If you are a fashion enthusiast, I bet you have a favorite fashion magazine that you eagerly run to get in the newsstand or receive in your mail every month. Whether it’s the high-end, glossy Vogue, the weekly Elle or Marie Claire, or Glamour that we are going to talk about today, everyone has a preference. Or if you are like me, maybe you consume all of them 🙂
If you are currently flipping the pages of magazines for fun, you should also know their history. This is especially important if you are an aspiring fashion writer or you want to pursue another career at a magazine. Your curiosity should go beyond learning about the latest trends, reading interviews with celebrities, and looking at gorgeous editorials. Of course, it’s part of the package. However, you also have to know how the fashion publications started and evolved, their famous editors, and iconic issues.
Today, I want you to join me for a fascinating chapter about the history of Glamour.
The current issues of Glamour have not always been the same. The topics you read, the editorials you see…everything in the content of the magazine is a result of significant changes it went through under the different editors. It is also a reflection of changes within society, the independence of women, and the way we dress. Let’s discover the evolution of the magazine through the years.
The History Of Glamour Magazine
The first issue of Glamour Magazine
The first issue of Glamour Magazine was published in the United States in April 1939 and featured famous actress Ann Sheridan on the cover. As you can notice, the magazine was then called “Glamour of Hollywood”, as it was a high-end, glossy magazine focused on the lives of Hollywood celebrities.
The first editor-in-chief of Glamour Magazine
Alice Thompson was the first editor-in-chief of Glamour Magazine. To explain the choice of the title, she said back then: “What is glamour? [It] starts with the external self…but includes the development of your individuality, warmth, and intelligence.”
Take a look at some archive pictures I found. I don’t know about you but for me, it’s fascinating to have a glimpse into an issue of almost 100 years ago.
Glamour Magazine Under Elizabeth Penrose
In 1943, under the tenure of Elizabeth Penrose, (who was previously editor-in-chief of British Vogue) the publication changed its name to “Glamour” with the subtitle “For the girl with a job”. During the war, women began taking on more responsibilities, and many started to work. This continued once the war ended, as women gained more independence and it became more socially acceptable for women to work. Besides celebrities, the magazine began including more articles on fashion, beauty, and then later psychology, health, and wellbeing.
Fun fact: The August 1968 issue of Glamour magazine was the first ever American fashion magazine to feature an African-American woman on its cover, and the issue has since sold millions of copies. The face of the cover, Katiti Kironde was an undergraduate at Harvard with an interest in fashion. So it’s interesting to see that the magazine didn’t choose a famous celebrity or model like it was a customary practice.
According to an article of Glamour, “She [Katiti Kironde] knew she was beautiful—she’d been told as much—but she also knew that her beauty was “different,” and not the kind celebrated by the fashion industry. She was black in a very white world—especially when it came to fashion. Then, she applied to Glamour’s “Best Dressed College Girls” contest (the name has since been changed to “College Women Of The Year”) and won, earning her a spot on our cover and making history in the process.”
That’s how Glamour was born in the U.S.
Glamour US ceased its print issues in January 2019, but the magazine keeps operating digitally today.
Glamour Magazine’s expansion in other countries
The second international edition of Glamour magazine was launched in Italy in December 1976. Originally published under the title Lei (She), it was officially renamed “Glamour” in 1992. Glamour Italia was suspended a month earlier than its American counterpart – in December 2019.
After the release of the Italian version, Glamour Mexico/Latin America followed in 1998.
In April 2001, Glamour launched in the UK, where it pioneered the “handbag size” format, with the tagline “fits in your life as well as your handbag”.
Other countries to have launched their international Glamour editions during the 2000s-2010s were Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, France, Russia, Greece, the Netherlands, Romania, Bulgaria, Brazil, Iceland, Turkey, and South Africa.
Today, Glamour is present in over 17 countries and expanded its range of topics to politics, culture, entertainment, travel, shopping, and more.
What an interesting evolution of Glamour. From merely covering the lives of Hollywood celebrities to adapting the content to businesswomen, to expanding the range of topics we have more freedom to talk about today.
Tell us, do you read Glamour and in which languages?
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