This course is devoted to understanding fashion journalism as first and foremost WRITING—writing about art, politics, experience, aesthetics, history. Fashion is an integral part of world events, and fashion journalism consists of a multi-faceted world of responses to it. This course begins with a look back at the origins of writing about fashion, presumptions about it, some early fashion magazines, and how fashions were presented visually. Then we shall move on to major themes in fashion journalism, looking at how writers shape, conceive of, create and publish stories. Students will look at fashion reviews, trend pieces, and profiles, blogs, memoirs, and more. Students will work on several different types of articles and reviews, with the goal of trying to write publishable prose. We will have several guest lecturers who all work in fashion journalism, who will discuss how they approach their work.