Highlights of The September Issue

A few days ago I finally had the chance to see The September Issue, (movies are so expensive these days that I can rarely justify going. The last movie I saw that wasn’t on HBO was The Ugly Truth, and it scared me away from the theaters for a while.) Megan and I showed up at the movie with high expectations and nine pounds of frozen yogurt. And LUCKILY the film was everything we hoped it would be and more. It was such an awesome inside look at what it takes to create an issue of VOGUE. Because I don’t work in the magazine industry, I was really surprised to see the entire process with all its highs, lows and tedious details. But because I do work in the clothing industry, I also wasn’t surprised to see all the highs, lows and insane details. It’s all part of the magic.

Megan and I, like everyone else, were eager to see Anna and what she’s really like. Personally, I thought she was cold and controlling but not in a shocking or offensive way. She’s a hard worker and she’s a boss. It seemed pretty standard to me. To our surprise, the movie totally centered less on Anna herself and more on the work relationship between Anna and Grace Coddington, the Creative Director. There was a total spotlight on Grace, deservedly, and it was fascinating to see what goes into her daily job and what struggles she faces as the artist who must battle the business woman. For example, it was so intense watching Anna cut some of Grace’s favorite images from the magazine and we almost shed a tear when Grace talked about how hard it is to continue working when things like that happen. Some other parts of the movie that stood out and shocked us more than Anna’s general attitude:

1. Anna Wintour’s daughter, Bee Shaffer, was soooo different than I would have imagined her to be. She’s sweet and funny and refreshingly up-beat. She wants to go to Law school and comes off nothing like her mother. She basically said she has no desire to be in the fashion world or work for Vogue, and thinks it’s pretty ridiculous that these people (aka her mother) devout their lives to fashion. AHH! So raw and juicy! But they have a sweet relationship and I loved the part where Anna said her weakness is her children.

2. Anna’s assistants, as well as some of the people you see running around the Vogue offices, actually AREN’T very fashionable. Honestly, Anne Hathaway’s character wouldn’t have had to change her wardrobe that much at all.

3. The conversations over Sienna’s hair were so intense that I laughed out loud. These people acted like her straggly hair was a life or death situation and the only possible life raft was a wig, which ended up being worse than her real hair. But as it turned out, her hair DID kind of look awful at the actual photo shoot. Who knew hair mattered that much when you’re as pretty as Sienna? Also, she apparently has some bad fillings, hehe. We have fillings too, Sienna (although mine aren’t silver.)

4. Even though I’ve helped out at several Roxy and Quiksilver Women photo shoots and seen many models enjoy what I consider to be good size meals, (seriously I’ve never once seen a model skip a meal and most of them really enjoy carbohydrates), I was pretty shocked to see the model at the Versailles photo shoot indulge in a tart/cake treat while still in her dress. Homegirl did not want to miss out on that treat or even wait to take off her extremely expensive gown. And I liked every second of it.

5. One of the best parts of the film was when Grace chose to incorporate the camera crew in one of her photo shoots. Not only did the pictures turn out awesome, but it was really sweet to hear Grace soothe the innocent camera man after Anna jokingly (but not really) told him he should hit the gym when she was viewing the images. Grace was so cute about it and insisted that no one Photoshop his stomach, to which the camera man let out a quiet ‘thank you’ from behind the lens. So touching. So silly. Oh Grace, you won our hearts!

I would highly recommend this movie and will probably see it again once it’s available on Netflix. Bravo to the creators of this film! And to check out the film’s website, click here.

Anna and her daughter Bee