I love fashion magazines. Always have. When my monthly dose of Vogue shows up at my door, I flip through it inhaling deeply. Issues of Vogue smell like my first grade reader, and I LOVED my first grade reader. Next, I wait for a quiet moment to present itself and lovingly poor over the editorials, colorful advertisements, and the artistry of commercialism that is Vogue. Only after making it through the magazine once or twice, do I return to read any articles, however well written they may be. When it comes to fashion magazines, the clothes are the thing.
There've only been two non-political periodicals I've sought out and purchased for the written word. "Sassy" of the 90's and "Jane Magazine" of the 2000's, both the creations of Jane Pratt. I loved the cool, enjoyable way in which these magazines were written, completely down to earth pieces written by women you just knew didn't take themselves too seriously. The articles were somehow just as relevant in my twenties as they were when I was in high school, no small feat for a product as subjective as a monthly glossy. When Jane was canceled several years ago, instead of my monthly Jane fix, a copy of Glamour arrived in it's stead with a card attached that said (I'm paraphrasing here) "Jane's over. Enjoy this dumb substitute that you've NOT asked for as a consolation prize". I immediately called
my friend Lydia and wailed my disgust. I took the loss pretty hard.
The point I'm trying to make here is this: after a long absence Jane Pratt and her beloved handiwork is back in my life. Even better, this time it comes to me free anytime day or night via
her new blog. I'm ecstatic. I'd heard whisperings around the internets that this was happening, but I just put my email on a notification list and forgot about it, not really getting my hopes too high. Well, the day has finally arrived and I'm doing a happy dance. The site looks great and the staff of writers seem just as real and just as hilarious as in previous go-rounds. I feel like I've just run into an old friend with whom I grew up and now we're going to be having weekly lunches. In the same way that Jane and Sassy were the Un-Fashion Magazine- fashion magazines, xojane.com is the Un-Fashion Blog fashion blog.
In case you're not familiar, here is a sampling of articles to get you started:
