When Should One Abandon Teen Magazines?
Continuing from my ramblings on my teen magazine years (see yesterday's post), today I wonder whether it is time that I abandon them.
I'm not a teenager anymore -I'm in my last year of college now. For the past few years, I've been feeling that I was too old for Teen Vogue. The girls featured inside the magazines, whether they are the 'normal' girls or the celebrities, are starting to seem really young, some around 13 to 16 years old. I'm really starting to feel the generation gap! The articles about the 'issues of the month' are still relevant sometimes, but they're short and don't provide much info most of the time. Plus they tend to relate the 'issue' to celebrities and not talk much about the actual issue. Also, for reasons I have yet to figure out, I don't like the styling of the editorials as much as before. For example, there was an editorial this year in which all the outfits just looked like adaptations of the Balenciaga FW07 outfits. I mean, I know Balenciaga is leading the trends this year, but couldn't the editorial have more variety apart from skinny jeans with blazers and a scarf?
But even with all this, I still buy Teen Vogue. Why? Because while I'm not a teenager anymore, I'm still at school so it means that I still dress really casually. Plus unless the reader was seriously mature and city slick, most teenagers probably don't dress the way people are dressed inside Teen Vogue until the reader is in college, (where she'll be exposed to more people and style.)
Before anyone suggests Nylon, the style inside Nylon is starting to feel a bit too young and hip for me too. I know Nylon is meant to be for readers from mid-teens to their twenties but still. I mean, I can't imagine that after graduation, I'll have much chance to wear such cool casual outfits. Sigh, but I do love their melanchony, nerdy-chic looking fashion editorials.So when do you think one should stop/ did you stop buying teen magazines?
posted by Harrods Girl at 4:10 AM
44 Comments:
Put it all behind you!!
My little sister reads teen vogue . . . she's 14. she considers it to be the creme de la creme of the fashyon. you're completely right in saying that everything is a variation on balenciaga autumn/winter 07 in that bleeding zine! it's kind of nice that it ushers young'uns into fashion, and is far more chic than bliss or sugar . . . but you're in college now, you need to put these childish ways behind you, lol
now that you can afford the stuff in that magazine, what do you have to aspire to? where's the fun in the magazine?
plus, you can have nostalgic conversations about how you used to read teen vogue 'back in the
day'!!! reason alone!
ross
oh dear. graduating from college means you won't be able to wear "cool casual outfits?" on what planet? i won't tell you when i graduated from college but it was a long time ago and i still admire younger styles and sometimes wear them. there is lots of inspiration in the juniors and even the childrens' departments. good style is ageless.
Hi! I am no longer a teenager or a college student, but I enjoy reading both Teen Vogue and Nylon. I like to read a wide variety of fashion mags to keep up on trends. I think both Teen Vogue and Nylon are great for inspiration even though most teen girls don't look like the ones in Teen Vogue. The 13-24 age group is important to watch because they set trends and can be more daring with their outfits. But if you find that you can no longer relate, then there are plenty of other mags out there, right?
I enjoy Teen Vogue although I felt extremely old when I read the story about the girl who makes clothes for her Barbies. I feel like the mag isn't as good as it used to be and I agree that the editorials are going to crap. They've gotten a bit boring and predictable. But I can't stand Nylon (even though i read it every month because I have a free subscription) because it's just too pretentious and increasingly boring.
to be honest, i stopped reading teen magazines when i was 14. then i started buying vanity fair. i am super lame. my guess is that a good time to stop reading teen magazines is when you stop being a teenager.
that said, i wouldn't dwell on it too much. read what you want!
hi! im in my 20s but i still love reading teen magazines probably because i think like a teen.. lol..
i still love the teen fashion.
take care,
kyutie
Baazar is the only mag you need.
I remember my first "teen" magazine was an issue of Tiger Beat with Hanson on it when I was 10. My mom thought it was inappropriate for me to read teen magazines when I wasn't a teenager but soon I was buying every magazine with my favorite stars on the cover. I think once I got to college I stopped reading them and starting reading Marie Claire, Elle, Vogue, Vanity Fair, etc. I'm 21 now and I just feel the content in those magazines pertains to my life and interests me more than teen magazines.
I think I stopped reading teen magazines when I was about 18 or 19 and practically stopped reading magazines altogether until I felt I found some appropriate for my age when I was in my early twenties. So I started reading Glamour and Vogue and haven't looked back since!
nylon? hell no. Nylon is not a teen magazine! :)
i say read what you want & dress how you want. i graduated college and i still dress casually.
