British Vogue: Then and Now

Then: Vogue January 1981

I recently had the privilege of viewing back issues of Vogue  from 1981 in The National Arts Library in London (which I would strongly recommend getting a free membership for to anyone living in London that's interested in Fashion). I found the differences and similarities between Vogue then and now so interesting that I decided to write a blog post about it. The interesting thing is not only the difference in fashion but also the differences in articles and audience, and also in price! Back then you only had to pay 90p for an issue whereas now the figure is racking up to almost £4.

The obvious differences are in the appearance of the magazine. The lay out is more like a newspaper with small articles and advertisements on each page. Most of the features are printed in black and white, with some adverts and photoshoots printed in colour. Perhaps this accounts for the lower price as it's cheaper to print in black and white than in colour. The magazine also includes many fashion illustrations which is something we don't see very often in modern magazines. I like the use of illustration as it makes the link between the fashion and art worlds more prominent and gives variety to a publication by using multiple medias.

Now: Vogue January 2014

In 1981 the magazine featured more adverts for shops and cigarettes than designers and there are fewer full page ads. Nowadays we have to wade through pages of designer campaigns before we even get to the contents. Personally I prefer the advertising in present day Vogue as viewing a designers advertisement is, to me, as informative as an article or a photoshoot because it shows you key themes in that season's collections.

Within the magazine there are some key differences between