Vogue

[Matt Deckard]

Boys, I think we're still beat.

I have bought the newest issue of Men's Vogue and have the previous one with George Clooney on the cover, though I guess I am just an odd ball because I like to read the articles and look at the ladies fashion more in the womens version. They just have more variety and the pictures are prettier to look at.

Men's fashion is still in a slump when it comes to variety, has been for the past 30 years. I think TV and movies has attributed alot to this. No uniformity, and if there is some it lasts for a very short period of time. Like the Von Dutch cap phenomenon, it came it caught on it left after a year. Mens fashion from my view wasn't fleeting as fast as it does today.

Anywho, pick up the new mens Vogue and give me your takes. I am pleased that it is more informative and keeps more on the topic of style and men's attire than GQ. Though I still prefer the women's mag (yes I am weird), though I know what I like to look at.

I hope someday Esquire will return to it's former glory. I have a collection of Esquire mags from the 30's and 40's and they trump anything sold today when it comes to issues for men and clothing and well... buy a few and see what I mean, even if just for the adverts.

For now I stick to Esquire UK and British GQ...

 

[Brad Bowers]

I bought the first issue last year, and went to the store when I saw the new one was out. I browsed through it, but decided not to spend the money this time, as we're on a pretty tight budget right now. If I had the discretionary income, I might have picked it up, but I didn't see enough to interest me this time.

Still, it's a start.

Brad

 

[MK]

.

They still don't get it. Most guys are not interested in skinny, unshaved gay looking Italian models.....unless you're gay. The majority of guys would rather see Eddie Bauer type models....in other words....manly men.

Unfortunately men's publications aim at seedy, low brow or health nuts. We don't have anything for the regular guy.

 

[Senator Jack]

I can't get it out of my head to get a classy men's magazine going. What I envision is something that has:

1) No photospreads of bimbo actresses/models
2) No stories on gadgets, video games, etc.
3) No reviews of rock records.
4) No war reports
5) No articles on how to last longer, fulfill women, etc.
6) No political articles
7) No advertisements featuring epicene men.

And the absolute last thing I'd want it to be is 'hip'.


I guess that doesn't leave much, does it?

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[John in Covina]

What's the target audience?

They still don't get it. Most guys are not interested in skinny, unshaved gay looking Italian models.....unless you're gay. The majority of guys would rather see Eddie Bauer type models....in other words....manly men.

Unfortunately men's publications aim at seedy, low brow or health nuts. We don't have anything for the regular guy.

***************
There is a certain style of narcisism that is being catered to with these magazines and at the same time they cater to the unsure and the uninformed, by presenting the hype and what the current Ideal is for men. 95% of the guys I know, have little or nothing in common with the fashion, fashion sense, or the concept of the Ideal male portrayed by these magazines. Some of the men's magazines today are so shallow in content, form and function, that they are incapable of being serious about serious things. And try to give seriousness to things that doen't deserve serious thought or consideration. Their concepts of "in depth" is glib and or hype. It is a printed pictoral version of the Power Rangers Show which is actually 30 minute commercial to sell toys. They are simply designed to Sell you something, the lengendary IT.

The media sells it and you live the role.

 

[scotrace]

I have both the first and second issues of Men's Vogue as well. The second issue was more Waif Italian Model filled than the first. The single page I liked in issue two was the photo of the herringbone linen golf trousers near the back.
Matt, you're 100% dead right. Esquire from the 30's and 40's is THE men's magazine. I have several, and learn something every time I pick one up. They actually feature photo essays on "with this suit, wear this tie, these socks, these shoes..." The excellent, practical, usable information in them changed my whole thinking on men's styles of that time and what I want to wear now. It truly was the epitome, and almost any of it can easily be pulled into 2006 and look grand. The current Land's End catalog, for example, features similar checked and striped (though not similarly styled) shirts. Men's shoes have changed little, really, and if you find the right pants and jacket (a full suit is probably too much to ask), you can pull it off. Add gloves, hat, umbrella and the ever-present binocular case, and you're there.
Buy Esquire Magazine, gentlemen, in any condition, about 1936 - 1947, and you have everything you need to know at hand. The modern version is for ninnies with nothing better on which to blow seven clams.

 

[Mycroft]

Matt I am with you the British GQ is great and longer by at least half of the American one. Though I do get Details and GQ (American) becuase they help me keep up on things that I do not generally interst me like sports or video games, I think it part of the current culture. Anyhow, I would love a real man's magazine with great articles. One thing I hate is all the ADS!, I know the magizine's need them, but I hate them. Though the Men's Vogue is ok, I like the Arsenal Section the best.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yeah, i picked up the new Men's Vogue. It contains pretty much the same garbage as the first one. Look at these rich guys. Don't you want to look like them? Well frankly .. No. And i certainly don't want to pay the prices that they evidently do

I also went for the British Esquire with the fashion section in the back. I am horrified by what Esquire has become. I'd only seen the 30s 40s ones before i went to get this new one. I want to read about men's fashions ... not about what a "kinky place" Sharon Stone is coming from during the filming of the next Basic Instinct. I felt positively embarrassed when i took that rag up to the check out. If i want soft core porn i'll buy some soft core porn. I don't expect to have to put up with it when i want to read about clothes. Lowest common denominator sells copy, i guess ...

