Fashioning Reality
In this year's October issue of Vogue, author Joan Didion (The Year of Magical Thinking) recalls her disdain for childhood when she was seven or eight in the appropriately titled "In Sable and Dark Glasses." She longed to be an adult - 24, specifically - and would spin elaborate scenarios where she was a sophisticated woman while mixing herself a "lettuce cocktail" (iceberg lettuce and crushed ice in a stemmed glass). Her fantasies featured her as an adult wearing a sable coat and dark sunglasses hounded by the paparazzi in Argentina because she had just gotten a divorce. Didion admits that she had no idea what a sable coat or Argentina looked like, but they were "concepts" that sounded very grown-up to her.
She found the typical fantasies little girls have of dream weddings and life as a princess to be "banal." But Didion was also keenly aware that she didn't want any typical adult life. She wanted to live an extraordinary life where she would host fancy dinner parties, travel the world and wear beautiful clothes. Didion would spend hours flipping through issues of Vogue and assembling her perfect, ideal wardrobe from the articles of clothing and accessories found on the glossy pages. She was looking to make her fantasy possible.
The same concept applies to flipping through a fashion magazine. When reading a magazine, you can imagine yourself smartly dressed and drinking chic beverages. It's akin to a little girl playing dress-up or make-believe ... but the make-believe isn't far-fetched.