...unfortunately i will have to start with business casual soon :( but you can make anything chic. it all depends on how you look at it. think of it as going from mary kate to ashley's style.
button downs are hot....
nice blog btw!!
check out my blog.
The main reason that I like Nylon is that the articles are lengthier and seem to have more substance than most articles in teen magazines, probably because it's directed more toward people in their early twenties.
I would say that the best time to stop buying teen magazines is when you stop finding them inspiring and stop relating to their content. I don't think it has to be at a certain age. I will probably continue reading some of the teen magazines that I read now when I am in college.
I think I stopped reading teen magazines (teen vogue mainly, I hated all the superficial stories in the other magazines but I liked Teen Vogue because it focuses mainly on fashion) when I was 14 or 15. Then I switched to Vogue, which I found too mature for me soon (my grandmother reads vogue..) and now I mainly read I.D. magazine and a danish magazine called Cover because I like the style and they're conveniently cheaper.
I am in my mid 20's but still read a few of the teen magazines simply because they feature clothes and beauty products that are more affordable. I don't relate as much to the stories anymore so for that I subscribe to cosmo, glamour, ect.
Ah. I subSCRIBE to teen vogue and I'm over 20. But it was like 10 bucks for 2 years, and I love that I can throw it in my purse.
I did finally graduate though and subscribe to real vogue as well. I felt it was necessary.
but there's no shame in still reading teen mags. i like to have my finger on EVERY fashion pulse, not just the ones closest to my own. besides, my sister is 18 and seems to always be 10 steps ahead of me in cool points so they might be on to something
Don't worry, I'm 15
and remember stealing my sister (8 years older than myself) teen mags to find them to have some major articles that actually made me think. Maybe it was because during that time boy bands were "out" and paparazzi wasn't so "in". I find now that its not so much a teen magazine nowadays, its more directed to tweens. I mean what woman in her teens where stress, hormones, and school are controlling her life is actually going to turn to a magazine just to learn what the Jonas Brothers are doing for the summer? I personally have Elle on mail order where I get my dose of fashion and editorials... THANK GOD!
hello vogue and harper's bazaar. excellent fashion and editorials there.
also, when are you girls going to do a fashions of sex and the city movie post? gladiator heels may be growing on me but argyle socks arent. ohhhh and bring on the furs. do feature the wedding dresses. they are amazing and would love to read about them on iamfashion.
I am 28 and stopped reading Teen mags when I went away to college. Now my choices are more about sophisticated style. While in the 'real world' depending on where you are and where you work, not everyone is fashionably dressed, I do make it a point to be well-dressed and therefore, well-respected. People do judge you on how you look as far as 'put together' or not.
The magazines I subscribe to now are In Style, Lucky, People Style Watch, Cosmo and Glamour. They are all I need to stay current and in fashion while providing a ton of looks on any budget.
Shockingly enough i've never read teen magazines (i don't like to be patronised), although i did buy a teen vogue once because the newsagent's had run out of vogue/glamour/cosmo/elle/grazia etc etc. I was really quite offended. It struck me that there are about twice adverts in a teen vogue, and i'm guessing that this is because the editors see us as more impressionable than older readers.
I also was a bit creeped out by the borderline obsessive attitude towards mischa barton and the like.
With regard to reading magazines in order to match your style/ find outfits, don't! Read vogue or elle (or kerrang if you're into it, inspiration can come from anywhere!) and pick up on the way they drape a scarf, add a statement necklace, experiment with androgyny etc, and then apply the principle to your style. Don't copy outfits entirely, how do you think that the blazer/scarf/skinny jeans combo became so widespread in the first place?!
I probably read teen until I was almost 13, seventeen until I was 16, and been reading adult mags since I was 14ish. I still look at teen vogue sometimes, and their website is great, but it does feel weird when the icons are little over half my age:)(I'm 23).
Hi,
I didn´t know that there is a Vogue Teen, form Brazil, this magazine didn´t come.
Is it good?
Thanks for all
Thais Martinez
www.thaismartinez.com
maybe right now, for you...when you start questioning...i think it´s the time...
read vogue now :)
a kiss!
Ok, I'll admit that I haven't read teen vogue in AGES. I'm 20, and yes, while I do want to go to teen vogue fashion U, I have stopped reading their magazine.
I like Nylon, but to be honest I really only buy magazines for inspiration for my writing. I just cut 'em up. I dunno...
i never actually read "teen mags" as a young teenager. i started on vogue at 13 because the australian teen magazines (dolly, girlfriend etc.) are pure trash.
i did start reading teen vogue when i was 16/17 and at 20, i still do (though less and less). even though it's becoming less relevant.while i dont really pay attention to the "real life" articles, it's still fun and the clothes are cute.
mags i love: russh, frankie, vogue, elle uk, vanity fair.. but the best magazine out there is LULA. worth the hunt, wait and money. plus, i look at the sartorialist online for fashion inspiration.
