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Keira Knightley and Jessica Simpson Land September Covers

Don’t smile! You’re on Vogue!Photo: Getty Images

The fat, highly anticipated September fall fashion magazines are almost upon us. Can’t you just feel their weight in your arms right now? Vogue is taking a risk with its cover girl, Keira Knightley. Knightley last appeared on the June 2007 cover, which was the second-lowest seller of that half of the year, moving just 405,000 copies. Still, that’s a lot more than Gwyneth Paltrow’s May 2008 cover, which sold just 310,000 copies.

Elle, on the other hand is playing it safe with Jessica Simpson on its September issue (she has a country-music album coming out later this year, so, uh, mark your calendars). Yes, she, Jessica Simpson, is safe. Her March 2007 cover was the magazine’s best-selling issue last year, even beating out Lindsay Lohan’s September cover. And the September 2004 issue she appeared on sold the most issues of the past seven years, moving 483,100 copies. We know the numbers don’t lie, but that is just baffling.

Other September cover girls include Penélope Cruz for Glamour, Blake Lively for Cosmopolitan, and Vanessa Hudgens for Teen Vogue.

Memo Pad: Judging The Books By Their Covers [WWD]

Related: ‘Vogue’ Shape-Issue Numbers Were Bad, But Gwyneth’s Were Worse

Keira Knightley and Jessica Simpson Land September Covers