`We are always reading about young swinging Britain, and that she relies on its youth for the future¿¿ Nova, London Life and Honey on Swinging London and fashion, c. 1965-1966.

Abstract

This thesis is about the three lifestyle magazines Honey, Nova and London Life and their coverage of two central aspects of the 1960s in Britain; fashion and Swinging London as a phenomenon and possibly a myth. Each magazine covered these themes extensively through magazine articles, fashion features and letters from both journalists and readers. Through this thesis I am analysing how they wrote about these ccentral themes, and by using other sources such as oral interviews and published books I am trying to analyse the impact of the magazines upon the fashion industry, as well as their attitudes to London as the swinging city. Each magazine had a targeted audience that differed from the other two magazines, and while many historians and sociologists have focused on women’s magazines in general, few have chosen to analyse how the magazines covered Swinging London. I am also focusing on a new approach to understanding fashion and the fashion industry through the magazines.