(and i never would have considered nylon a 'teen' magazine!)
I've never read teen mags. I've been reading Bazaar since my teen years, and later added Elle to my monthly reads. I don't really read them though, I just look at the pictures because I don't know about other countries but the Turkish editions are textwise full of sh*t. I buy Glamour UK for juicy reads and fashion that I can translate to my lifestyle.
By the way, I graduated from college 2 years ago and unless you are going to work for a fashion magazine etc or somewhere with a very strict dress code(law firm) you will definitely be wearing casual chic a lot.
though i feel a bit old for some of hte content, i buy teen vogue here in paris when ineed a little dash of american culture, as it is the least expensive american fashion mag....and i enjoy every page of it!
if you can get your hands on frankie, buy it! its an australian mag (frankie.com.au). i'm a big fan. too bad its a bimonthly mag altho you could argue that this makes it easier on the wallet so you can buy, you know, actual clothes =D
I use to always have all the latest issues of teen mags, but recently I was at the airport in those side bookstores looking for a mag and I was completely turned off by the things I use to read...I just graduated college this year so it just isn't fitting to be walking around with "Seventeen" or "Teen vogue" lol. I think there is a gap for the 20somethings demographic in that area because you either have the option to read teenie bopper mags or go straight to "O" and "Home and Garden"!
You're a fashion blogger so you have an excuse to read any fashion magazine you enjoy. While I prefer adult mags, I still flip through a teen vogue once and a while. There are a lot of fun things in there. Graduating from college doesn't mean the fun has to stop.
Sincerely, college and teen years aren't all that far apart (although it may feel like it). Especially with Teen Vogue: the articles are written for younger/mid teens, but the styling seems geared towards the later teen/early 20s imho.
I think that the pictures that come from teen vogue are beautiful, but lately the fashion magazine has been lacking for my tastes. I still will get it though.
You know, it's weird, because I'm fifteen, and I think all teen magazines are getting a bit... boring. Honestly, I've prefered Glamour and Cosmopolitan (sans the sex parts, as I AM only fifteen, and do not need to know 101 racy sex ideas just yet) as I LOVE Glamour spreads, and their beauty ideas are the most doable. I love Cosmo because their fashion seems more easily done, especially for the suburbs and high school. I also love their spreads 99& of the time.
I do read CosmoGirl, Seventeen, & Teen Vogue.. Seventeen is probably the best for me as it is pretty straightforward and the styles are more me than anything else. CosmoGirl is OKAY, but I'd live without it. I hate their knew section Just So You Know or w/e. And Teen Vogue...honestly, I don't see the big fuss over it. I personally can't afford most of what's in there, and their spreads are ridiculously over the top. What they throw together on models should never be considered a doable outfit! I do like their DIYs though, and the issues. Plus the really know how to pick great covergirls. (That's another thing I dislike about CosmoGirl, wtf Miley Cyrus? and Seventeen: Vanessa Hudgens was on after her nude scandal, & Paris Hilton was on after her DUI scandal)
But as a teen, maybe I'm mature I don't know, but I prefer the magazines for twenty somethings, more than teen magazines, and I'm their target audience! - Sam
All I have to say keeping reading TV if you want. You have to realize the people who work at Teen Vogue are not teenagers they are adults well out of their youth.
just wanted to suggest some good magazines apart from English teen mags - if you're into fashion trends (which you could imitate the styles) buy japanese magazines (although i can't read any single word)...you will find that those are the WAY better than english magazines, cuz its focus is on fashion, every page of it. Suggestions: Non-no, Vivi
For inspiration of unboring office wear, also see hong kong magazines (in chinese): e.g. sugar
i could never really get into 'teen' mags, ive always been a vogue reader (not teen vogue) from the age of 11. So i wrote a quick post about a small gap in the market for fashion magazines feel free to check it out! - definitionpoliticalspeakspace.blogspot.com x
WELL,
seventeen, since the name,
you shouldn't read after you're seventeen, lol.
it'll make you seem immature.
the was an episode of the show Fresh Prince, Hilary says "But mom, I'm 23!" And she's holding Seventeen magazine. Her mom gives her an annoyed look and does not take her seriously.
Thats how I would imagine it to be in real life. Besides, 17 magazine is for young inexperienced teens (like myself).
