The Teen Vogue Handbook: A Review
By Arushi Khosla April 21, 2010
I’ve been an avid, faithful reader of Teen Vogue since, well, I could subscribe to magazines and when I heard they were publishing a book for girls/guys interested in breaking into the fashion industry, I was, well, to be frank, not expecting much. Which is not to say that the magazine isn’t great; it is the anti-Cosmo, forgoing all of the stereotypical “What Color Are You?”, “Is He Into You or Not?” BS and instead, focusing solely on style and beauty inspired by high fashion while also exploring a limited amount of other areas of teenage interest such as binge drinking, downing laxatives to lose weight, the pressure to get into good colleges, etc. I just jumped to conclusions as the magazine was sure to (in my mind) give us the already well-known tips of interning and working your way up, et all, packed together in one big, glossy package. I hate to admit it (no, I really do) but I was blindingly wrong. 
The book came, evidently as an obvious marketing stunt but it proved to be pretty darn resourceful. Amy Astley, EIC extraordinaire at Teen Vogue had the idea of putting together a book of interviews and inspiration for young industry aspirants as she was repeatedly being asked questions on how to break into the industry, what to wear to interviews, how to get an internship, etc., being the head of one of the most venerated (yes, I said it) teen magazines in the world. The handbook largely comprises of a roadmap to careers a la industry pros in most fields of fashion, whether you want to be the next Leibovitz, Wang or Wintour.
Teen Vogue Handbook
Okay, the good:
The general magazine layout is intact, keeping it fresh, visually appealing and readable without looking too much like a journal. There are interviews with designers, stylists, photogs, models, make-up artists and well, editors. I also liked that they broke down the bits about glamorized roles such as those of stylists, exposing the fact that they are in fact time consuming and require a buttload of hard work. In a word where every man and his dog claims to be a “stylist”, this is sure to clear things up. Another great bit was the versatility of industry interviews. For example, with designers they went from Lagerfeld to the Mulleavy sisters, with editors we have Claudia Wu (Me Magazine), Jane Keltner (fashion news director, T-Vogue), a barrage of Teen Vogue editors, Natalie Hormilla (erstwhile editor of Fashionista.com) , Natalie Massenet (erstwhile owner of net-a-porter), with stylists you have you know, the likes of Jillian Davison but you also have the likes of Havana Laffitte (stylist to the stars; Gwen Stefani being one. ‘Nuff said), and then you have models like Vogue favorite Caroline Trentini but also model scouts like Lara Bonomo!
Caroline Trentini's spread
Where make-up hands are concerned, you have commercially acclaimed faces like Gucci Westman, Jemma Kidd and Pat McGrath and also hair stylists like Guido Palau and Serge Normant.
Teen Vogue editors
Another great feature is little kits at the end of each section. For example, at the end of the editors section, they have a list of tips, books, gadgets and resources that will come in handy while attempting to make a career in publishing. They also have examples of noted writers, etc. ‘s work. For example for Arthur Elgort, they have little spreads of his earlier work so as to get people acquainted with his aesthetic. They also have small features by assistants, etc. of the bigshots, dictating how their stint with such an industry big name influenced, inspired and helped them.
Chanel Iman with Amy Astley
The bad:
Now after my rant above, you might think it’s a pristine book of sublime perfection. Well, I barely had any complaints except for a seemingly large glitch that they basically overlooked a major arena; marketing, PR, retail buying in the book! I would’ve loved to see an interview with Roopal Patel but sadly, it was sans any such personality. I also would’ve liked to read more about about bloggers. Maybe a little Tavi and Rumi here or there? Of course, I understand that when this went to press, bloggers weren’t as concretely part of the industry as they are now. More interviews with serious journalists like Suzy Menkes or Cathy Horyn would’ve been fabulous; Robin Givhan alone just wasn’t enough.
So overall verdict: definitely a must-read, head over to Barnes and Noble STAT!
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Submitted on April 21, 2010 in Curls, Cosmetics, & Clothes, Industry News, Model Intelligence, Reviews, Who's Who.
Arushi is a fashion enthusiast from Delhi, India with an undying passion for all things fabulous.. She believes strongly in both the art and business sides of the fashion industry and is an ardent style blogger on her blog http://www.FabBlab.blogspot.com In addition, she also blogs for Vogue India and works for many a fashion publication including Haute Mimi International, Glossy magazine and Digital Temple magazine, etc. Tom Ford is more of an icon to her than Tom Hanks. Enough said.
Arushi Khosla has contributed 32 articles to Models & Moguls.
