<P> In 1973, Vogue became a monthly publication . Under editor - in - chief Grace Mirabella, the magazine underwent extensive editorial and stylistic changes to respond to changes in the lifestyles of its target audience . Mirabella states that she was chosen to change Vogue because "women weren't interested in reading about or buying clothes that served no purpose in their changing lives ." She was selected to make the magazine appeal to "the free, working, "liberated" woman of the seventies . She changed the magazine by adding text with interviews, arts coverage, and serious health pieces . When that type of stylistic change fell out of favor in the 1980s, Mirabella was brutally fired . Her take on it: "For a magazine devoted to style, this was not a very stylish way of telling me ." </P> <P> In July 1988, after Vogue had begun to lose ground to three - year - old upstart Elle, Anna Wintour was named editor - in - chief . Noted for her trademark bob cut and sunglasses, Wintour sought to revitalize the brand by making it younger and more approachable; she directed the focus towards new and accessible concepts of "fashion" for a wider audience . Wintour's influence allowed the magazine to maintain its high circulation, while staff discovered new trends that a broader audience could conceivably afford . For example, the inaugural cover of the magazine under Wintour's editorship featured a three - quarter - length photograph of Michaela Bercu, an Israeli model, wearing a bejeweled Christian Lacroix jacket and a pair of jeans, a departure from her predecessors' tendency to portray a woman's face alone; according to The New York Times, this gave "greater importance to both her clothing and her body". As fashion editor Grace Coddington wrote in her memoirs, the cover "endorsed a democratic new high / low attitude to dressing, added some youthful but sophisticated raciness, and garnished it with a dash of confident energy and drive that implied getting somewhere fast . It was quintessential Anna ." Throughout her reign at Vogue, Wintour accomplished her goals to revitalize the magazine and managed to produce some very large editions of the magazine . In fact, the "September 2004 edition, clocked in at 832 pages, the most ever for a monthly magazine ." Wintour continues to be American Vogue's editor - in - chief to this day . </P> <P> The contrast of Wintour's vision with that of her predecessors was noted as striking by observers, both critics and defenders . Amanda Fortini, fashion and style contributor for Slate, argues that her policy has been beneficial for Vogue: </P> <P> When Wintour was appointed head of Vogue, Grace Mirabella had been editor in chief for 17 years, and the magazine had grown complacent, coasting along in what one journalist derisively called "its beige years". Beige was the color Mirabella had used to paint over the red walls in Diana Vreeland's office, and the metaphor was apt: The magazine had become boring . Among Condé Nast executives, there was worry that the grand dame of fashion publications was losing ground to upstart Elle, which in just three years had reached a paid circulation of 851,000 to Vogue' s stagnant 1.2 million . And so Condé Nast publisher Si Newhouse brought in the 38 - year - old Wintour, who through editor - in - chief positions at British Vogue and House & Garden, had become known not only for her cutting - edge visual sense, but also for her ability to radically revamp a magazine to shake things up . </P>

How many issues of vogue are there per year