Author: sjarrett

Vogue, Atlanta Magazine, and More

Fashion and Lifestyle

By Shelby Jarrett

I’ve been examining a few resources for inspiration on the fashion and lifestyle beat. The first of these is the charming and gracious Liz Best, who in fact began the master’s program at Grady at the same time that Sandra and I did, but decided to withdraw when she began getting crazy-awesome offers to do fashion styling for the likes of Coke and Atlanta Magazine (I mean, wouldn’t you?). Her Atlanta-based blog contains compilations of her favorite looks as well as her own photos of explorations in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Portland. Her blog can be found here, and she was gracious enough to give me a few pointers over the phone as well.

One of these recommendations was to further investigate Vogue, not just skim it in the doctor’s office or at Barnes and Noble. In addition to all the pretty, pretty pictures, Vogue has some excellent pieces on travel, beauty/health, and what we might call “feminine interest” pieces such as this one exploring how Jennifer Lawrence became the highest-paid female actress in Hollywood. While most of these pieces are beyond the scope of what I could do in a semester, they are excellent examples in terms of format and story ideas.

Lastly, to help perhaps put a local(ish) flair on my pieces, Liz was kind enough to recommend that I check out Atlanta Magazine, which features many articles similar in feel to Vogue (new designers, new trends, etc.), but with a distinctly Atlantan twist–one example is an article on the Atlanta-based app Color, which helps women of color locate expert haircare to meet their specific needs.

Through these and other resources, I hope to ground myself in fashion and lifestyle and come up with story ideas that are relevant to Georgia readers.

Where I’m At

Fashion and Lifestyle

By Shelby Jarrett

As a former history major and second-year master’s student, my experience with journalistic writing in general is limited. I am told on a regular basis that my writing still comes across as “academic” rather than journalistic, which illustrates how much I still have to learn (though I’m working on it all the time).

This lack of experience, however, is precisely the reason I was interested in the fashion and lifestyle beat. I’ve not had much opportunity to write on these subjects in the past, but many of my interests fall within the category of fashion and lifestyle–travel, food, interior decor, local culture, and yes, fashion (though most of you probably won’t believe that as I am usually in workout gear in class. My only opportunity to go to the gym on Tuesday/Thursday happens right before this class. I’m sorry.).

Additionally, many of the magazines I peruse in my spare time fall under this category. I enjoy Food and Wine, the occasional Vogue, and numerous garden and home decor magazines. I may not have much experience with magazine writing or even journalistic writing in general, but I am hopeful that my genuine interest in this subject area will mean that this semester is both profitable and enjoyable (and by “profitable” I think I really mean “prolific,” because does anyone go into journalism for the money? I think not.).