I remember the first time I saw a copy of Glamour magazine. It was on the floor of my cousin’s bedroom, I was 14. Not exactly the target audience but something clicked.
For years Glamour was the magazine I bought. I collected every issue and stacked them by my bed (they got thrown out by my dad when I went to uni).
Women’s magazines seem to be dying out – there used to be dozens, now there’s about four.
And Glamour won’t be among them monthly anymore. An announcement that “Britain’s No 1 Women’s Magazine” is going to only be published biannually has stirred up the internet. Even it’s own columnists (Juno Dawson, Dawn O’Porter among them) have spoken out in sadness.
Magazines are weird – basically disposable books (recycle them please) that come out monthly and cover fashion, beauty, feminism, world events, culture, books, films, TV, interviews, celebrity news and gossip – it’s a lot to pack in.
I kind of understand the thinking – as we move everything online people aren’t buying magazines any more. You can get similar content online instantly, not in monthly chunks. So a twice yearly release plus a “digital first” policy sort of makes sense.
But it is sad. October’s issue (actually November’s because of the weird way magazines date themselves) a special 200th edition, is sat next to me, along with the other magazines I read (Blogosphere, Bust, Bitch, Rock n Roll Bride).
Part of me wishes I still had my Glamour archive, it would be quite impressive now. Especially as now it’s going to be a rare purchase but those long ago copies are definitely now recirculating as recycled paper products.
I don’t keep my copies anymore – the loss of my original 50 or so put me off. But Glamour will still always mean something to me, just as that early copy on my cousin’s floor did.