I quite like the models they use. But then, i'm not a manly man.

bk (confirmed, unrepentant narcissist)

 

[The Wolf]

Senator Jack, I'm sure the magazine publishers think you just don't "get it" but I like your idea for a magazine more than what I see out there.

I noticed that even men's health magazines feel that they have to include a "how to have the best sex ever" article in every issue.

On the whole, though, men's magazine are better than most women's magazines. My wife commented that men's magazines don't talk down to the reader but many women's magazine do!

I still buy a variety of men's magazines because good articles are still being written but it seems like they are being surrounded by more junk.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

P.S. A pet peeve is having 40 pages of ads before the first half of the contents pages and 15 more before the second contents page.

 

[MK]

Big time

P.S. A pet peeve is having 40 pages of ads before the first half of the contents pages and 15 more before the second contents page.

Hate that.

 

[John in Covina]

Problematic items in todays magazines!

fftopic:

First; an article that has the last portion spread over 4 or more pages of single columns that have "con't on page xx" about 5 times. Any time you have to flip 4 times to finish the last paragraph.

Second: too many mail in cards! You flip thru the magazine and every 20 pages is some kind of subscription card. It sounds like: fop, fop, fop, fop, fop, fop! Done!

3rd: Politicalyl assumtive writers and interviewees. I don't need a twenty something writer or inteviewee lecturing me in politics or what ever "cause celeb" you are involved in, chances are it only makes you look more VAPID.
Articles that are diguised political statements.

Fourth: Sex is not a spectator sport, PERIOD!

Fifth: Alot of out of theme advertising.

:rage:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

These are some interesting points. Some i agree with (in terms of hating) others not. On the ad thing: I've recently had a bunch of 30s Apparel Arts on interlibrary loan. The first 80 (eighty!) pages, at least, are ads. But the ads from 1932 are excellent. Well painted, unique pieces of ART! I love it. And the last 30 pages are ads too. In between, articles about people succumbing to "go-withoutism" or other such diseases. Go-withoutism, by the way, is when someone decides not to wear a tie or hat. The author casually refers to these people and communists in the same sentence. Wonderful.

On the cards: Next time, note where the cards are placed. I found (in The Atlantic, at least) that the style of card correlated quite nicely with the ads on the pages between which the card was placed. Style meaning, whether the card was trumping what you could get free by subscribing, or not mentioning that at all and appealing to the intellectual who cares not about such matters, but is only interested in getting a fine magazine. These things are placed strategically. It's really quite fascinating.

bk

 

[Feraud]

They still don't get it. Most guys are not interested in skinny, unshaved gay looking Italian models.....unless you're gay. The majority of guys would rather see Eddie Bauer type models....in other words....manly men.

Unfortunately men's publications aim at seedy, low brow or health nuts. We don't have anything for the regular guy.

lol :eusa_clap That is right!

I agree with all the comments made in this thread. The current men's magazine stink! The models, clothes, articles, etc. are boring! I stopped my subscriptions as soon as I realized I was letting the magazines sit on my desk until I placed them in the recycle pile!

What is today's (real) man to do? Is there a market for a traditional men's magazine? Would it go over as well as a "Men's Only" club? I can see a magazine like this starting small and slow but having real potential to grow.

 

[Senator Jack]

Posted by Baron Kurtz:
Look at these rich guys. Don't you want to look like them? Well frankly .. No. And i certainly don't want to pay the prices that they evidently do

Funny how as of late I've been finding that the rich guys want to look like me. Till a few years ago I was looked upon as a crackpot, and now I have lawyers, stockbrokers, etc., stopping me and and asking 'where'd you get that suit, where'd you get that hat?' In fact I was in Brooks Brothers one day and a salesman asked about my style and where I got everything and I joked 'Why, do you need a buyer?' When I left, I realized that they do need a buyer.

Like Feraud, I too have wondered if there's a market for this sort of magazine. But then I think that question is answered when one realizes there's no market for class any more. However, as it is a hole that seriously needs to be filled, I should think the venture worth quite the serious discussion.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[shamus]

I see a catch 22 here.

Manly men really don't care about modern fashion, or else they wouldn't be manly men. So they don't buy fashion magazines.

And advertisers wouldn't make a special ads just for one publication...with more "hetero-sexual" looking males for the manly man. Unless you can talk the fashion houses to buy ads that are 40+ years old... which would be cool, but pointless for them.

Personally, I think the best mens magazine that covers music, fashion, trends and the like without the crap is Playboy. It's consistant. Pick up a playboy from the 50/60s and it's pretty much the same as today. Hugh got it right and that's why it's still the best.

