Elle UK - 04.2020

One of my favourite things to do is dine alone. Give me a table by

a window and a compelling book and I am deeply content. I have

long attributed this slight quirk – for a woman who chooses to eat

alone, particularly after dark, is still a quizzical sight – to being an

introvert. After all, being on the outside of things is where introverts

are happiest. But over the years, I have discovered that there is, in fact,

another reason. The conversation. That is...other

people’sconversations. I call it the aural equivalent

of ‘people watching’; you’d probably call it good

old-fashioned ‘ear wigging’. Whichever way you

dress it, it’s fascinating. Because here is the truth:

what people admit in private is very different

to what they admit in the wider world.

Look at social media and you could be forgiven

for thinking that everyone, or at least everyone you

know, feels the same about the big issues as you do: feminism, Trump,

the idea that Greta Thunberg may in fact be The Messiah risen again

in a Swedish teen’s body... you all agree on these things, right?

Yet, away from the crowds, it is amazing how differently people

feel about things. I know women who bristle at aspects of fourth-wave

feminism, yet fear there would be a clarion call for their head on a

spike were they to voice this. I know others whose political views bend

slightly to the right, an admission of which, they tell me, would have

them seen as censorious radicals. What have we ended up with?

A world of seeming sameness, where intellectual honesty is banished

to the corners and people’s public and private lives differ greatly.

The job of journalists, editors and stylists has always been to

explore difference, and it is something, I am proud to say, ELLE has

been doing for more than 3O years. Whether it’s how to wear clothes

in an unexpected way or a new perspective on the

cultural conversation – month in, month out, that is

what we aim to do. This issue is no different.

Take, for example, Hannah Betts’ brilliant feature

that begs the question: how much ambition can one

relationship take? The general belief is that we should

seek a partner who is equal to us, in all respects. The

realit y, however, can be somewhat dif ferent, as Bet ts

explores on page 1O2. The same is true of Jennifer

George’s storyHow Pulling Out Became The New Pillon page 182:

a frank (and funny) look at why many are choosing the teenage

‘ hope - for- the - best ’ pull - out method as contraception. Is it dangerous,

or an empowering way for women to take control of their bodies?

In the rest of the issue, you’ll find other wonderfully individual

female voices, from the inimitable Donatella Versace to supermodel

Aweng Chuol and writer Alice Vincent, united only in their difference

from one another. What could be more interesting than that?

The Only One Intense, £101 for 100ml

EDP,DOLCE & GABBANA

Boots, £430,

A.W.A.K.E

Jacket, £850,

AMANDA WAKELEY

Sunglasses, £69,

BIRD SUNGLASSES

ON MY R ADAR

WHAT’S CAUGHT MY EYE(and h eart)

THIS MONTH...

VS REAL LIFE

Publi c life

Photography: Ian Harrison.

ELLE.COM/UK April 2020 41

“INTELLECTUAL

HONEST Y

IS BANISHED

TO THE

CORNERS ”

Jacket £850 Earrings, £55, Boots £430

ASTRID & MIYU