Looks nice, but reads like a dead elephant! (Harper's Bazaar)

Member Name: Jozeyu

Product:	Harper's Bazaar
Date:	02/04/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice ads, colourful and arty, free gifts + perfume

Disadvantages: You'll regret reading anything they write, seriously.

I absolutely hate fashion magazines with a passion, yet I have a year's subscription to Harper's Bazaar. Why? Because as an artist, this magazine delivers the visual goods!

I'll be honest - I'm not a girly girl. I don't give into this whole 'look like a model' complex that's plaguing the world, so the idea of hundreds of pages advertising makeup and cute outfits really doesn't appeal to me (and nor should it to you!). But there was that one fateful day I was sat at the hairdresser's feeling unoccupied, so I reached for the pile of magazines.
They were just as I expected, and didn't make for an entertaining read (or look) at all. But then I found a copy of Vogue, and... I became entranced by a colourful advert. Yes, that's right. That happens to artists sometimes. This copy of Vogue had loads of other beautiful ads too, and I wondered if I could find a magazine or book DEDICATED to bringing me these wonderful works every month.

...No, I never found that magazine. So I settled for Harper's Bazaar instead.

First published a whopping 142 years ago, Bazaar is the ladies' choice for fashion news and shopping. Well... it was, up until around 1930 when the world itself took a turn for the worse in regards to women's appearances. I own the collection of issues (in book form) from 1867 to 1898, and they're a damn sight better than anything churned out of publishing houses these days. Good ol' Victorian fashion!

So, the truth of the matter is that I love Bazaar for the completely wrong reasons. People hate how much advertising this mag has - but the ads are what I love! Beautiful colours, nice clothes, great locations, great ideas... they all spark me as inspiration for future projects. Granted, they tend to print a few of the nicest ads at least six times throughout the year but more often than not each issue has lovely new content - a differently themed photo shoot for example, which is great!

Now, onto the quality of the articles. After having read several dozens by now, my verdict is: Absolute rubbish, and I could care less. I can't even see top celebrities reading this stuff, but perhaps I'm wrong. The attitude of Bazaar's writers is the direct incarnate of everything I detest - the 'spend your money on cosmetic surgery' and 'how to choose your next really really expensive yet tacky looking bag' attitude. All girly magazines have it to an extent, it's just how corrupt the media is today. The difference with Bazaar is that it's expensive products as opposed to more affordable ones. Don't fall for it, girls!

So, any REAL good points about this mag? ...No. Oh, wait! They let you try out expensive perfume via those little sniffy (as in, you peel back and sniff) pages. I'm quite impressed at how they manage to make the product smell like what it's called.
In addition, though it still relates back to advertising in a way, some issues actually present fashions that are wearable and appealing. In the 'shop' section of the mag they cram so many clothes into one page it's hard not to have a seizure at first, but quite a few times I've found designs that I like.

Summary: Oh, how the mighty magazine has fallen...