When I worked at Town & Country, people who left often got commemorative covers mocked up for them. Here was mine, from 1996.
Despite what appears to be a goatee, I think it proves that I used to be quite fun. Note the "20-Karat Gold Pants"; the "Looking Fabulous in Skintight Manmade Fabrics" (which must have been about a memorable pair of PVC pants); the reference to my clique; and of course the boa, artfully worn with a plaid flannel shirt. Very Marc Jacobs. I'm not sure why Babe Paley got dragged into this, although she was tremendous. As for "The Avant Gardener," it was a title that my friend/colleague Cheryl and I always hoped to use. And "Who's Sari Now?" was one we did slip into the magazine.
And then there was the one that the folks at Budget Travel made for me 12 years later.... I have to say, they nailed it.
We ran this cover (with a different face) because I was tired of how women—or maybe a straight couple—were always on the cover of travel magazines. Some readers loved it; others hated it. Hey, whatever makes them pay attention.... As for the cover lines (clockwise from the top left):
1. The magazine's official name was Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, even long after he was pushed out. Not only did they make the magazine mine, they intentionally misspelled my name, in honor of people tending to get it wrong.
2. I assigned myself a feature about a long winter weekend in Europe, and then I went to the wrong airport. Luckily, the flight was delayed. Still, you have to remember, I was the editor of a travel magazine.
3. I didn't care for unnecessary brackets or parentheses. Still don't!
4. The "idonttravelcheap.com" URL in the lower right corner points out that in some ways I was an awkward fit for the topic.
5. The nipple-biting stingray was discussed here.
6. Regarding the white lines on the left side: I don't think Shawnda and I insulted many locals; I never actually got the trumpet player outside my office window deported; and I'm pretty sure we never determined whether the Pret girl was pregnant. Last but not least, I blogged tipsy once, about Las Vegas (and I was right about the city, if ill-advised to air my thoughts).
P.S. "Mexican Macho Bananas" sounds like a cover line for a different kind of magazine.
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