..to feel a failure compared to the women in my magazine?

[rufussmum]

Just read my usual middle-aged mum's monthly Woman and Home. All the women featured in it either 'live their adventure' and sail away to Greece on new yacht or have started their own 'consultancy/fashion' website with their best friend. Not one poor, unemployed single parent in sight. And don't get me started on the house makeover features. Are these people normal? If so I'm worse off than I thought.

[TheRealFellatio]

I used to love Marie Claire too. I'd always buy one at the airport to take on holiday with me. I think the internet has probably killed most magazines dead, but I haven't regularly bought women's lifestyle/interest mags for probably 15 years.

[Bricklestick]

Blogs are totally where it's at these days.

[TheRealFellatio]

Half these people who claim to run businesses or consultancies in women's mags are either friends of the journo after a bit of free plugging (even if the article is nothing to do with their business) or they are living in a fantasy world of what they wish their life was like.

For:

'Suki runs an interiors company that specializes in sourcing antique french linens'

read:

'Susan went on holiday to France last year, picked up about 6 old table cloths and a bit of mattress ticking at a brocante market, turned them into shabby chic cushions at her evening class, and is now busy trying to flog them on Ebay. If she gets enough enquiries out of this article she'll consider investing the price of a chunnel ticket to go back and buy as many as she can fit in the boot of her car.'

People can make the most mundane things sound like glamour itself.

[expatinscotland]

Easy Living started out pretty well. Then it descended into bunting cupcake wankery and £200 summer sandals.

[expatinscotland]

Stop reading that shit. It's like telly, the only poor people shown are depicted as complete scroungers/crims/addicts or all three.

[TunipTheVegedude]

I do like buying a completely random magazine that has no connection with anything I have ever been interested in. The one about guns was an eye-opener, as was the container ships one.

[rufussmum]

I am partial to a pristine copy of What Car.

[musicposy]

fritteringtwit loving menopause monthly
Like you with the classic bike magaine, I've been known to resort to DH's Men's Running. He's talking about some chess mag now, though and I will have to draw the line there.

Used to really like New Woman, and who mentioned Smash Hits and Jackie? Best mags ever! Fact.

[WhoPutThatThere]

Psychologies is OK but it does get a bit repetitive after a while.
If you want an smart women's mag that does interesting and engaging editorial and doesn't do trashy celeb shit, try and pick up a copy of Stylist, it's got a really good balance of news, opinion, and interviews. it does have fashion and beauty and a certain amount of lifestyle stuff but not so out of touch with reality that you couldn't ever afford it (it does have to have a certain amount of aspiration) and I think scores very low on the 'making you feel shit about yourself' scale compared to most women's mags. Best of all, it's free (That said, I actually subscribe because i like it so much, and as I only work part time I can't always guarantee I'll get a copy)
www.stylist.co.uk/

[fritteringtwit]

My mum bought me a subscription to W&H last Christmas. Although the kind thought was very much appreciated, I thought the mag was utter shite. DH used to call it menopause monthly.

to OP - I've often wondered why you never see articles about women who go to work, come home, start again, then just collapse in front of the telly at 9.00 pm. But I dont think mags full of that would be a big seller.

I cant stand the celebrity mags either - its just the same old shite every bloody week. Im a bit worried that I've been taking more of an interest in DH's Classic Bike mag lately

[Darkesteyes]

rufuss Psychologies is good.


Ive never heard of Intelligent Life before. Sounds good.

[rufussmum]

Blimey mylaptop...you must be nearly as old mature as me!!
Where are all the intelligent women's mags nowadays?
All the sleb magazines seem to feature close-ups of other women's cellulite. Is this what we burned our bras for?

[mylaptopismylapdog]

I remember Nova rufussmum you're right it was brilliant. And now I remember am off to cancel subscriptions and chuck out magazines.

[Darkesteyes]

I used to get New Woman and Eve as well as Scarlet but they all closed down.
Pre New Woman i used to buy More! when it was decent before it went all celebrity. And that closed down 2 weeks ago.

Today i saw the news that Easy Living is to close. Its a worrying time for people who work in magazines.

www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/may/09/easy-living-closes-print-edition

[specialsubject]

the magazine won't tell you stories of ordinary people, why would you be interested in that?

don't buy this crap. BTW models with legs the same thickness all the way down are NOT attractive, they are sick.