 

[John in Covina]

For the....Articles!

Personally, I think the best mens magazine that covers music, fashion, trends and the like without the crap is Playboy. It's consistant. Pick up a playboy from the 50/60s and it's pretty much the same as today. Hugh got it right and that's why it's still the best.

************
This has always been a long running joke, about getting Playboy "for the Articles" but it was true in the past, they had some great articles in every magazine.

The thing is we have gaps in what is important as the decades increase, but for many a guy in his forties or fifties often comes into a bit more diposable income and so it makes sense to cater to his needs. Few 20 year olds actually buy the high end cars unless a lawyer or a gangster or a celebraty.

The idea is if you can give a good account for: quality, for a sense of adventure, excitement, travel to exotic locals, having fun and not always being a snob about it or seeking out only what's increadibly difficult or expensive to obtain. Then you can make a play for the older guy. Cigar Aficionado, especially in the beginning, reeked of these pleasures that were not out of reach for every one. They didn't always nail you with a millionaires dream vaction every time. Wine Spectator would also come to mind, especially when they do a top restaurant list for Las Vegas. A great meal in Vegas, that is do-able by most every one, with a little saving and some reading, you can get a meal that you and who ever you bring with will talk about for months to come.

I am having a hard time describing the way it should be but there are examples out there of what it can be. Some really good articles on the styles that our vintage crew looks for can possibly influence segments of the market, perhaps expand the line up of producers willing to do a vintage style now and again. Or bring to light more of those that do so but haven't been discovered yet. It would be fun to tie together Vintage, current, the concepts of quality and a little touch of luxury to come up with a Lifestyle periodical to make that come true. The examination of possiblities continues!

 

[John in Covina]

Manly men really don't care about modern fashion, or else they wouldn't be manly men. So they don't buy fashion magazines.

*********
Sort of true, most men may not buy fashion magazines but will make some type of effort when forced to buy a suit, to select what they like or seems to look reasonably well on them. They will try on suits not simply to see if it fits. So they do care about fashion, just not in a magazine buying way. For the most part.

AND, we do get some fashion advertisement when we are say Sunday paper readers or regular weekly / dailey readers. Many newspaper have mens fashions in advertisments.SO we aren't in a total vacuum all the time. Well except for some guys.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

What we really need is a fashion magazine that encourages men to buy second hand. Get over the squeamishness and societal looking down upon shopping in Goodwill etc. For some reason, a man being forced to buy a suit that he'll wear maybe once a year is prepared to pay HUNDREDS of dollars for some crappy polyester abomination. He could've got that (deadstock) in Goodwill, & saved a pile o' money. Gents, we're a society of money-wasters. The magazines are there not to educate us; simply to make us spend more - preferably on credit.

This, by the way, would be the title of my magazine: "Buy Second Hand, Save Money, then go on Holiday Wearing Your Purchases" (catchy, no?) ... Brooks Brothers and all their ilk would (rightly) be out of business within a year of launching. This magazine would also discourage the use of credit cards. "Live within your means" would be the refrain of my menswear magazine. Perhaps a subtitle ...

bk

 

[scotrace]

Manly men really don't care about modern fashion, or else they wouldn't be manly men. So they don't buy fashion magazines...*snip*...And advertisers wouldn't make a special ads just for one publication...with more "hetero-sexual" looking males for the manly man.

It seems a little sweeping to say "manly men" don't follow fashion. I think you're talking about the wife-beater shirt type manly man, who is unreachable and who gives a damn that they are? Even Harley guys (who are typically quite well-to-do professionals) spend thousands getting their look right. Of course there's a wide gap between "fashion" and "style."
Men of any age or outlook like to look good, and many men of any age are uncertain how to go about it. The questions posted here are a sterling example. "What color hat do I wear with.... Where can I find gloves like.... how do I tie my tie so that.... Where do I find a topcoat with....?"
Especially today, young men probably don't get guidance from their fathers or other role models on dressing appropriately. Maybe in 12th grade, a local business person will come and speak to a class about dressing for interviews. "be clean, wear a tie." What good is that? Where else can they get guidance? The Fab Five?
I really think that there's a market not being served. A magazine of solid advice, how-to information at all levels (from how to iron a shirt to how to deal with a hat on an airplane (Playboy was good at this stuff at one time. Stuff like "how much to tip at a fine restaurant." Do they still do that?) Advice on being a man who stands above the unwashed masses. A man who, on a sensible budget, is appreciated by women because he has so many deisrable, chivalrous - and lost - skills and traits.
Obviously, a magazine is needed that looks like The Fedora Lounge.
I'd be the first to apply for a staff position! (and doubtless sent away empty-handed)

 

[J. M. Stovall]

They still don't get it. Most guys are not interested in skinny, unshaved gay looking Italian models.....unless you're gay.

"...not that there's anything wrong with that!" Jerry Seinfeld