Curviness ahead
Written: Jul 24 '00 (Updated Jul 24 '00)
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Pros: Positive outlook. Concrete ideas for fun stuff. Fashions for all sizes and shapes.
Cons: Could be more unconventional. Too much girly-girl stuff.
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| prettyrain's Full Review: Mode Magazine |
You know how sometimes you read those women's fashion and beauty magazines and afterwards feel pretty yukky and in need of improvement? I read them and think, "I need to lose 20 pounds, get a make-over at Lancome, buy all my clothes from exclusive NYC boutiques and oh my god I'll never be good enough or beautiful enough and how much are collagen injections for lips anyway?"
Mode doesn't do that. The enlightened magazine that calls itself "The new shape in fashion" is all about looking good how you are. Feeling good about that. Showing off your curves, wearing clothes that make you feel sexy eating yummy food, celebrating life, working hard and enjoying yourself.
It contains the usual magazine sections -- fashion, make-up, hair, celebrity gossip, career and romance bits, horoscopes and news. The celebrities interviewed and highlighted aren't the ones you always see every where though -- they're women like Ricki Lake, Camryn Manheim, Kathleen Turner, Janeane Garofalo and Margaret Cho. And there is never a "work out of the month" section, an article about how to lose 15 pounds by Memorial Day, or which hot new diet is the best.
My favorite monthly feature is "The Pleasure Zone," which is a list of 10 things you can do to feel really good. Sometimes a recipe for a smoothie, an idea for a party theme, a recommendation for a book or poetry or reasons why hanging a wind-chime is a good idea, it's just a simple spread of fun, simple quick-fixes.
I do have a few issues (heh) with the magazine though.
For one thing the cigarette ads. I just have trouble with a magazine that says it's good for me, helping me to live a healthy, happier life and be as beautiful as I can be showing me full page glossies of how glamorous
I could be with the right cigarette. Most of the magazines I do read don't have cigarette ads, but occasionally, for Mode, I make the exception. (Although not without a letter letting them know what I think.)
Also the "Ask Emme" column that's in every issue. Emme is a full-size super model and answers questions from readers about anything. Like work, sex, life, parenting. One woman wrote to complain that while she was hired to do one thing (she was some sort of junior ad exec or something) she was the one expected to clean up after lunch, get coffee and do other random chores. The writer thought she was being taken advantage of and doing "duties" that were not in her job description. Emme advised her to smile and go with it, that as the new kid in the shop she'd have to be the one to "carry the bats" for awhile.
Finally, I love shoes, but it seems every shoe in Mode is strappy, pointy, sharp and high-heeled. I never wear shoes like that; I hate them. I'd like to see some big chunky Timberlands or Dr. Martens.
Overall, the magazine may look typical. Glossy photos are everywhere, but the women in them are not typical. And the attitude inside the magazine -- you are beautiful and here's how to enjoy life -- isn't typical.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
prettyrain
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Location: Toronto, Ontario
Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 27 members
About Me:
Book-loving, coffee-drinking writer, zine editor, mom and slacker loving the serendipitous life.
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