Ally, Oprah sell


Allure, which had a cover ratio of 10 models to two stars in 1998, is flip-flopping those figures. Vogue increased celebrity covers last year from two to seven. Mademoiselle and Elle also have swung to star power.

"I'm gambling on this, and it's an important gamble," said Wells, who lined up actresses Angelina Jolie and Julianne Moore for spring covers. "We are putting a lot more celebrities on the cover because I believe they will sell more. After all, that's what we're trying to do, sell magazines."

Choosing a hot cover is not an exact science. Not every celebrity cover scores. Sometimes it's timing -- fall fashion issues are usually best sellers, for instance.

And according to magazine sales, today's fashion face is Oprah Winfrey. Her October cover was Vogue's 1998 best seller, with some 810,000 newsstand sales. The talk-show queen likewise reigned in first place at In Style, with 844,000 newsstand sales for November.

Calista Flockhart of "Ally McBeal" was Harper's Bazaar's top seller for 1998.

Public personalities also are stealing the spotlight -- a Hillary Rodham Clinton cover on Vogue got excellent grades.

"Some women's magazines are tossing off models because people identify more with celebrities," said Lisa Granatstein, senior editor at Mediaweek, a New York-based trade magazine.

She explained the celebrities' appeal: "You know they've just broken up with their husband, you know their latest movie, you know their every move."