Vogue is one of the world's most influential lifestyle magazines covering women's fashion and beauty. Founded as a weekly society paper in 1892 and purchased by Condé Nast in 1909, Vogue was the first magazine of its kind to use lavish photographic spreads and colorful graphics to highlight the latest fashion trends. So influential did the magazine become that the phrase "Vogue model" became a synonym for the highest standards in beauty, composure, and sophistication.

Under editor-in-chief Edna Woolman Chase (1877–1957) and art director Mehemed Gehmy Agha (1896–1978), Vogue published the work of leading photographers like Edward Steichen (1879–1973), Sir Cecil Beaton (1904–1980), and Baron de Meyer (1868–1949). These photographers presented their models in glamorous settings that reflected the elaborate Hollywood (see entry under 1930s—Film and Theater in volume 2) movies of the period. During World War II (1939–45), Vogue concentrated more on affordable, ready-to-wear lines of clothing but continued to emphasize quality and style.

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