Thursday Favorite Things: I love big fat magazines

No, this isn't a real magazine, but isn't it funny?

Ah, yes.  It's that time of year when magazines like Vogue and InStyle trot out their biggest issue of the year--the much-anticipated and revered September issue.

These are the issues that are roughly the size of the Sears Roebuck catalogues of my childhood.  And I love 'em!

My love affair with magazines

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My love affair with magazines actually began when I was a little girl and my parents were missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon.

My mom subscribed to several children's magazines for us, including Jack & Jill, Calling All Girls (later titled Young Miss and then YM), and a small Christian magazine I loved called Young Pilot.

When we returned to the states in 1967, I was just about to enter puberty, and was already beginning an avid interest in fashion and beauty (although I looked a mess.  The junior high years were NOT kind to me!)

Seventeen magazine was 50 cents then, and I remember cleaning the kitchen for my newly-married sister in exchange for a copy of the magazine!

I think at one point my mom even let me subscribe to Ingenue, and I bought Teen  Magazine with whatever pocket money I could earn or plead for.

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I still love magazines, but....

What is it about fashion magazines that I love so much?

Some may complain that they're mostly ads, but that's one of the main things I love about them?  I look at every ad.  I love the slick pages with the gorgeous ladies and handsome men, and sometimes I don't even notice what product they're touting.

Here's the deal, though.  For a person on a budget, magazines aren't a terrific investment.

They're expensive.  And honestly, after I read whatever articles I want to read, I'm pretty much done with them.  Then you have the problem of whether to store them, try to give them away or junk them.

Not only that, but you can get most of the info online.

So I try to avoid the temptation at the grocery store register to buy another magazine.

I content myself with a subscription to InStyle Magazine.  Not only do I get the glossy ads, but there are fashions I would actually wear (as opposed to the high-fashion couture which is often more than slightly bizarre), and the magazine remains politically neutral--a trait I value.

There are even practical articles about skin care, hair, decorating tips and recipes.

And you can bet I'm looking forward to that September issue, which should be arriving any day now.  The bigger and fatter, the better!

P.S. Note that both these vintage magazine covers feature the beautiful Colleen Corby.  She was a top print model during my childhood.

Join me for Thursday Favorite Things, hosted by Katherine's Corner!