This Month In Elle Canada November 2008 : Read Every Article

October 16, 2008

Thursday! Do you feel like this?

or this?

No need to write in. I can guess.

I bought a subscription to Elle Canada because it cost $6/year with a coupon in a Clinique bonus. It targets a much younger audience and I usually don’t relate. I was off to a better than usual start with this one, with the Editor’s letter. The rest of the issue was just as good.

But before that, on page 21, what DID they do to Nicole Kidman’s lips in the Omega ad?? I hope they’ve been Shopped, not shot up. That girl can look stunning or sick. If she could just leave her hair red and wavy, she’d go a long way.

Editor-in-chief, Rita Silvan, who has very good hair that I especially covet if the curl is her own, writes about fashion’s ridiculously high heels. She describes Julianne Moore, reduced to a teetering tottering woman who could barely make it to the stage to present an award. At that moment, even Julianne Moore made herself ridiculous. Did anyone hear a word she said once she finally conquered the stairs?

Heels that give little lift without losing solid grounding are great. Beyond that, when your walk is shaky, when your knees are oddly bent, when your concentration is on staying upright and alive, when you’re better off sitting politely than getting up and going somewhere, then fashion has made a woman its victim.

So Rita and I agree. When women allow themselves to be diminished by an industry’s fabrication and propaganda about how we should look, just so that industry can continue making money, I get prickly. And when we allow ourselves to be in pain (because stilettos hurt like..) , then we’re even bigger victims.

Natural Resources, on page 40, shows a selection of absolutely beautiful neutral makeup for a tone-on-tone look. The lipsticks are especially appealing. Laura Mercier Aurora will be worth a look; on the Mercier site, I noticed Caramel which I liked even better.

On page 176, Rose is the Beauty News Trend Of The Month. It counterbalances the neutral-to-warm-tones page above with some equally wonderful makeup for pink undertones. Here’s the face ; click the arrows to see the makeup.

Beautiful coats, jackets, boots, very clean lines – a lot of shopping done for you here. The entire issue outdoes itself in coats, bags, and price ranges.

Anne Hathaway, made up to look more interesting than I’ve ever seen her, makes a point about not deciding what you want others to like about you. I’d never really thought about it in that way before. Do we decide “I am funny” or “I am nurturing” or “I am clever” and then work it till it overshadows our other traits? More I think of it, more she might have a point.

The Beckhams have a new his/hers scent. What do these two discuss at the supper table, do you think? The media would have us believe that they do nothing but get photographed and have enviably successful sex by any standard.

I read every horoscope except my own, to prove that they’re interchangeable. You know, my own (Libra) really was the best match, almost the only match.

25 Beauty Steals… I’m always a sucker for those. There were some things I’ll look at (though less than I’d hoped).

I am all about using food as medicine. Until you’ve got that figured out, you can take all the pills you like. They’ll never work as well as when the diet is there to support them. A full page for each topic is devoted to Foods to Fight Stress, Colds, and Fatigue, as well as Antioxidant and Detox best choices.

Much more I haven’t mentioned. There was a lot of diversion packed into this $4 magazine.

On the final page, designer Michelle Lowe-Holder is interviewed. Her opinion of celebrity is most apt, particularly from someone in her line of work. You simply must visit Michelle’s favorite fashion blog at www.stylebubble.typepad.com. For this woman who looks out her windows and sees corn fields, it was time travel.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under This Month In ...

Comments

4 Responses to “This Month In Elle Canada November 2008 : Read Every Article”

maria meylan on October 17th, 2008 2:14 am

Hi there,

Very interesting – again! – today. Yes, if high heels were so good and such fun, why don’t men wear them? Of course Nicholas Sarkozy… ever noticed his heels?

Best wishes.

maria
Holly on October 17th, 2008 10:09 am

Hi there,
Thanks for the tips about this months Elle, I’ll grab it.
I totally disagree about high heels. I love them! I wear them all the time, like right now as I am about to dash out to get my youngest at preschol. High heels make me feel sexy and fun and tall. I love them. Yes you have to watch your self or you’ll twist an ankle but …they make me feel so good.
If I wear sneakers all the time I feel frumpy and grungy, ballet flats or any flat kill my back, I love the heels. wedge, spike, whatever.
Presently I am wearing a brown granny styled patent leather Arturo Chiang shoe with a 4 inch heel and off I go.
Sonja on October 17th, 2008 5:26 pm

Hi Holly and C,
I am also about to dash out to get my kids. I will sporting a pair of grey nikes with a dash of pink on the side, 1\4″ heel. Later this afternoon, I will be changing into my slippers, blue suede with a fluffy cream colored liner, a pair of Walmart’s finest. Perhaps I should cut out a pair of Manolo Blahniks from a magazine and tape them to the outside of my Nikes. I always strive to make an iimpression. S.
Christine Scaman on October 18th, 2008 7:56 am

Hi, Maria,

Of all the shoes Sarkozy could choose, WHY those? They look like Riverdance shoes. Maybe lifts inside the shoes would be better. At least he wouldn’t advertise one of his weaknesses.

Holly,

I’ve seen you walk in heels and you’re one of those women who pull it off and look great. A well designed shoe or boot, with a solid base, doesn’t have to hurt or make you look rocky. If you own a pair of pointed-toe stilettos, or alter your life because your shoes won’t let you do certain things, I’ve yet to see it. I get it about the sneakers and the sweats.
We’ve all seen the woman whose feet ache, who has to be careful about where she walks, who looks tippy and uncomfortable, just to make a fashion statement. All that does is make her look weak and I don’t believe it attracts men (or women).
But a beautiful, strong shoe – yeah, you feel beautiful and strong, I agree. I’m still checking PayLess for those Dexter wedge sandals of yours
If you buy Elle, check out the brown Kors boot on the boot page (gave away the mag, can’t tell you the page). I’m coveting it.

Sonja,

The sneaker sisters we be. I sincerely envy Holly’s energy and ability to look together and elegant while I shlep around in tearaways and joggers. Ah well, our Dad keeps outfits together with safety pins and our mother, well, we all know… So anyhow, it’s not our fault.