Is GIRLS Right About Advertorials Sucking?

I was conflicted in last week's episode of GIRLS. Not about Marnie and Ray's hookup fest but about Hannah Horvath's disdain for advertorials. I mean are advertorials that bad? I guess I don't even notice them when I read print magazines, so I can't fairly judge their journalistic quality (they're usually lists with tiny photos or a collage of products right?), but when it comes to digital brand content, the line between editorial and advertising blur much much more. 

Credit: HBO/Craig Blankenhorn

In the last two years, there has been an exodus of Fashion Magazine Editors migrating to retailers like J.Crew, Artizia and Kate Spade to develop their brand content offering, which typically includes a blog or digital magazine and an active social media presence. I recently downloaded ASOS's Fashion Up app, which is a monthly interactive magazine filled with fashion editorial spreads, trend spotting, interviews and how-to tutorials. 

If ASOS's Fashion Up app is the direction brand content is heading, then Hannah shouldn't be so down on herself for writing on behalf of brands. I mean her "stories" could fit so well for the handful of hipster brands targeting the Brooklyn-dwelling 20-something year old. I'm hoping in tonight's episode, Hannah gets herself together.

Does Being "Big In Japan" Still Matter?

My awesome coworker Nick picked me up my favorite Japanese fashion magazines ViVi and Glamorous on his recent trip to Tokyo. I can thank my fashion-obsessed girlfriends Hannah and Tiff for getting me hooked on these magical retail bibles, which has helped me through many layovers in Narita airport. I remember as a teenager thinking how fashion-forward the Japanese were--leopard skin tights (no way!) or neon windbreakers (can't be!)... but the Japanese were always somehow ahead of the times when it came to trends.

As I excitedly flipped through the pages of my new magazines, I started to realize... I'VE SEEN ALL THESE TRENDS BEFORE. But where? ON THE INTERNET. THAT'S WHERE. With fashion bloggers growing like weeds and tumblrs reblogging images like the way I consume bubble tea--fashion trends are spreading globally + rapidly. It's probably why fashion trends more recently (color blocking, studded leather jackets, etc.) seem repetitive and recycled, because everyone is beginning to dress the same. The Japanese are dressing like the French who are dressing like New Yorkers who are dressing like the Brits who are dressing like L.A. who is dressing like the Japanese?

As the globalization of fashion continues it will become harder and harder to distinguish style by geography. Street fashion in Tokyo may look like the streets of Orlando, Florida (okay maybe not). The worst part is if you're trying NOT to be trendy, you may just be mistaken for being uber trendy--talking to you hipsters!

Magazines, A Girl's Best Friend

Every boyfriend should know the best way to pacify their girlfriend is to give her a stack of magazines, particularly Fashion magazines. THAT should keep her busy for a few hours. Well, what do you know, I came home tonight to a 6-inch stack of September issues of Vanity Fair, Lucky, Entertainment Weekly, Nylon, Fast Company, NY Mag, People Style Watch and Cosmopolitan, which definitely shut me up for more than a few hours.

Although I'm a sucker for magazines, the only time I buy them is when I'm at an airport waiting for a layover flight, but when I see them in doctor's offices, laying on people's coffee tables or in the cashier aisle at Duane Reade, I can't help but pick it up and flip through it like a kid on candy withdraw. Flipping page by page, my eyes scan the ads, pictures, spreads for "things". These "things",  I now realize are the "cool beautiful things I want".

I might be part of the small percentage of females that don't online shop, ever. I'm not on Gilt or Banana or Zappos. I do not do the online shopping. So today when I felt the familiar urge to want something new and beautiful, it felt exciting. As a teenager I would clip out my favorite fashion spreads or dresses or jewelry out of magazines and make collages. I know there's digital versions of that like Polyvore and Tumblr--digital versions of collecting images that inspire you--but it just doesn't feel the same, feels almost forgetful or lost with the billions of images stored in the cloud. Which is why I still keep a sketchbook overflowed with clippings, stickers, cards, etc. next to my bed. 

With the increasing reliance on your Facebook and Twitter "anchoring" communities to feed you content--the content often feels repetitive and old. I admit that it felt refreshing to read features in Fast Company about David Lauren, neuromarketing and China's high school system. These are topics I probably wouldn't have otherwise stumbled upon online (unless I followed @FastCompany, which I do now). My point is, I respect publications that make an effort to curate good stories, topics and photo spreads, and there is magic left in print after all.