This week, we discuss the glamorous world of the Magazine Girl, dissecting the real and fictional lives of women who worked at glossy magazines during their heyday. Through profiles of icons including Diana Vreeland, Anna Wintour, Franca Sozzani, Carine Roitfeld, and Plum Sykes, we distill the shared qualities that made these women so foundational to high fashion media. Inspired by Anna Wintour’s recent resignation and the buzz around The Devil Wears Prada sequel, we also ponder who, if anyone, carries on the Magazine Girl legacy today.
Links:
Image board
“The Divine Mrs. V” by Eleanor Dwight for New York
“Who is Plum Sykes?” by Taylore Scarabelli for Interview
“The Plum and Lucy Show” by Bob Morris for The New York Times
The Price of Illusion: A Memoir by Joan Juliet Buck
Assorted costumes from The Devil Wear Prada 2 in Dazed
“Anna Wintour: Behind the Shades” interview for CBS
Controversial Plum Sykes clip
Carine Roitfeld interview for The Guardian
“Could You Have Landed a Job at Vogue in the ‘90s?” Quiz in The New York Times
Anna: The Biography by Amy Odell
Interview with Anna Wintour biographer Amy Odell in Hunger
A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life In Fashion, Art, and Letters by Penelope Rowlands
Excerpts from Diana Vreeland’s Why Don’t You column in British Vogue
Franca Sozzani obituary in Vogue
“The Condé Empire Was One Big Beautiful Grift” by Emilia Petrarca on Substack
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe
