finally tie our bedlinens around our waists. Also, there are six important writers herein. We're not gonna tell you who, or what they wrote about; just trust us.
1953
It's really a choice to look cold on a summer cover.
1954
I like this cover, but I don't THINK she's going to keep her umbrella from blowing away.
1955
NEW GLOVE BEHAVIOR. What a cover line. Never forget.
1956
"His ex-fiance ISN'T DEAD???"
1957
"Making an Asset of Your Shortcomings" sounds like a gentle burn.
1958
It only took 62 years for face shields to come back around, but WE MADE IT.
1959
"How can a dress that's never out of season need a seasonal update, HMMMMMM?"
1960
Isn't "Private Antidote for Public Turmoil" basically... cocktails?
1961
Seriously, if Vogue has identified clothes that are never out of season, then it doesn't need to keep doing that story. We would already have read the answers. But I really want to applaud the bottom left. That is a journey. "HOW THE COPING WAS DONE" is artful.
1962
Even in 1962, Vogue only cared about what the beautiful people were up to.
1963
This is a very cute cover, but that umbrella is absurdly tiny for an updo that assertive.
1964
My grandmother had a star sapphire ring that reminds me of this one.
1965
I didn't know 'Turquerie' was a phrase for a fashion movement pinned to fascination with "the Ottoman Empire." I like it. It also sounds like what you would call a place that sells expensive artisanal turkey flavors.
1966 - Barbara Bach
My legs reveal hat I never get any sun and I scratch them too much. "Best-kept faces" sounds like the least subtle way of being like, "Look at who's gotten great work done!"
1967 - Twiggy
The cover line is snooty but I DO want to read about the secrets of a great maid's craft. More than that, I want someone to pay that maid a lot of money for a tell-all.
1968 - Lauren Hutton
Excuse me while I step away to do my bosom exercises.
1969
This is a pretty great shot, and VERY summery.
1970 - Jean Shrimpton
I'm going to go out on a limb and say the fashion news wasn't THAT shocking.
1971
I'm glad to hear REAL fashion made a comeback, but what's with Vogue besmirching American women's carnal skills?!?
1972
How thrilling for everyone whom Groucho Marx "gave the once-over" for this story. Burt Reynolds as a sex symbol is a real time capsule as well -- I remember re-reading the early Sweet Valley High books and someone was described as a young Burt Reynolds and that didn't age well for me even the FIRST time I saw it.
1973 - Karen Graham
I've noticed a real preoccupation with making over our feet, which I assume was because it's sandal season? Leave my feet out of this, Vogue. (It's also very telling that Vogue published an article about "black women today" without having put a Black woman on its cover; that wouldn't happen for another year. Doing these cover retrospectives has really made stark what an achievement that was for Beverly Johnson, and how long it took, and how shamefully long it took for that ripple to create any kind of wave in the industry.)
1974 - Rene Russo
Dear Vogue: It is too late to tell us how to be born happy. The birth ship has sailed. Love, Heather. P.S. Rene's hair is HILARIOUSLY wide.
1975 - Rene Russo
And here is Rene again, making essentially the same face. That piece on the rewards "and dangers" of having women as friends can buzz off, though.
1976 - Rene Russo
And, this completes her July trifecta. "The new dash" is a completely meaningless phrase to plaster so prominently over this issue.
1977
"Toughest spa in America: a survivor's diary." I hope... this is written by an employee who was sticking it to his or her boss, and not actually... an account from a person who had a rough day of rest.
1978: Farrah Fawcett
Oh, thank god, finally a BELIEVABLE fitness guide.
1979
Well, it's not a great photo, but I enjoy that she looks like she has a secret.
1980 - Nancy Donahue
This model reminds me of young Nicole Kidman. Like, this could be her yearbook photo, were it not the wrong time.