Analyze This/Analyze That: Confessions of a Workaholic

Analyze This/Analyze That offers up an in-depth analysis of a fashion story or spread – its quality, the story it tells, musings about the imagery, any connections to culture and society that I infer from it, etc. This is my first post in this new category. I’ll call it…

CONFESSIONS OF A WORKAHOLIC

Magazine: Harper’s Bazaar (US Edition), February 2009 Issue
Story: Back to Basics, p.166
Photographer: Peter Lindbergh
Model: What don’t they ever name the model?

This 14-page spread begins by stating that “simplicity is the new chic.” I’ve long believed this to be true, and was pleased to see simple, elegant, classic, professional wearable clothes in the images that followed. The clothes are feminine, but not girly and possess a good balance of strong and soft. These are the kinds of clothes that should make up the bulk of your wardrobe — investment pieces.

First, the attractive, fashionable, hard-working woman steps from her driver’s car in a white pant-suit, black structured purse and briefcase, and Chanel sunglasses. She looks calm and cool, but eager to get to work.

Wearing a perfectly fitted black Armani blazer (I want one, but for now I’ll resign to putting it on my wish-list of things I cannot afford) she checks her make-up in the mirrored elevator doors. She’s not afraid to get caught checking herself out or touching up her make-up. I like that – to me, it says she is comfortable with her femininity, looks, and confidence.

Inside the office, she leads a meeting in a feminine dress and black bolero. She’s in charge. She knows what she’s talking about.

At another meeting, in an orange Bottega Veneta dress, she works through a problem with her investors.

Then in a softer blue-gray outfit, she has a thought to match: what a week I’ve had. This image marks the turning point of the story. From here, she has one of two thoughts: a) I’ve been working hard and it’s time for a well-deserved break; or, b) This is too tough for just a pretty girl in pretty clothes — I need to get out of here. I’ll give Harper’s Bazaar the benefit of the doubt and assume it’s the former. Whatever the reason, she decides to head out early and is off to her weekend home away from the city.

Too bad for the assistants, who likely will not be joining her. But this probably means they can leave early, too.

With over-sized hourglass in tow (would it not have been easier to just wear a watch?), she arrives at her home away from home, eager for some rest and recuperation.

Work hard, but reward yourself. Dress for success. Don’t fall into the trap of being cash-rich, but time-poor. Be smart and independent. These are just some of the messages these images create.

Compared to two other fashion spreads that begin on p. 154 (”What’s Next”) and p.140 (”Chic Easy Pieces”) in the same magazine, and many other fashion stories as of late, “Back to Basics” told a very cohesive story. The model’s age seems believable for being a business woman and her face is expressive (no blank stares of tweens here). Of course, being a proponent of using older models in fashion magazines has nothing to do with the fact that I am getting older myself.

Kidding aside, I like this story most because it seemed to convey the following:

You can have work/life balance. You can be attractive and smart. You can be a feminine feminist.

Imagine that.