When it comes to the prom, Hearst drives the limo. Three of the top four in the teen fashion category — Seventeen, Seventeen Prom and Teen Prom — hail from Hearst, with Condé Nast’s Teen Vogue on the outside looking in.
Seventeen
Seventeen may have it-boy Ansel Elgort on the cover, but the payoff is its “Prom Survival Guide.” From how to land your perfect date (‘‘just do the asking”) to dealing with the agony of learning from your class’s Facebook page that someone else has your dress (“no worries!”), the subject is well covered. There’s also a “prom by the numbers” sidebar, where Daddy’s little girl learns why it’s better to hit up the old man for prom cash. A poll of 200, with an assist from Visa, reveals Pop is willing to shell out $1,160, while Mom draws the line at $710.
Seventeen Prom
Seventeen Prom does just what it’s supposed to — dive deeper than its flagship into how things can go right, or wrong, on that never-to-be-forgotten night. From head (“Prettiest Prom Hair”) to toe (“Hot Prom Shoes”), this annual one-off has it covered. While the table of contents references “Your Ultimate Dress Guide,” good luck finding it amid page after page of ads for dresses. Indeed, to make organizing the issue easier, Seventeen Prom includes a page of stickers to tag “your favorite dresses.” As for how things can go wrong, the magazine’s end page, “TraumaPromA,” details five “humiliating moments.” No need to read them, though, because they’re easily imagined.
Teen Prom
Teen Prom, the last vestige of the Teen title that Hearst shuttered in 2009, distinguishes itself with a California feel. Sure enough, the masthead says it’s published in Santa Monica. Sasha Pieterse of “Pretty Little Liars” graces the cover, while a section titled “Celeb-Spiration” invites female prom-goers to “take your cue” from the likes of Elle Fanning, Emma Stone and Rihanna “then make the look your own.” Another spread uses a headline that addresses what prom night’s really about: “Playing Princess” for one last time, perhaps, in an age-appropriate way.
Teen Vogue
Teen Vogue backs out of its prom press responsibility with all the grace of a mini-Anna Wintour. Models-of-the moment Binx Walton and Gigi Hadid are all over the issue, including the cover, and a feature on Sylvester Stallone’s 16-year-old daughter, Sistine Rose Stallone, reveals Dad doesn’t allow her to date. Giving the issue heft is “Hiding in Plain Sight,” a nonfiction piece about a 15-year-old Afghan girl who “lives as a boy.” The deception allows her to “roam freely, without the constant harassment and restrictions women face.”
New Yorker
Veteran reporter Seymour Hersh, who broke the story of the My Lai massacre in the Vietnam War in 1968, points to many ironies of the tragedy as he returns to the scene of the crime for the New Yorker and interviews survivors and perpetrators alike. While the result is a fascinating piece, one of the few ironies that doesn’t get addressed is that Hersh appears to have visited the stricken village as part of a family vacation. Elsewhere, check out the profile of Ronnie O’Sullivan, the most talented snooker player of all time. “There should be no money in this game,” says O’Sullivan, who has minted mil lions from the sport . “They should take TV away from this game.”
New York
The theme of New York’s “Yesteryear Issue” is “After Midnight,” and there are some great old photos of Big Apple nightlife. We particularly enjoyed the 1987 photo of the stock traders moping at Harry’s Bar after Black Monday, with one of them brandishing a copy of The Post, whose front page read, “Wall St. Bloodbath.” There is also, of course, the requisite shot from Studio 54 (Karl Lagerfeld recreates Versailles palace, 1979). Best, though, is probably the 1946 shot of the Rockettes dorm room at Radio City Music Hall, which existed for “a few decades in the middle of the last century … for rests, catnaps, or, when the weather was bad, sleepovers.”
Time
Time has a pretty even-handed summary of the nuclear talks with Iran, concluding that the most likely outcome is that there will be more talks. Asked about the Republican senators’ letter to Iran, former Secretary of State James Baker can’t help but admit he’s “a creature of the executive branch,” adding, “You can’t conduct foreign policy with 535 secretaries of state.” The magazine does its best to slam Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with a tally of his alleged flip-flops on immigration, abortion, ethanol, education and labor unions. Still, the mag admits Walker’s “meteoric rise” has inspired “awe and fear” in his foes.