Betty Magazine Talk

By Gabriella Collins

“Modern with a vintage twist or vintage with a modern twist, depending on how you look at it”- (Charlotte Jacklin; founder of the Betty Magazine).

Whilst sitting in the studio theatre waiting for Charlotte Jacklin’s talk on how she created and went about publishing the Betty Magazine, I was unsure of the journey and initial starting point of the struggle by trial and error that made the magazine what it is today.

Judging by its surface and content, it is well-established and fluent; the vintage, pastel colour scheme runs throughout and the consistency of subject matter and image creates a strong base which enables and encourages readers to assign and entrust that the Betty Magazine will always deliver everything that would be of their individual interest. However, I was somewhat surprised when Jacklin stated that her and her team prefer to use the term ‘girls’ to identify females rather than women, as it empowers females ever the more, while the term ‘woman’ can be associated more with the secondary to men. It made complete sense to me, however I felt enlightened as I had never really considered how both terms can affect the meaning of what it is to be a female, It seems as though when girls grow up, they are forced by society to give up their girlhood and forever identify themselves as a woman (which to me creates an image of being secondary to man). Jacklin identified that being ‘one of the girls’ is powerful, just as powerful as a man would be as ‘one of the boys’.

For the ‘Bettettes’, female empowerment and English heritage are at the pinnacle of Betty magazine’s identity. They are fundamental to its individuality; it is what separates it and distinguishes it from other major fashion and lifestyle magazines, competing only with itself in its self-indulgent content yet still actively seeks and recreates wider influences in a fluent and continuous 1940’s-1970’s style.

The Magazine was first created as part of Charlotte Jacklin’s University project, that she later continued once graduating. Contacts were, and still are being made using social media to promote, advertise and communicate across the web which sources the most dynamic range of individuals. A whole variety of artistic attributes contribute to the final making of a Betty Magazine; from illustration, to food art and photography. The Betty Magazine is like no other, it is about raw lifestyle; it is a source of realism for the average British girl with continuous connections and influences from the past.