Magazine Makeovers

By Melissa August, Ann Marie Bonardi, Amanda Bower, Ellin Martens, Joseph Pierro, Sora Song, Heather Won Tesoriero and Josh Tyrangiel

FASHION VICTIMS The most closely watched circulation figures at the women's fashion magazines of late have been those rotating in and out of the editor's chair.

KATE BETTS was relieved of her job as editor of Harper's Bazaar last week, less than two years after she was hired from Vogue. Her attempts to bring a more youthful look and feel to the once aesthetically ascetic couture bible resulted in poor newsstand sales and her departure from the building to make way for GLENDA BAILEY, editor of Marie Claire, the somewhat less refined fashion magazine that has seen rising circulation since Bailey inherited the post in 1996 from BONNIE FULLER, who two weeks ago was asked to resign as editor of Glamour, where she spiced things up with more stories about sex but angered her bosses when she unsuccessfully tried to get out of her contract to take the top job at Bazaar, which Betts got instead. Still with us? The top Glamour job will now go to CINDI LEIVE, editor of Self magazine, while Betts and Fuller, two of the fashion-mag world's once-bright stars, look for work.