The fabulous life of Anna Wintour

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The semi-annual chaos that is New York Fashion Week has begun, and designers and fashionistas are deep in preparation mode. 

Perhaps no one knows the ins and outs of Fashion Week better than Anna Wintour, longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine and artistic director at Conde Nast. Donning her trademark black Chanel sunglasses and perfectly styled bob, Wintour has been a fashion-show fixture for decades. 

With an estimated annual salary of $2 million, Wintour leads the kind of lifestyle any fashionista would envy.  

Wintour is originally from the UK and moved to New York in her 20s. After stints at Harper’s & Queen, Harper’s Bazaar, and Viva, Wintour took the helm at Vogue in 1988. At the time, the storied fashion magazine had lost some market share to rival Elle, and its focus had shifted slightly to include lifestyle coverage.

Under Wintour, Vogue reestablished itself as the dominant American fashion magazine.

Wintour has now attended more than 3,000 fashion shows on behalf of Vogue. She has an annual clothing budget that’s rumored to be as much as $200,000.

Source: T Magazine

She’s shared the front row with countless celebrities, like Lupita Nyong’o and Naomi Watts.

And she’s hobnobbed with fashion greats like the late Oscar de la Renta.

Wintour is known for being an intimidating and demanding boss, a demeanor that has earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour.” Miranda Priestley, Meryl Streep’s somewhat terrifying character in “The Devil Wears Prada,” was rumored to be inspired by Wintour. The movie was based on a book by Lauren Weisberger, formerly an assistant to the Vogue editor-in-chief.

As for her signature look, Wintour has reportedly sported a bob since she was 15 years old. The black Chanel sunglasses serve a purpose beyond fashion. She told 60 Minutes in 2009, “I can sit in a show and if I am bored out of my mind, nobody will notice … At this point, they have become, really, armor.”

Source: CBS News

Though Wintour rarely chooses neutrals over a bright pattern, you’ll always see her wearing the same beige Manolo Blahnik slingback shoes. Some have said that she owns the same pair in multiple variations to match her skin color when she tans. Here she is at the 2015 Met Ball, which she hosts in New York each year.

As seen in a “73 Questions” segment produced by Vogue, Wintour’s office in the old Conde Nast Building was tastefully decorated with a wide variety of pieces.

Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles shared a look inside Wintour’s new office at One World Trade Center shortly after Vogue moved there in 2014.

 

Wintour has two children with her first husband, David Shaffer, whom she divorced in 1999. Her daughter, Bee Shaffer, often accompanies Wintour on the red carpet. Bee works as a segment producer on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

Here, the two pose together at the 2016 Met Ball.

Her son, Charlie Shaffer, attended medical school at Columbia. He married Elizabeth Cordry in a beautiful ceremony that Wintour hosted at her home in Mastic, on New York’s Long Island.

 

Members of the fashion elite were in attendance, including photographer Mario Testino and late designer Oscar de la Renta. Designer Prabal Gurung captured the moment and shared it on Instagram.

 

Wintour’s offspring have shared funny stories of their mother’s particularity on social media. “My mom threw out our tree before Christmas Day because ‘it was too messy,’” Bee wrote on Instagram.

 

Wintour has now been with Texan investor Shelby Bryan for more than 15 years, though they are rarely seen together. Some have said that their relationship has mellowed her, telling the Guardian, “She smiles now and has been seen to laugh.”

Source: The Guardian

Wintour lives in a four-story townhouse on Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village. The home dates back to 1899 and has some 3,960 square feet of space.

Wintour has been a vocal neighbor during her time in the Village. In 2010, she tried to block the opening of a Jamaican eatery called Miss Lily’s.  “I am completely concerned,” she said during a meeting, according to the New York Daily News. “This is a unique historic neighborhood. I’m also concerned for the safety of the kids here.”

Source: New York Daily News

Her favorite sport is tennis, and she can often be spotted smiling from the sidelines of the US Open and Wimbledon.

Wintour’s love of fur in fashion has drawn some attacks from PETA over the years. While she was in Paris in 2005, a PETA supporter threw a pie in her face.

Wintour has been known as an arbiter of style and one of the most recognizable faces in fashion for decades. She was even considered for an ambassadorship after President Obama’s second election, though the position eventually went to top fundraiser Matthew Barzun.

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