British Vogue is not so secretly one of my favourite magazines and it was only recently that I realised, I've been a fangirl, glossy girl for nearly ten years now. How crazy is that? I remember going to a local shopping centre as a tween and deliberating whether or not I wanted to spend the majority of my pocket money on a copy. Negating Starbucks frappe privileges, big big thing guys. I jest. Today I thought I'd go back through the archives and share anecdotes about some of my favourite issues. If you're a magazine lover, keep reading...

December 2016: This is mainly here because of the editorial featuring Lily Rose Depp. Fairytale inspired with a modern edge. Dreamy, whimsical, charming. The perfect issue to release at Christmastime. 

Centenary Issue, 2016: The subject of much of Inside Vogue and a collector's piece for fashion fanatics. It was also the first major magazine to feature Kate Middleton, style icon and of course ambassador for the National Portrait Gallery among other organisations. As well as that, there's a rather fascinating insight into the cost of fashion over the years, fashion designer's memories of British Vogue, musings from current+present staff and more. 

September 2015: The famed September issue featured Emma Watson and is one of my favourite covers, ever. You can see it peeking out behind Kate M above. I know Vogue magazines are laden with advertising, no place is this more evident than in the US September issue. I feel like British Vogue has this on a less excessive scale. The stories and content within their pages don't make it annoying. In a way, the ads are almost works of art in themselves, the better ones anyway. 

October 2014: As we are about to observe, October is a good month for British Vogue cover stars. I loved this laid-back shoot with Rosamund Pike to promote Gone Girl. The accompanying interview was fantastic as well. 

October 2013: Alexa freakin' Chung. I'll admit the hairstyling in these pictures does throw me off slightly. The accompanying story by her about couture though more than makes up for it. We can let the pageboy hair slide, just this once AC. 

January 2012: Florence Welch! Beautiful imagery, reminiscent of renaissance women. I don't think I have this issue anymore, unless it's stowed away in our coffee table/chest. The pictures though truly reflect Florence's style and aesthetic as an artist at that time so they will always be some of my favourites.

December 2008: A collector's piece if ever there was one. A matte cover, Kate Moss in a tulle gown, the best Roald Dahl themed editorial ever. Tim Walker photographed various British icons in Dahl-themed imagery. Helena Bonham Carter in the glass elevator, Karen Elson with a pistol. Gigantic bubblegum bubbles, a humongous crocodile, colour for days. It's just exquisite. Sophie Dahl's story on her memories of Roald Dahl is fantastic as well. I will never get rid of this.

-Do you have a magazine you love?

Last year my favourite editor announced she was releasing a diary documenting the year that was Vogue's centennial. The editor in question of course is Alexandra Shulman, the soon to be outgoing editor of British Vogue, although more on that another time. Longtime readers will know British Vogue is one of my all-time favourite magazines, if not my favourite title under the Vogue umbrella. I am also sure it is no secret to anybody that I love magazines. Always have. Always will. Inside Vogue was one of the books I picked up on my trip to Melbourne after many, many laps around the bookstore and it kept me company for many days after. 

This diary was penned by Shulman from June/July 2015 through to July of 2016. In it, she documented the centenary year as well of course as the centennial issue of Vogue which believe it or not was being planned a year out. As well as the comings and goings at Vogue, she writes on the BBC documentary crew who filmed the British Vogue team and of course aspects of her rare downtime from what is quite simply, a massive job. People like to trivialise fashion and fashion magazines but really they are works of art. So much goes into the crafting of each issue and many of the themes and ideas for issues take months of preparation. They really are true labours of love. Case in point: the Kate Middleton cover was a huge secret, maybe four or five members of the Vogue team knew about it and everyone else was left in the dark. 

Alex's writing is so refreshing. That's the best way to describe it really. Having read this book twice now, one for another review actually, that is the one thing that has stayed with me. Looking at it again now it almost seems foreshadowing in some ways and hinting that Alex was ready to leave British Vogue on a high note after such a monumental year and countless achievements and successes. Perhaps I am reading too much into it but there are definitely hints that seem to insinuate she was ready to pursue other projects and life after Vogue.

For magazine lovers and true enthusiasts, you will appreciate the many insights into the workings of the magazine. I always knew they were a lot of work but you just don't realise how far in advance stories are planned and covers are orchestrated. That and just how tricky some people can be to work with. You have to have a great deal of patience really. There are also plenty of Alexa references in amongst the pages to keep me happy. I call myself a Chung connoisseur but even I didn't know she was one of British Vogue's contributors. As is Kate Moss, who knew? The Vogue team also were lucky to watch The Crown's rushes well in advance and they had a story in one of their issues last year, well before it made its way onto Netflix. 

I really do not want to spoil this book too much for anybody wanting to immerse themselves in its pages but for British Vogue lovers, magazine enthusiasts and anybody with an interest in Vogue and its inner-workings, you need to read this one. I will definitely be re-reading it again but I am also, not-so-secretly hoping Alexandra releases a further volume or book of anecdotes and musings from her time at the magazine. 

-Have you read Inside Vogue? What did you think of it?