The "Issues"

Vogue, August 2011, Jane Lynch with wife, Lara Embry

Vogue. The iconic fashion magazine.  Each year they give us three notable issues.  Of course, the most famous is the September Issue.  When it arrives in your mail box you wonder how the postman fit it in there.  There are more ads in that magazine then all eleven other combined.  We were able to catch a glimpse of the magic that goes into this issue with the documentary, The September Issue. Most of us expected to get the "Anna Wintour show", but surprisingly delighted in the presence of Vogue's creative director, Grace Coddington.

Less notably are the "Size and Age" issues, highlighting women of all ages and sizes in fashion.  Of course these magazines are Vogue's politically correct notions with fashion. Because in reality, young, beautiful models that can only fit into sample sizes are the norm inside their world.  So twice a year us normal gals can feel like maybe, just maybe, we could fit into fashion's mold.  However, the fact that most of these women are famous, wealthy, and/or have made tremendous accomplishments in their lives, fashion's brush with normalcy, becomes not so normal at all.  Yet, this is fashion and to love fashion you need to accept the perfect pages.  Even in the  blogging world, the most notable bloggers look like they are incredibly wealthy and could have been models in a past life.

So what about the 6-14 size crowd? Or the women reaching almost 40?  Or even 70?   What becomes of fashion when most of us don't shop at Net-a-Porter and have hips, plus a few wrinkles?

This is the world I live in. I'm not famous, I'm not going to be in any magazines.  Life is short, precious, and fun, and if I want to take my kids to a gourmet cupcake place, I'm going to have a cupcake. Okay, maybe two. On a great day I can wear a size 6, but most of the time I wear an 8.  I will be *gasp* 36 in two weeks.  And I love fashion. Even through my teens and two pregnancies.  I love looking at the pretty magazines, and dreaming of a world very much outside of my own.  But the dream is just that.  Honestly, my husband likes me a little rounder and I've throughly enjoyed aging.  As each year passes, I feel more confident and happy within my own skin.  A statement I could never make as a 20 year old. Letting my young daughter understand the reality of these facts, I feel, is one of my more important duties as a mother.

Vogue model

If these issues teach us anything, it's to feel, for a brief moment, that the fashion world sees us. Scars, wrinkles, gray hairs, stretch marks and all, and come to the conclusion that fashion is a state of mind.  I've seen a woman in her 60's look chic.  One of my doctor's medical assistants has some of the best style I've seen, and she is probably a size 24.

The motto should be never give up on yourself.  Whether you are old, young, embarrassed about your muffin top, or think your calves are too big, fashion is for everyone.  In the words of designer Oleg Cassini, "Fashion anticipates, and elegance is a state of mind...a mirror of the time in which we live, a translation of the future and should never be static."

And that sounds alright with me.