The people who own the house we're renting in Connecticut love themselves some magazines. They appear to subscribe to Tatler, Vanity Fair U.K., World of Interiors, Elle Decor, a couple Connecticut ones, one about American history (I don't remember the name, but one cover line was "J.P. Morgan's Dagger"), The New Yorker.... There are others I can't remember. Some of the issues are sitting exactly where they were when we rented the house three years ago, not that staleness is such a problem with interiors magazines.
I hadn't looked at Tatler, new to the house, since I left Town & Country in, oh, 1996, but I remembered it fondly. I don't care about that subject matter, never really did, but Tatler always had a delicious attitude that American magazines don't even aspire to. I once went to a magazine-making seminar where the esteemed editor leading it said that the best possible cover line for an article about a beach house was "Sand Castle."
I can't say whether Tatler is still serving sass inside, but the editors are offering a symposium in writing awesome cover lines. It certainly helps that the reader demo is rich, educated, and limited, but still. This is impressive stuff. (The "What to Wear" one is notably most for its sheer bravado.) For maximum effect, try saying them like Magda in "Absolutely Fabulous." (See from 3:50 to 5:00; she's the one on the phone.)
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