I know how it feels, to suddenly not know whether this magazine is relevant to your own style. I used to enjoy Teen Vogue and love all the fun eccentric new styles, until one day I couldn't wait until I finished with it, so then I realized things had changed. I left it all behind me, being 18 and in my last year in college in England, I thought a more contemporary and even politically inclined magazine would be more beneficial. So I left it behind and moved on, I slowly let go of Teen Vogue and embraced Grazia a favorite magazine published in England.
i could never really get into 'teen' mags, i have always been a vogue reader (not teen vogue) from the age of 11. So i wrote a quick post about a small gap in the market for fashion magazines feel free to check it out
Thanx
I could not resist posting a comment. I think you should do what you want. I stopped reading teen vogue a couple of months ago (i'm 26 by the way), but i still read cosmogirl. It's all about you and what you want.
Great pic of Noelle Valdivia in the party shots. Does anybody have more pictures of her to post....sooooo pretty and the best dresser in los angeles. Thanks!
I'm 23, and I will occasionally look through the Teen Vogue website (with a sense of shame of course...I only admit to reading The Economist, The Atlantic, Harper's etc)...because, while the clothes featured don't always work for someone my age, at least the outfits are usually fun
Armageddon Thru To You
If you've been wondering why it seems like the world around us is unraveling, it's because the last days as foretold in the bible are now upon us. Just as it was 2000 years ago, many were unable to discern the signs of Jesus Christ's first coming (Mat 16:3), as will many concerning his second coming, which will occur very soon. Yes many have proclaimed a similar sentiment many times in the past, but their errors have no bearing on today other than to lull you into spiritual apathy, and that too was prophesied to occur in the last days.
If you're not a believer in Jesus Christ because you're an atheist, consider that the underlying impetus for your disbelief is most likely borne of pride and here's why:
When we die, if you as an atheist were right, then there is no upside or downside for anyone regarding the afterlife. We will all simply cease to exist
However if we Christians were right about our belief in the afterlife, then we will be given eternal life and you as an atheist will receive eternal damnation
Given the choices, the position held by an atheist is a fools bet any way you look at it because the atheist has everything to lose and nothing to gain. It is tantamount to accepting a “heads I win, tails you lose” coin toss proposition from someone. And that someone by the way is Satan (see Ephesians 6:12).
The only way to explain the attitude held by an atheist is pride, pure and simple. The intellectually dishonest and/or tortured reasoning used by atheists to try and disprove the existence of God is nothing more than attempts to posture themselves as superior (a symptom of pride). And as anyone who has read their bible knows, this is precisely the character flaw that befell Lucifer, God's formerly most high angel. (Isaiah 14:12-15). Is it any wonder then why the bible is so replete with references to pride as the cause of mankind's downfall?
Pride permeates our lives and burdens us in ways that most of us seldom recognize. Ironically, pride is the one thing that can blind someone to things even the unsighted can see. And sadly pride will blind many with an otherwise good heart, to accepting the offer of eternal salvation that Christ bought and paid for with his life.
In any event, if you're an atheist, I wish you only the best for every day of the rest of your life because for you, this life is as close to heaven as you'll ever get, but for believers in Christ, this life is as close to hell as we'll ever get.
If you're not a believer and follower of Jesus Christ because you are of another faith, please take the time to very carefully compare your faith to Christianity and ask yourself, why is the bible the only religious book with both hundreds of proven prophecies already fulfilled as well as those being fulfilled today? No other religion can claim anything remotely close to this fact. Many Christians who are serious students of bible prophecy are already aware of the role and significance of bible prophecy in foretelling end time events. God gave us prophecy as evidence of his divine holiness to know the begining from the end (Isa 46:10). God also believed prophecy to be so important that to those willing to read the most prophetic book in the bible, the Book of Revelation, he promised a special blessing (see Rev 1:3), and this is the only book in the bible that God gives its reader a special blessing for reading. Something to think about.
Don't risk losing Christ's offer of eternal life by not accepting him as your savior and by thinking that the bible is nothing more than a compilation of unrelated and scattered stories about people who lived 2,000 plus years ago. If you take the time to study (not just read) the bible, you will literally be shocked to learn things you would have never imagined would be revealed in it. Did you know that like parables, God also uses particular months and days in the Jewish calendar, Jewish Feasts and customs, solar and lunar phases, celestial alignments, gematria (Hebrew numerology) early bible events and more as patterns and models to foretell future events?
Consider the following interesting facts about the bible that testify to its God-inspired authorship:
Did you know that in Gen 12:2, God said he would bless Israel?. How else can you explain the grossly disproportionate level of success achieved by Jewish people as a tiny minority in the world, especially after all they have gone through? And how can you explain the success achieved by the tiny nation of Israel, surrounded by enemies outnumbering them 100 to 1 and yet still they remain victorious in all their wars?
