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Figure 1: Hey, how do I wear... metallic trousers? © All images belong to Hearst.

ties in with the piece of
clothing they wish to promote,
the magazine aims to attract
the reader, who according to
Lacan (1977) is born into a lack
in being; this lack creates a
desire in humans to become a
better version of themselves,
a desire for “coherence and
meaning in him or her self”
(Williamson, 1978, p.60), which
advertisements are able to feed
off. Here, the celebrity image
is what Lacan describes as ‘the
Other’ – a representation of the
better self that female readers
desire to become. The reader is
not able to physically become
the celebrity, yet the image is
used as a representation of the
lifestyle and happiness that
could be achieved, were they to
imitate the celebrity’s style.

Certain
celebrities
are
ideal to use in advertising
because of the appeal of their
image. They are attractive,
glamorous, and often wealthy
and are represented in a way
that shows them as happy and
problem-free, things that many
women aspire to be in their
own lives. It is noticeable that
the women featured in these
articles
are
predominantly
tall, white, slim females (see
Elle Macpherson in Figure 1,
above, for an example). Women’s
magazines are often criticised
for choosing to use such images
as they can reportedly lead to
body dissatisfaction in the
reader (Stice et al, 1994; Stormer
& Thompson, 1995), though it is
important to remember that the
magazines are a business, and
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