Help a non-Cosmo girl find a good magazine

For run-of-the-mill American fashion magazines, i definitely recommend both http://www.instyle.com/instyle/flash (an empasis on U.S. celebrity and what they are wearing, with lots of fashion and make-up that is not too haute or intimidating) and http://www.luckymag.com/ (with an emphasis on stores and bargains, but lots of feasible fashion options for the average working-girl) because neither magazines editorialize too much, or hawk fashion that the average 20-40-something would not wear. btw, Elle stopped being remotely good after like 1990.

if I really want something I can just copy it. I'm looking for ideas, tips, and inspiration, really. Ah, in that case, Lucky may very well be a good option for you. They'll take a particular trend -- say, Victorian blouses or pencil skirts -- and show pages of variations on that theme, or they'll show one item (say, a jersey dress) and show 4 or 5 distinctly different ways to wear it (with different layers, accessories, etc). Since you can sew and knit (I clench my fists in envy!), you'll have lots to choose from.

I get almost all the magazines out there on the market today. And I love and hate them all. Glamour and Self probably the only ones that I don't hate in the last bit (although Self is more fitness/health/beauty than fashion). For your question, it depends on what you're looking for- Allure is great for beauty/makeup advice (and totally obnoxious breathy worshipy cover stories of celebrities you already hate). I get Lucky, but like others have said, it just makes me want things I don't really need and can't really afford (plus I'm still pissed they want back on their original promise from waaay back in the day to never put celebs on their cover). In Style feels a little too "old" for me, and is more flash than subtance (no real articles- just pictures of outfits too rich for my blood). Marie Claire, Elle, boring, boring. If you were me looking for a fashion magazine, I would make an uncommon recommendation and tell you to get Seventeen. I am not even joking. Since Atoosa took over, it's gotten really down to earth, practical, and best of all, AFFORDABLE (it's stuff any teen could afford and buy at the mall. I'm not a teen, but I'm cheap and I like to see affordable versions of trendy looks). A yearly subscription is ridiculously cheap, $10 at the most, I'd check it out if I was you.

Honestly, I'm kindof a fan of Glamour. They seem to balance the beauty stuff with actual life-advice. There's sex stuff but it's not as in-your-face or ridiculous as Cosmo.

I love Allure, it is great for little fashion tricks and tips. Not high intellectual reading though. For that, I turn to Vogue, W, and InStyle--but I'm also obsessed with photography, design and couture. Domino and Lucky are great, but focus on shopping and style...I still like them. I just bought a subscription to Blueprint (A Martha Stewart Mag...it's brand new)

Bust. For women with something to get off their chests. It's smart, it's feminist-y, it's got thoughtful articles, but it doesn't make you feel guilty for wanting to look cute and buy things and it still manages to throw in celebrity interviews and album reviews.

Gotta go with some of the others and turn in my votes for Oprah (great price for the subscription) and Real Simple. Both do a good job of covering all the bases for me. But, I just could be getting older, too. *sigh*

This is probably useless to you, but in Australia Madison and Yen are good.

Whenever I'm at my parents' house I find myself reading my mother's copies of http://www.more.com/more/?_requestid=211308&_requestid=211308. It's intended for "women over 40," but I find this just means "fashionable clothes that aren't weird or tacky," plus it assumes that you've had a little life experience. I also like the articles about women who have started new careers or done interesting things with their lives while well into adulthood. I've got a few years to go before 40, but I've never felt like I was reading a mag for someone older than me. It just has a grown-up attitude and models who aren't 17.