A Case Study of Liz Jones: Fashion, Journalism, and Mental Health

This case study explores the career of British journalist Liz Jones, focusing on her work in fashion journalism and her transition to confessional writing. It examines her early success as an editor and columnist, as well as the personal and professional challenges she faced, including mental health struggles and financial difficulties. The study analyzes how Jones's personal life and experiences influenced her writing, leading to both recognition and controversy. It also touches on her views of the fashion industry and her reflections on personal identity and well-being. The document concludes that despite the challenges, Jones used her writing to express her feelings and navigate her life.

Running head: LIZ JONES
Liz Jones
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Elizabeth Ann Jones or Liz Jones is a British journalist who was born on 5 September
1958. She has started as a fashion journalist but later turned into confessional writing. Jones was
always recognized as a fierce and natural writer; however, she did not miss to receive criticism
too. Initially she was the editor of Marie Claire and a staff of both The Sunday Times and the
Evening Standard. At present, she is a columnist in the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. She
claimed that the fashion industry did not like her and paid no heed to her. Her writing skills
earned her the recognition of Columnist of the Year at the British Society of Magazine Editors
Awards.
According to Bradford (2014, pg.14) the glossy fashion magazines such as Vogue or Elle
or the newcomers Grazia and Look depict the picture of fashion journalism. The expanding
platforms of journalism and the craze for the same, the fashion journalists have a huge
opportunity to display their talent. In the current scenario, the leading newspapers and magazines
require writers who can work in various platforms. There are emerging posts for the online
editors whereas the mushrooming newspaper add-ons require freelance donations. The
magazines targeted at the women such as Company or Marie Claire are comparatively more
stylist which use short pieces and captions for ornamentation. On the light of this, the works of
Liz Jones can be illuminated. She used to write books, columns and articles on the about
personal and intimate information of her life. This behavior towards her work had led to outrage
among her family, friends and the readers in general. Her forward writing against the
campaigning of underweight models and corruption within the beauty sector resulted in sacking
her from Marie Claire.
Dingemans (1999, pg.37) countered that the significant and underlying factor of
makeover is open communication with the person irrespective of a celebrity or a reader. The

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approach of doing makeover that was highlighted in this article was to arrange a meeting with
the person and enquire about their likes and dislikes. Their expectation from the makeover was
asked for and if they have any hidden desire, it was focused upon. An appropriate time is
difficult to get with the makeover subject and the journalists need to wait for long to arrange for
a meeting. With respect to makeover, the name of Liz Jones can be highlighted who came to be
known as the popular confessional journalist in Britain. She was selected as the subject of
makeover on the pretext of her columns in the Mail. A meeting with her uncovered the veil from
a used- to- be fashion icon. Her looks and attire did not carry the trends, which was tagged along
with her name. The interview with her brought out the hidden story behind her present condition.
She was broke to afford anything stylish or expensive. She has surrendered his thought to fit in
or make people look like her. The terrific thing that came out from the interview session was that
her recent columns read more like suicidal notes rather a creative fashion article (Friedlander
1996, pg.109).
Grant (2009, pg.88) mentioned that she has the habit of believing the thoughts that hover
around her mind. She had reflected on her thought in the particular book to state that her passion
for dresses and bags were much more than shoes. She wanted to buy accessories, which she
could not afford and did not even save money for the same. This reflective narration was found
similar to the life of the British journalist Liz Jones as she also had the desire to lead her life like
an epitome of fashion but could not afford to do so. Her column, which was published in the
Mail, stated that she went bankrupt in the year 2017. Not only did she lose her house but also had
to surrender her car and personal belongings such as her pets. She had to lose her old identity of
being a successful woman, living in a large mansion, wearing costly clothes and driving a posh
car. She was depressed with her new broke life and that reflected in her columns. She has jotted

