Review: Vogue Paris December 2012/January 2013 Issue
By Heather Dunhill
Mon dieu ! After my unflattering reviews of Vogue Paris over the last months — in which my subscription mysteriously went without delivery — it will be a Joyeux Noël for yours truly after flipping through the December/January issue. Emmanuelle Alt has delivered a Vogue Paris that the French and the Francophiles will be equally proud to call their fashion tome.
To begin, one thing holds true every issue — Géraldine Saglio’s styling. It is always sharp, fresh, and twelve steps ahead. This month she did not disappoint with “Miss Vogue” and the Christy Turlington piece. But on the whole, the excitement for me began on page 85 with "Cadeaux" — ten pages ensued of the most sensational gifts that were… kind of… everything a stylish femme wants.
From there, I stumbled on page 107 with the aesthetically interesting "Rendez-vous," by Olivier Lalanne, which felt so objet trouvé. So, you’re getting the sense that I am pretty jazzed with this issue already, right? Then, I turned the page to "Beauté Belles Manières" photographed by Mario Testino which completely put the French back in Vogue Paris with a sepia tone shot of the gorgeous Carla Bruni. Following close behind was "Une Fille, Un Style" that made me want to be any of the photographed women on the streets of Paris.
Speaking of Bruni, beginning on page 191 there is a feature on her, réalisation by Alt. Ready for my thoughts on the execution?? Well, credit is due — I am truly enamored with Alt’s styling for this piece. Granted, I might have a small girl crush on Bruni, especially her French singing voice (If you haven’t heard her CD titled Quelqu'un M'a Dit, it is quite amazing). I love that Alt showed restraint on the clothing and accessories because the ingénue that is Bruni truly shines in simplicity. I especially love her in the black and white series.
Detouring from fashion for a moment — for a bit of French decadence check out page 281, a truffle risotto and a glass of sparkling wine is perfectly divine. Look at me… even into the foodie art!
By now, if you’ve read any of my past unflattering reviews, you may be thinking that I must be angling to get on Santa’s nice list or that I have been sipping the spiked eggnog (which is not entirely unheard of). Trust me, I am almost embarrassed at how much I am into this issue. Would I have liked to see a different Bruni photo on the cover since there were so many gorgeous pictures of her inside? Yes. Did I love every feature? No. But, really, when do we ever? The point is that the magazine is supposed to hold our attention and inspire and it did.
OK, Emmanuelle, may I please have my subscription reinstated?
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dimanche 30 décembre 2012 
