The Battle of the Magazines: VOGUE vs. ELLE (2024)

The words Vogue and Elle are a staple in every fashionistas vocabulary, but what are the differences between these two magazines? They are both the synonym of fashion in every detail, but, even though the similarities are quite obvious, the differences are arduous to observe.

I am a true lover of Elle, but, until this September, I was rather oblivious to the worldwide issues, so I was mostly reading Elle Romania. Between Vogue and Elle Romania, the differences are pretty clear, but if you look at the British versions of both, the differences become extremely hard to spot.

However, everyone knows that Vogue, which exists since 1892, is much older than Elle that only exists since 1945, so here is your first difference. Still, Elle is known as the world’s best selling fashion magazine, despite the staggering age difference between the two. Why does this happen?

Vogue is very high-end and pitches its articles to a somehow older type of an audience, while Elle is accessible to a wider range of people. Of course, if you are a true fashionista, or at least an aspiring one, you will buy Vogue, even if you will only have it on the coffee table.

Vogue is a magazine you will peruse over and over again, and never get bored of their inspirational editorials, while Elle, even though their editorials are really catchy and good-looking, I find that their articles are the ones to stand out. The latter provides a wide array of subjects, from events, to fashion, to accessories and to literature, the same way Vogue does, but the language used is distinct. As I have already stated, Elle is easier to access, by the language used in the articles, but also by the products they feature. Of course, they are still high-end, but there are fewer ads or aspirational pieces, and they also provide articles of clothing that you can find similarities with in everyday high-street stores. Vogue, on the other hand is highly aspirational from my point of view. It has a lot of advertisem*nts, mostly high-end and in the magazine, the articles of clothing are luxurious, they provide inspiration, but they are usually not for the average buyer. The language used in the articles is a little bit less approachable, it uses bigger words, and the articles are slightly longer.

The two fashion publications are a real inspiration for any type of wardrobe and the articles offer insights into the ever-changing fashion industry. They both manage to come up with something new with every issue, which makes them readable and creates a space for regular readers. What is there not to love at both of them?

By Andra Maier|2017-06-13T20:31:48+02:00December 26th, 2013|Style|