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down that at present she has prevented herself from consuming anti- depressants in order to fight
for the stress of the financial misery (Swanson and Everett 2008, pg.117). According to Jones,
her involvement in astronomy and therapy was beneficial to get her out of the depression and
provide some time for relaxation. The Independent published her interview in 2010, which
consisted of the information that Jones got 250,000 pound a year by the Daily Mail and she
received approximately 4000- 6000 emails and letters from her readers every week.
Fashion refers to the subject that is read and bought in stores by some people, as stated by
Jackson and Shaw (2004, pg.43) in their book. Change is a dominant factor in fashion involving
the exchange of old with something new. It varies on a wide range from clothing and accessories
to interior design. There are two determinants related to fashion- fad and trend, which are
slightly different from one another. A fad is temporary which might come and go within a season
whereas, a trend is permanent and might sustain for a long time. The notion of people regarding
fashion is explained by the global acceptance and a mixture of almost everything. In terms of
fashion, Jones had made a point that she is not accepted by the fashion industry. Even when she
attends any beauty pageant, she hardly gets any attention. Her role as a fashion journalist is not
paid heed to in the prominent beauty industry. She thought that her hideous look might be the
underlying reason behind it. Therefore, she has struggled throughout her life to make a perfect
appearance in front of the public and ultimately became ridicule.
McRobbie (2003, pg.75) argued that in the early 80s there was a revolution in the retail
industry of British high street. This transformation has been able to bring fashion with a better
input among the individuals of average income. The people with lower income also began to
participate in activities related to fashion for discovering them in a unique manner. According to
the writers of New Times, the availability of designer articles in response to the global

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competition produced goods that are more distinctive. The designers were responsible for putting
superior quality and thus, the growth in this sector took place. The hype about the fashion
industry made Jones attracted towards this sector but she had a notion that she was a misfit for
the same. She said, “The fashion industry stinks and everyone in fashion hates me. No one talks
to me when I go to the shows… I have been barred from Armani, Louis Vuitton.” A beautiful
natural writer as Jones fell on the trap of mental health issues due to over thinking on her looks
and appearance. She has shared some dirty secrets of her personal life in her columns and in her
interview, which made people think that she was mad (Picardie 2006, pg.102).
Barnard (2013, pg.276) has specially explained that fashion cannot be considered as a
basic form of communication and revealed the concept of using clothing to develop and criticize
identities. In both the countries of Britain and USA, fashion clothing is presented as an
inquisitive dimension. It might look attractive from one end, and offer a glossy advice to the
readers. The advice is independent of age and gender. The high street and malls of these
countries are covered with a series of clothing to lure people, guide them on their appearance,
and look. On the other hand, the sector might be less attractive in a separate sense. The
glamorous ads in the television also increase the desire of the people to follow the trend of the
fashion industry (Craik 2009, pg.66). The story was similar to that of Jones who wanted to fit
into the shoes of others. However, she drastically failed in the same at the later part because of
her financial crisis.
As per Coddington (2012, pg 12) the surrounding world might be the same however, it
can be adjusted accordingly. In the case of Liz Jones, she found out that the difference people’s
behavior towards her was not their fault. However, her complexity with brain was involved in it
and it could be changed. The feedback that Jones received in relation to her neurological

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problems focused on the manipulation of her brain waves. This funny as well as naturally skilled
writer has gone through a series of medical checkups, which helped in recovering from her
problems. She admitted at the end that her incapability in taking the right decision was
responsible for her disastrous life. Therefore, she took support of her writing to express her
feelings (Dwyer, Bruzzi and Gibson 2000, pg. 56).

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References
Barnard, M., 2013. Fashion as communication. Routledge.
Bradford, J., 2014. Fashion journalism. Routledge.
Coddington, G., 2012. Grace. Random House.
Craik, J., 2009. Fashion: the key concepts (Vol. 1). Bloomsbury Academic.
Dingemans, J., 1999. Makeovers. In Mastering Fashion styling(pp. 36-39). Palgrave, London.
Dwyer, R., Bruzzi, S. and Gibson, P.C., 2000. Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explorations and
Analysis.
Friedlander, E.J., 1996. Feature writing for newspapers and magazines: the pursuit of
excellence. Addison Wesley Publishing Company.
Grant, L., 2009. The thoughtful dresser. Hachette UK.
Jackson, T. and Shaw, D., 2004. The fashion handbook. Routledge.
McRobbie, A., 2003. British fashion design: Rag trade or image industry?. Routledge.
Picardie, J., 2006. My Mother's Wedding Dress: The Life and Afterlife of Clothes. Bloomsbury
Publishing USA.
Swanson, K.K. and Everett, J.C., 2008. Writing for the fashion business. Fairchild.