Ed Letter.(why Britney Spears is on Allure magazine's cover )(Column)

Ed Letter

Under Cover

I once tried to explain Allure's covers to a group of eight-year-old boys. They were visiting our offices on a school field trip (one of the boys was my son), and I was

doing my best imitation of Miss Jean Brodie crossed with Jack Black. I revealed how

we select our profile subjects, retouch the images, and craft the cover lines (boys,

do you know what "alliteration" means?). One eager student's hand shot up. "Have you ever had Paris Hilton on your cover?" he asked. "No," I said. "And if I ever do, you'll know that it's a sign of the apocalypse." I wonder what those eight-year-old boys would make of Britney Spears on this month's

cover of Allure. I wonder how I would explain it to them. The first time we photographed the former Mouseketeer, she was 18 years old and full of promise. It's hard to remember that Britney. I'd seen her at the MTV Video Music Awards, when she ripped off her tuxedo down to a nude, sequined bodysuit and flung herself and her long blonde extensions around the stage. Anyone with a pulse could tell that this was an electrifying performer. For her second Allure cover, in 2005, Britney was slightly world-weary: newly married for the second time, she vowed to get her life, her body, and her career back in shape. This time, with two children, a divorce, a stint in rehab, and an apparent breakdown involving an electric razor, Britney seemed to be joining Paris Hilton in the tabloids with ...