Did you know that as evidence to indicate that Israel is the epicenter of the world from God's point of view is the fact that languages to the west of Israel are written and read from left to right as if pointing to Israel, and languages from countries to the east of Israel are written and read from right to left, again as though pointing to Israel. Just a coincidence, you say? I think not.
Did you know that the six days of creation and seventh day of rest in Genesis is a model for the six thousand years of this age (ending very soon), that is to be followed by a 1,000 year millennial reign by Christ (see 2 Peter 3:8)? Adam was born sometime prior to 4000 B.C., therefore our 6000 years are almost up.
Did you kow that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hidden in the meaning of the Hebrew names listed in the genealogy of the book of Genesis (Research it online)? To deny this was God-inspired, one has to instead believe that a group of Jewish rabbis conspired to hide the Christian Gospel right inside a genealogy of their venerated Torah, which is not a very plausible explanation.
Did you know that solar eclipses, which the bible describes as the sun being black as sackcloth, and lunar eclipses, which the bible refers to as blood red moons, have prophetic meaning? Research it online. God showed Adam (and us) his plan for man's redemption through the use of celestial alignments. (research Mazzaroth online)
Did you know that much of the symbolism in the book of revelation refers to planetary alignments that will occur when certain events occur as prophesied? These planetary alignments also explained the birth of Christ, just search out The Bethlehem Star movie on the Internet.
Did you know that the references in Eze 39:4-17 and Rev 19:17-21 in the battle of Gog/Magog and Armageddon respectively, in which birds of prey will eat the flesh of the dead in battle from two enormous wars is based on fact? The largest bird migration in the world consisting of bilions of birds (34 species of raptors and various carrion birds) from several continents converge and fly over Israel every spring and fall. Coincidence? I think not.
Did you know that Hebrew numerology, also known as Gematria, and the numbers with biblical and prophetic significance are hidden in the Star of David? Google the video called "Seal of Jesus Christ"
Did you know that the seven Churches mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Revelation describe the seven stages the Church will go through?
There are literally hundreds of hidden messages in the bible like these that testify to the fact that the bible was God inspired. You can find them yourselves if you only take the time to look into it. Remember Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings".
And finally, if you are Catholic, or one who subscribes to the emergent Church or seeker-friendly Church movement, please compare the doctrine taught, advocated or accepted by your Church, with the actual bible, notwithstanding some new-age version of the bible. And remember that although the bible is often referred to as the living bible, the word "living" was never intended to imply in any way that the bible "evolves" over time to meet, or be consistent with, the standards of man. It's just the opposite.
Well, am I getting through to you? If not, the answer might be explained in the response given by Jesus Christ in his Olivet discourse when he was asked by his disciples why he spoke the way he did (in parables, etc.) in the book of Matthew 13:10-16. What Jesus said could have easily been paraphrased more clearly as "so that the damned won't get it". Why did Christ respond the way he did when asked why he spoke this way? Is there something about pride (the bible says there is) that closes one's heart to seeing or hearing the messages supernaturally hidden in bible parables, models, typologies, and similes, etc.? That should give you something to think about, but don't take too long. Time is now very short.
If it sometimes seems like there are powers at work behind the powers we know, remember what it says in Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." If you study the bible, it will become clearer.
And by the way, if you are a scoffer, this too was prophesied to occur in the last days. See 2 Peter 3:3.
Thank you and God Bless you!
Armageddon.thru.to.you@gmail.com
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Honestly, teens should stop reading them when their self-confidence already gets affected. There are teens who would develop self pity when looking at the pretty, thin models on magazines. They may sometimes indulge in bad eating habits to make themselves feel beautiful and pretty. That's definitely a bad thing and teens with these kind of problem should seek help.
Im 17 and dont read teen vogue... i agree its a better then many other teen magazines but i feel its ridclous to say magazine affect 'all' teenagers self esteem. every teenage gir reads magazines... most learn from them and aspire to the fashion trends. not every girl spends hours sobbing over an issue of teen vogue because they want to be Lauren Conrad... thats ridiculous and it almost is as if you are stereotyping teenagers... i know from personal experience from the age of 12 i have been cutting up every issue of glamour, vogue and stellar and creating mood boards and plastering my walls with the latest trends... im 17 now and am alive and well. i enoy reading magazines and i fell its my relaxing time. i dont feel teens feel they have to look like all the models in magazines i feel for most teens its merely the novetly of seeing the new fashion trends and makeup tips....
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