ELLE October 2013

"My first words to my future bride were, 'Hey, I'm Nick. You're hilarious, and I think this is going to be really fun.' Little did I realize how effective this opening salvo would prove." Tuesday, October 1 MAN-IFESTO In his first memoir, Paddle Your Own Canoe, Nick Offerman offers up such wisdom as "Eat red meat. Producers like a pelt with a healthy glow," making it difficult to separate the author from the broad-chested brute he plays on TV. And we're fine with that. Thursday, October 17 GLEAM TEAM The 1948 Verdura Wrapped Heart brooch, below, contains 271 white diamonds and 109 canary yellow diamonds. Starting today, this and more than 40 other splendors (including a bracelet originally owned by Brooke Astor) will be on display at the jeweler's New…

Tuesday, October 1 At Paris Fashion Week, single-name-only glamazons will be strutting their stuff today. But it's the grunge-chic veterans of the '90s—Kate Moss and Guinevere Van Seenus (above), as well as Amber Valletta—who feature in Craig McDean's Amber, Guinevere & Kate, out this month from Rizzoli. As a matter of fact, Moss is having a literary moment: She also graces the cover of another book from the same publisher, Chloé Attitudes. THE ELLE MUST-DO CHECKLIST Tuesday, October 1 A dress designed by Yoana Baraschi in collaboration with Olivia Wilde's NGO fighting to end sex trafficking in India, Conscious Commerce, is available today at Anthropologie. Wednesday, October 16 Michael Kors and the U.N. World Food Programme take their message to the streets, distributing a "Watch Hunger Stop" tee in five…

ONLY HUMAN Some people's names always precede them—they're so famous, so widely renowned, their names take on a symbolism that somehow renders them superbeings. So much expectation—what happens when that person turns out to be…a person? It's always refreshing when one of these souls actually feels comfortable just being a human, and a nice one at that: polite, kind, engaged, open to asking a question or two of a companion rather than resentful at having to attend to something (say, a photo shoot) that they, after all, agreed to. And so it was for writer Carl Swanson when he met Barbara Bush the younger for an interview in this month's issue. The Bush name carries all kinds of associations—positive and negative, depending on your point of view—but Ms. Bush has…

NAUGHTY BY NATURE She may look like the girl next door, but as Holly Millea discovered in "Risqué Business" [August 2013], Amanda Seyfried isn't as sweet as she appears. ELLE readers reacted to both the Lovelace star's unfiltered honesty ("To be too protective is boring," she pronounced) and her punk-princess makeover courtesy of ELLE Creative Director Joe Zee: "Obsessed with @AmandaSeyfried's @ELLEmagazine grungy spread." —luisanna_marie, via Twitter "Finally, someone I can relate to! I could never quite explain…why it's so difficult for me to truly like somebody—it's because I have to be sexually attracted to them first! She explains it perfectly; I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels this way!" —YES, Eonline.com "Amanda Seyfried is KILLING it in the latest #ELLE. #ELLEForLunch" —MirandaTCS, via Twitter "I love…

For this month's cover shoot, Lady Gaga reigned supreme in the season's most sumptuous finery at an ultraprivate Long Island estate. Photographer Ruth Hogben: "It was elegant, intimate. Gaga has incredible features that you could stare at all day long." ELLE Creative Director Joe Zee: "We played up her natural radiance with bold furs from Chanel and Versace." Wardrobe Stylist Brandon Maxwell: "The crowning piece was definitely the Christian Lacroix for Schiaparelli dress, brought by two assistants who flew from Paris to New York just for the day!" Set Designer Marla Weinhoff: "It was also huge for us to get a sneak preview of Artpop, her new album. Gaga elevates everyone around her—she's a true artist."—CATHERINE STRAUT Living masterpiece: Gaga in Schiaparelli Rabbit and calfskin handbag, REED KRAKOFF, $3,290, visit…

Gillian Flynn PROVENANCE: Kansas City NOW: Chicago PROFESSION: Writer THIS MONTH: "Paper Route" (page 152) COLLECTED WORKS: Author of Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and Gone Girl STYLE PHILOSOPHY: "I think you decide what you want to spend your energy on. You can go down a rabbit hole and spend a disproportionate amount of time overthinking everything. Remember what our parents would say? 'Just be yourself.' " EAR WORM: "I have been obsessed with Fiona Apple's cover of Elvis Costello's 'I Want You.' It's absolutely fricking insanely awesome." LATEST SPLURGE: "I got my husband this great Tom Ford suit for his fortieth birthday. He is a man who was born to wear Tom Ford. A little bit like buying Mom a football. It's…