I feel odd having to justify my readership of teen vogue to my friends. I am, after all, still a teenager (just). It's not that though, really, is it? It's because popular opinion and culture dictate that teen magazines are for young girls to acclimatise them to the world of glossies before they are bumped up to the big gals mags in their late teens. By now I should be reading Cosmo, Cleo, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Elle and, of course, Vogue. Not still dipping my feet into the world of slumber parties, boarding school and PG movies like the teen vogue ladies.
Well, i do read those magazines, or most of them anyway. In fact I probably single-handledly support the foreign magazine shipping industry of Australia, the amount of glossies I buy each month. I buy them because I love them, each and every one. Every magazine has a different view point - Vogue Paris with its leather-clad warriors, Elle UK's High street round up, Harper's UK is the sleekest designed book on the planet, Vogue Australia is bright, airy and perfectly formed. I don't understand why society constantly desires everyone to be pigeonholed into one area - style, lifestyle choices, sexuality, food, movies, books - how come a girl can love action and romcom but not be able to read both Vogue and Cosmopolitan without incurring some sort of eye-squinting disbelief?
I read Teen Vogue. I don't just buy it and flick through, I read it cover to cover. Sure, the articles are only 1 page long and skim over issues like a pebble on a river, but i think it must be recognised that they DO talk about serious issues for teenagers in a real way. Not in the laughable 'dolly doctor' way, but a no-nonsense, facts only way that is actually helpful if you a worried little slip of a young thing (which i half was, really). I read Teen Vogue now because it is so damn cute - the fashion is wholesome and happy. There is no shock factor, no nudity or needless titillation. It's not trying to be anything other than fashion for young girls to feel - and look - great in. It's clothes, clothes, clothes, cute boys and clear skin. Everything I WISH my formative years could have been. Oh, how I would have dressed had I been faced with the babydoll dress over tee shirts and little wedges and socks clad girls of Teen Vogue rather than Rolling Stone and Empire.
I read Teen Vogue. I don't just buy it and flick through, I read it cover to cover. Sure, the articles are only 1 page long and skim over issues like a pebble on a river, but i think it must be recognised that they DO talk about serious issues for teenagers in a real way. Not in the laughable 'dolly doctor' way, but a no-nonsense, facts only way that is actually helpful if you a worried little slip of a young thing (which i half was, really). I read Teen Vogue now because it is so damn cute - the fashion is wholesome and happy. There is no shock factor, no nudity or needless titillation. It's not trying to be anything other than fashion for young girls to feel - and look - great in. It's clothes, clothes, clothes, cute boys and clear skin. Everything I WISH my formative years could have been. Oh, how I would have dressed had I been faced with the babydoll dress over tee shirts and little wedges and socks clad girls of Teen Vogue rather than Rolling Stone and Empire.
But that is, of course, another story completely.
I'm looking forward to this month's Teen Vogue more than ever. Karlie Kloss is on the cover embodying everything that Teen Vogue stands for - the teenage super model super star. I remember when they put Gemma Ward on their cover in 2006, the first model ever, and she was fresh-faced and lovely and bright as a star. I still have that editorial stuck up on my wall. It meant a lot for me to read about a girl, an Australian girl no less, who achieved dreams and travelled and saw the world through perseverance and hard work. I don't harbour any aspirations to become a model, but teen vogue is always inspiring and upbeat - pushing you to follow dreams, carve out your destiny and make something of yourself. So what if it's a little trite and manufactured, it's certainly a much more reassuring message than some other magazines out there. Teen Vogue makes you feel good about yourself.
And what's the problem in that?
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