Devil Woman

Recent rumours that Anna Wintour's time at American Vogue could be coming to an end, may have an element of truth to them or they may just be idle gossip. However I think it would be safe to say that if she is indeed leaving I get the sneaking suspicion that it will be completely under her own terms. I recently read the unauthorised biography about her "Front Row", written without her consent but featuring opinions from many people who have known her over the years. It was certainly an interesting read, going right back to her youth in London and in the course of reading it I discovered many things about the mysterious lady that I didn't previously know. She didn't actually complete her expensive, private education and her career wasn't as quite as unblemished as she makes it out to be. However there is no denying that she great at what she does, that she has had a huge impact on the world of fashion and that she is a great example of a successful working woman. Some of the stories in the book, especially the ones in which she reduces colleagues to tears, make her come across as the bitchy boss from hell, just like Miranda Priestly, the editor from The Devil Wears Prada, who is supposedly based on Ms Wintour. However whilst reading the book I did wonder if really she was actually all that bad. I mean obviously she was a bit of a nightmare boss but she was a dedicated, determined, with a strong vision of what she wanted for her career and for her magazine. Right from the start she knew she wanted to be the Editor in Chief of American Vogue and she worked and worked until she got there. Given that you know that when she does finally give up the position it will be on her terms and no one else's.
Throughout the book I did wonder whether she would have been regarded as such a nasty piece of work if she had been a man. Mind you maybe she wouldn't have been so highly regarded either.