Jump for joy! Fashion magazines aren't back to pre-recession levels, but they're definitely no longer on the brink.

Just in case any influencers out there needed a reminder that Vogue can cover the cost of a consumer panel, going by the number of ad pages sold and current ad rates, Vogue‘s September issue alone will account for more than $92 million in revenue. It will have an impressive 584 ad pages – not anywhere near the September 2007 record of 727 ad pages, but more than any other women’s fashion magazine this year.

Glamour, the Conde Nast sister publication which has more online influence than Vogue, has a relatively low 240 pages but will still bring in “more revenue than any issue in its history” thanks to 2-D bar codes that readers can photograph with their phone cameras to “like” advertisers on Facebook. Most other magazines reported year over year increases, but Elle reported a decline, widely believed to be due to the larger than average influx for last year’s anniversary issue. {AdAge}

*Note that for Harper’s Bazaar, the 1-page color ad rate “doesn’t apply” for March and September, indicating that the magazine likely gets more per page in those issues. All revenue estimates are not inclusive of agency fees or repetition discounts which can lower revenue; nor are they inclusive of pull outs, special inserts or multi-channel promotions like the Glamour offering, which can increase revenue.

Elle magazine has in the past voluntarily participated on the reality Project Runway and Stylista series, and now the mag’s hub in midtown Manhattan serves as the set for Whitney Port’s reality series, The City. Editor in Chief, Robbie Myers admits the company is calculated in its efforts to gain exposure.

Elle editors Joe Zee and 'the City' star Erin Kaplan

“I thought it was a good idea for us to do ‘Project Runway.†That was not necessarily the popular view around here. But my feeling was that we should be in as many mediums as we could be as a brand when appropriate. We want exposure. I think we are very aware what makes interesting television.” she said. {Racked}

We agree. The personalities of editors in the Elle offices clash repeatedly, but definitely make good TV. Not all agree, and bigwigs like Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, have been notoriously private about their operations.

The bottom line is, advertising is advertising and numbers matter. Television reaches a much wider demographic than most glossies can achieve on their own, and Elle has reaped the benefits seeing audience numbers rise 35% in the last year. {NY Times} While the audience numbers for each of the shows fluctuates between smash hit, and lukewarm reception, a 2 million viewer flop to TV execs can still be a publicity boon for a magazine with a circulation just under 1.5 million. While we love some shows more than others, if reality TV gets more people interested in fashion, we say keep it coming!