Strolling the crowded streets of Toronto, it’s hard not to notice the Bay’s advertisements for Vanity Fair Portraits, the exhibit sponsored by the department store. On Friday I decided to visit the exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, and on my walk down Bloor street I felt giddy with excitement at every sign and billboard I passed.

I have been a Vanity Fair reader for years now, indulging in every page of the high-cultured magazine. I’ll never forget Evgenia Peretz’s “Truly, Madly, Nicky” in the Society pages of 2008’s September issue. I remember reading the article in my dorm and thinking that this is the best magazine article I’d ever read. There wasn’t anything particularly different from Peretz’s article to other VF pieces, nor was the content groundbreaking; it was simply that I had never before heard of Nicky Haslam, nor would I have ever heard of Haslam, if it weren’t for Peretz’s article. And that is why I love Vanity Fair; because they find interesting societal figures and shine a spotlight on them.

Vanity Fair is the epitome of meticulous magazine perfection. Not only does the magazine have incredible articles, but they have groundbreaking photographs as well. Every issue includes fascinating pictures by iconic photographers. It is truly a treat to study the lighting, contrasts and content of every photograph in the glossy pages of Vanity Fair.

However, because the size of a magazine is limited, the pictures can only take up one to two pages. To see photographs in all their glory as full-sized pictures framed on museum walls truly is a sight to see. Prince William looking dashing as he gazes into the camera, and Hilary Swank in mid-air as she runs on the beach are two of the photographs featured in the Vanity Fair Portraits exhibit.

There are also the pinch-me moments at the ROM’s exhibit; the historical figures captured by the lenses of Vanity Fair photographers provide us with an insight as to who the people with magnificent minds were during their time. These photographs include Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein and Amelia Earhart, among many others.

The exhibit also features videos documenting the making of iconic photographs. One such video features George Clooney on the Universal set surrounded by women, as Annie Leibovitz photographs him.

From photographers like Mario Testino and Annie Leibovitz, to stars like Julianne Moore and Madonna, Vanity Fair Portraits is a must visit for aspiring photographers, VF readers and fans of pop culture.

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In Vogue; The Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Fashion Magazine by Norberto Angeletti and Alberto Oliva is a beautiful coffee-table book featuring Vogue’s finest photographs. Not only does this book detail the history of Vogue itself with commentaries from its most influential, such as Anna Wintour; it also details the progression of fashion photography and how cutting-edge Vogue is. Long before America’s Next Top Model’s famous “underwater shots,” Toni Frissell shot Joan Dixon underwater in 1939 through the glass at an oceanarium in Marineland (82).

The book also chronicles the changes of fashion and fashionable body shapes. For instance, a photograph of a woman on the street wearing a long Dior dress with cinched waist, hat, gloves and heels for the 1948 article on the Paris spring collections (141) drastically compares to the 1969 photo of Marisa Berenson wearing a Saint Laurent mini-dress on the street (179).

Of course, not everything in Vogue is simply about fashion; Vogue also features informative articles and celeb interviews. Vogue has always been one to schmooze with the stars. Look for pictures of Keira Knightley (300), Truman Capote (149), Brigitte Bardot (162), Marilyn Monroe (175), Nicole Kidman (248), Christina Ricci (337), and Drew Barrymore (385), among others, in the book. Vogue also covers important societal topics, such as obesity. In 2004, Irving Penn photographed a grossly obese woman for an article about America’s obesity epidemic (297).

The book contains some of the most stunning and creative photographs I have ever seen, like -my personal favourite- Annie Leibovitz’s 2003 style essay called “Alice in Wonderland.” The piece stars Natalia Vodianova as Alice, Marc Jacobs as the Caterpillar, Jean Paul Gaultier as the Cheshire Cat, Viktor & Rolf as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, John Galliano as the Queen of Hearts, Karl Lagerfeld, Rupert Everett and Donnatella Versace as the Gryphon (268-271). It truly is a remarkable piece by the legendary photographer.

In Vogue; The Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Fashion Magazine is a telling piece about our society as a whole. Not only does the book chronicle the history of fashion as told through the images in Vogue magazine; it tells the changes of body image, current events, and the entertainment industry. Anyone interested in photography, fashion or popular culture is sure to love this masterpiece collection of Vogue’s finest work.