[KatoPotato]

haha bogeyface

I'll raise you 'My nipples floated off in the bath'

(they didn't either)

I had to get DMIL to stop leaving hers about when DS learned to read and would exclaim that 'Dirty Dave left knickers in the glovebox'

[GrendelsMum]

Does anyone remember the MNer who worked as a stylist for a house and interiors magazine? It turned out that they would charge in, totally rearrange the house and put in extra stuff. In some features, they even added a random extra labrador to give the house that country chic feel. After she said all that, I started looking more closely at the photos, and you can occasionally actually spot the things that the stylists have reused from one house to another.

[KnitFastDieWarm]

I used to work in magazine publishing. I can tell you for a fact that half the featured people/makeover models etc are freelancers/friends of the staff/junior staff writers roped into having their hair dyed green (or whatever)

I say this because I have modelled for magazines more than once, simply because of short notice/ease. And I am by no means a model!

Having said that, magazine offices have one major perk - so much free stuff! We used to get to take home all the samples/reviews copies of books/crafty stuff that got sent in by companies.

So the moral of the story is, don't feel down, because behind the curtain there's the wizard of oz (I.e. a poorly paid assistant editor with a deadline) frantically trying to put the whole illusion together!:-p

[bubblesinthesky]

I agree about Marie Claire. I was staying in a hotel in Italy about 10 years ago and someone had left a huge pile of them in the lobby in English. I thought it was fantastic and read it for years. I even subscribed. I stopped a number of years ago because they changed the format, stopped reporting on stories of importance, stopped campaigning on issues and basically became a magazine full of adverts, fashion and the odd rather low level feature. I bought it again about 6 months ago and if anything its got worse.

In this house we read New Scientist, Private Eye and The Economist if we bother buying magazines at all that is. Generally I prefer a good book free from my local library.

YANBU OP the few magazines I've seen recently of the type you describe are full of cup cakes, impractical outfits for unlikely occassions and the sort of life style most readers can only aspire to (and I for one wouldnt' even if I could)

[K8Middleton]

I used to like Eve. I think it was a BBC mag but they closed it down :(

I don't think there's much money in magazines these days. You can read blogs for free and most newspapers have a supplement for women. I read a trade publication and journals but rarely get the time. I used to listen to podcasts when I commuted but not now.

We have a good free local mag that is admittedly 2/3 overt advertising but there are 10 pages of interesting stuff in amongst the Things To Buy that make up the rest of the content. We also have a good local NCT magazine but I don't think many people actually read it

[WireCatWhore]

Bogeyface, you remember exactly the same article as me.

Marie Claire used to be excellent.

Red used to be really good. Have let my subscription expire to that.

All the magazines have gone downhill over the years. Less articles & more tat to buy.

[Binkybix]

I used to like Minx. Anyone remember that?

I totally agree - the articles seem to be recycled every few months, and it's all about selling crap by making people feel bad about themselves.

I've been inspired to subscribe to NS and will look at Intelligent Life. Thanks!

[UtterflyButterfly]

I sometimes buy W&H or Good Housekeeping if I've got a lazyish day, but then wonder why I bother.

As well as all the above comments, they're also so samey - every March you'll get the same Spring/Easter chick/bunny/yellow/roast lamb lunch for 12 articles; every November it'll be presents for under £5/£50/how to cook the perfect turkey/how to wrap your presents with a bit of old newspaper and hand plaited peacock feathers.

I used to like She too, and occasionally I see Marie Claire in the hairdressers and quite enjoy it - I have to tell the young girls that bring the coffee and magazines NOT to bring me OK etc as I have no idea who anyone in them is!

[Bogeyface]

I like old style She, the She became another vacuous bimbo like Marie Claire. I remember a brilliant article years ago in MC about North Korea and in particular how it affected the women living there, it was fascinating (there are state approved hairstyles for women apparently). You just dont get that anymore.

There are enough shite mags around full of celeb diets, celeb weddings, celeb babies and designer clothes. It would be nice to have one magazine that catered for intelligent women who are not obsessed with the size of their arse or the latest "must haves" in fashion!

[MoodyDidIt]

what makes me laugh as well is Heat magazine

seems to be aimed at teenagers, and makes me feel soooooo old when i read it, which i do, often yet it always has ads for baby milk and nappies and stuff like that