Yahoo's 'unusually stylish geek' CEO Mayer explains infamous Vogue photo shoot

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayerhas explained the infamous Vogue photo shoot.

Famed interviewer Charlie Rose grilled Mayer at an Advertising Week event in New York City about the controversial shoot.

The magazine published a two-page photo spread of Mayer, along with a 3,000-word article about her in its September issue, CNN reports.

Mayer had posed upside-down on a chaise lounge and holding a tablet featuring an image of her face.

The photo, along with an article Vogue published about what Mayer wears to work, set off debate about women in the workplace.

Mayer said that it was not the cover, but just a nice photo.

Mayer showed Rose up to the Vogue shoot, where the staffers offered her a choice between a black dress or a blue one.

As a rule she doesn't wear black, so she chose the blue Michael Kors.

At first she simply sat on the chaise, but after just two minutes the photographer said he wouldn't be able to use the prim "First Lady-like" shots, Mayer said.