• Forbes, Thursday, June 25, 2009 9:45 AM

It looks like Vogue might be slipping. Rival Elle banked more advertising pages than Voguein the first half of the year. It's the first time the 24-year-old Elle has outshone its more elite competitor.

The most recent six issues of Elle held 970 advertising pages, a 22% decline year-to-year, compared to Vogue's 956 pages, a 32% decline. In comparison, Vogue had 10% more advertising pages than Elle last year. Time Warner's InStyle remains the leader, posting 1,151 ad pages year-to-date.

Elle, Marie Claireand similar magazines now enjoy larger profiles thanks to their involvement with television reality shows and other forms of promotion that Vogue disdains. But the big screen remains infatuated with Vogue, including an upcoming documentary about the magazine, "The September Issue." The question for the magazines, then, is which will prove more valuable: approachable or aspirational?

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