It's Not About the Label

If you go on to the website for The September Issue, the subtitle for the pictures in the photo gallery reads: "Fashion is a religion. This is the Bible." Inappropriate religious reference aside, the description may not be that far off. Vogue has been defining American women's views on fashion for decades and Anna Wintour has been at the magazine's helm since 1988.

Many speculate that Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada is based on Wintour. The book's author, Lauren Weisberger is a former Vogue employee. The September Issue, a documentary about Wintour, her staff and the making of the magazine's record-breaking September 2007 issue, does nothing to dispell that rumor. Shades of Streep's character are recognizable throughout the documentary, and you almost forget that Wintour is playing no one other than herself. She is indeed cold, stoic, abrasive and hard-nosed--qualities that her critics undoubtedly find repulsive but that I found engaging.

But enough about Wintour...let's talk about the clothes and their designers. Or wait, let's not. If there's one takeaway from this film, it's that it's not about the label. The store managers and employees at the shops in New York and Los Angeles would have you believe that fashion is about the name on the tag of your dress and how much you paid for it. After listening to the conversations between Wintour and her employees, particularly creative director Grace Coddington, you realize that an outfit is one part who designed it and three parts the story you tell while you're wearing the clothes.

Take a look at this year's September issue of Vogue. The 40's themed spreads and feature articles on people like Jenny Sanford and Marissa Mayer prove my point. Every piece of clothing and every person who puts it on has a story to tell. Wintour and her employees are simply better at storytelling than the rest of us.

The September Issue begins with Wintour looking deadpan into the camera, saying "there's something about fashion that makes people very nervous." For years, I have agreed with that statement, feeling inferior to those who paid more for than me for their purse. This morning, I woke up and paired a pencil skirt and satin top from Banana Republic with shoes from Payless and a Tory Burch scarf knowing that the outfit itself was secondary to the memories I'd make while wearing it. In the last eight hours of wearing one or more elements of the aforementioned outfit, I've taught elementary school kids about God's promises, cuddled on the couch with Husband and made new friends at a backyard barbeque; and I'm now more convinced than ever that if Anna Wintour defines fashion, there's something en vogue about all of us.