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Please explain Anna Wintour

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

I just read an article about Anna Wintour ostensibly giving Benedict Cumberbatch's fiance her 'seal of approval' style-wise, which [pointlessly] irked me. I understand that Wintour is the most influential woman in fashion, but what am I missing in that I think she's not so fashionable? I like many of the individual garments she wears, even if they're not to my taste, but nothing strikes me as outstanding in the way she manages proportions, accessories, etc. Any admirers want to enlighten me?

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24 replies

Latest reply was from frannieb

Anonymous

I'd be interested as well. Sometimes things just elude me.

carter

Veteran

Well, I had to look up who she is. Not sure what that says about her...or me.

Laurie

What I personally appreciate about her is her consistency. She obviously knows what she likes and what suits her. Her look is feminine and polished. I appreciate that she always looks pulled together, but never over the top. She always looks appropriate and in control.

Dimity

I would guess that she's well regarded in the fashion world for three reasons:

Her style transcends fashion and is a strong personal signature statement
She knows what's in fashion and chooses to wear and adapt elements that suit her, thus never becoming a fashion victim
(This one is a little cynical). Her influence is such that few in the fashion world would want to create an enemy by criticising her

If I was in her position in the fashion world, but wanted to be taken seriously by the board of directors and look timeless throughout a long and successful career that focuses on appearance as well as ability, I'd probably do exactly what she does. Her signature look means that photos of her from twenty years ago don't date her. Perhaps it's a feminine and flexible equivalent to the male business suit. It conveys the necessary authority without looking as though she's not engaged with the fashion world.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

These are the sorts of comments that make me want to scream (slight over-reaction I know). Personally I'd be much more interested in Benedict Cumberbatch's seal of approval

Dimity

Ha ha!
Yeah, I don't even know who he is so I conveniently glossed over that bit.

Deborah

Veteran

I echo Dimity re Anna.

I confess to being quite a fan of Anna. While her personal style is not to my taste she always looks amazing and I admire her consistency (as Dimity mentioned) and her strong style signature. She is clearly a very clever and intelligent woman and has been responsible for many new designers work actually seeing the light of day. Her comment re the fiancé is kind of irrelevant in my opinion but style and fashion is her area of expertise so it's not altogether inappropriate.

If you go right back, Anna, in her younger years, did test the boundaries a little with her fashion choices but I think she has always had a liking for more classic styling.

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K.M.

Veteran

I'm not an admirer, but my explanation is... power? Political talent to get where she is? Of course fashion sense is a part of it--but many people with talent and fashion sense don't get that far.

For a caricatural explanation, see/read The Devil Wears Prada!

Dimity

Oh hang on! He's Sherlock!
Yes, I'm a bit of an Anna fan too. And now I understand why the media would pick up on a comment re Benedict's fiance, because it will sell newspapers to all the women (or men) who now say "Damn, he's off the market".

deb

Veteran

But, she has not changed her hair style 40 years. How boring.

ETA - Here she is in the 70's

http://www.theloupe.org/2012/0.....rly-1970s/

Dimity

But she hasn't had a bad hair day in 40 years either!

Vildy

Veteran

I love her style. I like the way she wears so many prints - I'm mad for prints even though at this time of year my own closet seems very somber - and statement choker type necklaces and still you're drawn to her face. I also admire how she never varies her shoes, though I confess that even as a non shoe lover, I hate those shoes. They always look to me like the tired old pair that someone slips on when they arrive home and their feet hurt.

Vildy

Veteran

oh my goodness, in the photo shown she has different colored shoes than the beige ones I was referencing!

Anonymous

It has nothing to do with her personal style. It goes much deeper than that - and has to do with her influence in bigger picture. She's proof positive that her power, knowledge and connections are primary - her personal style is what it is , and reflects who she is as a 60+ year old media professional.

Gaylene

Veteran

Hmm, if it was Karl Lagerfeld making that supposed comment would we be critiquing his hair and clothes? Or would we just shake our heads in amusement? Knowledge, power, and influence create Anna and Karl's places in the fashion world. I suspect that their trademarked aloofness, ascerbic remarks,and signature looks are calculated ways to add to their mystique and status. To my mind, criticizing their outfits is like suggesting Cinderella ditch her poofy ball gown and tiara for a snappier, red, strapless number and spiked pixie 'do. Little girls would cry foul, just like the fashion crowd, at the thought of their icons falling out of character.

Marley

Veteran

I have a lot of respect and admiration for A.T. - not so much for her sense of style (although I believe that it is uniquely her own) but rather for her intelligence, success, and power.

If anyone is interested in learning more about her, Grace Coddington (who I love), and Vogue - I highly recommend watching the documentary '"The September Issue."

rachylou

Veteran

To me Karl is more amusing and of this moment. I stopped reading Vogue more than a decade ago. I picked up the big book of just show pictures this winter, but I think it was a mistake. I feel I got better from Lucky and it was the same stuff. How long has Anna been at Vogue? I don't mean any disrespect but if these mags are gonna survive...

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

To clarify, my question only concerns her personal style. I'm not criticizing her accomplishments or contributions. The nature of the story bothered me because it undermined Sophie's own accomplishments, and who was Wintour to judge personal aesthetics when her own seemed, to me, uninspiring and more a product of her fashion allowance? I'm probably being harsh in the way that movie critics get lampooned for being failed directors/actors when the two are qualitatively different roles. But I would love to see her looking more modern/classic/trendy/preppy a la Beckham.

Gaylene, I've blogged about Lagerfeld's more unsavory comments, eg concerning Adele, as well as his more entertaining insights, 'wearing jogging pants in public is a sign of defeat.' No double standard here! His fashion choices are more difficult to critique, though, because of his commitment to his singular uniform.

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gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Also, Benedict Cumberbatch!!

Aka Khan, Sherlock, Hawking, Turing, Smaug, etc.

At least watch the Irene Adler of Sherlock episode for the white dress.

Jeweled

Veteran

I don't mean this disrespectfully, but every time I've seen a photo of Anna Wintour, my first thought has been that she is in a style rut.

Which makes me wonder - what is the difference between a signature style and a style rut?

kkards

Veteran

i agree with marley and lisap, i don't admire anna wintour for how she looks or dresses, i admire her for her ability to spot fashion talent. project runway is a great show, but anna wintour is the real thing, mentoring and advising new designers. i admire her ability to spot what next. i admire her for being able to run one of the leading magazines. if she wants to wear her hair to same way for the last 40 years, it may not be my thing, but i would imagine that it just makes her life easier.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Anna Wintour is a stunning, fashionable, fit, elegant, poised, chic, polished and immaculately put together lady who happens to be 65. And she holds her own in an industry that is centered around youth. WOW is what I muster up.

Her "approval" of a celebrity's fiancé's style is a marketing ploy to create hype. Nothing more than that. Take it for what it is.

(I echo Dimity's viewpoint too).

crutcher

Veteran

I find Anna Wintour stylish, chic, elegant and so into her own skin...I love her classic, lady-like dressing...her wonderful huge sunnies and her way to use her body language as a statement piece...I would probably melt like a running ice cube in her presence but for gazing from afar at her...I am taken...

frannieb

Veteran

She appeals to me because she is a business woman who makes her own rules and really must be an amazingly brilliant woman.