Thursday, August 27, 2009

Vogue Hates Poor People


The much-lauded and massive (5 lbs; yes, I weighed it) September issue, in which Vogue gives us yet another yawn-worthy cover and over 300 pages of ads featuring overpriced crap no one in this economy (or in her right mind) can afford, landed with a thud on my doorstep yesterday. Once again we learn that Vogue is turning a blind-eye to the state of the economy right
now, although it's also doing a great job of pretending to care.

Case in point: Since this year's June issue, Vogue has included a regular feature called "100 Under $500" which, if you ask me, is a very sad joke funny only to the moneyed folk who appear in the magazine's society pages every month. The feature touts such "must-haves" as a hand-painted notecard set for $140 and a Louis Vuitton keychain for $250. Who the hell is going to spend that much money on a keychain and cards? These are things, I think we can all agree, that nobody actually needs. Randomly, a La Roux CD is thrown in for $24 - the cheapest thing on the list, and yet, still ridiculously overpriced for a CD.

Other items of note:

A fabric-covered caddy for $220 (and I have no idea what that is or what it's for)

A terracotta pot for $250 (seriously, it's just a pot)

A $495 scarf (which will be well over $500 after sales tax is calculated)

A $495 lipstick case (just a case, no lipstick)

Adding insult to the people battling foreclosure and debt, Vogue has the audacity to call these items, including a $450 pillow, "smart buys." Huh?

To be fair, I could never afford anything in Vogue, but I read the magazine because I love fashion and I enjoyed looking at the beautiful clothes, people and places. But in these economic times, the pages of the magazine have become a stinging slap in the face. How does that song go? "Money, money, money, must be funny in a rich man's world." Funny, indeed.