Fashion magazines

I recently had 5 days off from work. I had made plans to go to the movies, but it is not fun if I am by myself. So, I raided the Walmart one day in search of good scent that can add some pizazz to my house, and a new pair of jeans to add pizazz to my figure. At the cashier, I also grab the September issue of InStyle magazine.

My husband is always bugging me not to buy fashion magazines-maybe because he finds them silly-.I used to listen to him. I mean, it costs between $2.99 to $5 to get a magazine in this country. Do not call me frugal but if I was to buy Instyle magazine every month, I can add $50 to my bills yearly. $50 equals a new outfit and accessories for me, so do the math. Plus you can have access to those magazines online practically for free so why bother?

Well, I do bother from time to time, because I like the fact that I can go through from pages to pages, taking my time to absorb all the details and pictures. It is fun, particularly when you are sitting in a cozy chair, sipping on some latte (so cliche).

As much as I enjoy "browsing" magazines from cover to cover, there are plenty of things I find annoying in them.

1- tons of commercial. Have you ever open Instyle or Glamour magazines? The first 50 pages (I counted)are dedicated to advertisement. It is disgusting. If I took the time to count all the advertisement pages inside the magazine (I just counted the first 50 and got exhausted), I am sure that they account for more than half of the magazines. I understand that those magazines cost to publish and advertisement is the best way to gain money. But come on!!!! Let us check the latest style without having product placement thrown at our faces.
2- Talking about product placement, in the pages of InStyle you will find several (tons of) items that are suggested to you. In this fall issue, different wardrobe styles are featured to please everybody, everybody but me. What are the odds to find a piece that I truly like and would want to purchase? I guess not many. The editors place product that are likely to serve the interest of the designer but not the buyer. I mean, let us be real, who dresses like that? The only thing I found interesting, wearable, and affordable are these Lela rose for payless shoes

I cannot wait to go buy them. Actually since the BOGO sale is going on, I can get those puppies and another nice pair.

3- Prices: I am crazy about fashion. But let me admit that I am not crazy about the cost of everything that is fashionable. A thousand dollars for a dress? Why? Because it has a small label attached to its back that says it was design by Chanel? Truth be told, it was surely designed by Karl Lagarfeld, but probably made by some third world child, being forced to work for less than minimum wage. So, just for those reasons, I will not rush to buy the latest Prada bag (which I find ugly anyway) even if I could afford it. By the way, this is the latest Prada Nappa bag made with leather of lace and costing $1950. Are you Shitting me?

Seriously, I would like to know if half of the women who buy InStyle magazine, will purchase something that was featured in it that cost more than $200? Maybe not! Then, why feature those items? Are there not any magazines for the poor out there?

I suppose that the reason why InStyle like magazines show us all those glamorous things (that I may or may never be able to purchase-depends if my writing career takes off) is that they want us to dream. It is like the movies, they make you imagine if you were somebody else. Maybe that is the greatest reason why I purchase those magazines, for the dream that someday I will be able to afford those gowns, those shoes, those bags; for the dream that maybe someday I will be able to dress like Nina Garcia-sophisticated and lady-like.

So until that dream is fulfilled, I guess I will keep on buying fashion magazines, hoping and praying for either of these following things: that some genius comes up with a hip-trendy fashion magazine for the poor or middle class people- or that I become rich like Oprah. Between us I prefer the second dream, don't you?