The Magazines Obsession

 Vogue Paris September 2012 issue, 3 different covers: Lara Stone, Kate Moss, Daria Werbowy by Mert & Marcus

W Magazine July 2008 issue: Daria Werbowy, Kate Moss, Lara Stone by Bruce Weber

In the past few years I became an addict to surfing the web, a thing that happened many of us who sometimes prefer to fall asleep with their laptop rather than their life partner (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, dog, cat etc.). But, with all due respect to the endless information and visuals I can find while surfing the internet, there is one moment every month when I am extremely excited – the day when the real magazines (fashion magazines of course), with real paper, those I can really touch, arrive in my mail box (not E-mail, regular mail, it is still exists). 

The difference between living in Israel and living in the US is the accessibility of fashion magazines. While in Israel you buy one month edition, in the US you buy a whole year subscription for the same magazine (usually 12 monthly editions cost $15-$25) at the price of one magazine in Israel. Because my magazine obsession is not new, while I was in Israel I tried to buy most of my “reading material” when I or my family traveled to the US or Europe, but I must admit, it is less fun to get 8 magazines at the same time than to wait for one or two (or three or four) to arrive in the mail. So besides the trips, I had one magazine subscription I found that deliver to Israel, without any kind of second company commissions. It was Marie Claire Magazine. Not my first choice, and even not my second or my ninth, but all chromo colored fashion papers in a foreign language (English, French, Italian) are good enough. Therefore, the day I arrived to Philadelphia (ok, I admit it was before I even left Israel) was the day I quickly made two magazine subscriptions – for Vogue (US) and for W Magazine. I must admit that the first usually get me board (sorry Anna Wintour, the legendary editor of the magazine since 1987) because I guess it prefers to be a best seller, rather than too artistic magazine or a little bit out of mainstream, although I must say that you can find there editorials that makes sometime the “wow” effect (usually by the legendary stylist Grace Coddington). My second choice was in W Magazine that never lets me down and invents itself each and every month. Of course I have a whole list of magazines I want “to own”, but one step at a time…

top: My new magazine collection, left: magazine stand in NYC, a few days ago

I was just bubbling about the obsession up until now, while I really wanted to share with you my thoughts and questions about the basis of this obsession. What is the thing that makes us women/girls so attracted to fashion magazines?  I guess there is something about these bright and colorful and fashionable pages that we just cannot resist. I think it will never fade away although many already eulogized (for years now and nothing happened yet) this media. Furthermore, I must say that the print did not really changed its basis, but if you look closely you can notice there have been made a few interesting and inspiring changes correspondingly to the development of the fashion industry on the internet: the advertisements look more like a great, artistic and inspiring editorial, fashion columns that are written more in a “blogger’s language” – what is on the fashionista’s mind, and finally – the magazines that turn into some kind of book, if by the amount of pages or with publishing a magazine only once or twice a year, rather than every month. Although, there is nothing new with the twice a year publication phenomenon, Another Magazine is doing it for years for example, I have the feeling that this is a direction that will grow and grow in the future. 

right: My old magazine collection at home in Israel

This is it for today (enough is enough). I would be very happy if you will share your thoughts about this matter (or any other) here with me, and tell me what magazines you like or dislike. In the meanwhile I will go and subscribe to my next magazine – the new biennial magazine by the fashion icon and past editor of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld, that came out just one or two weeks ago: CR Fashion Book.

*Sorry! No Hebrew this time