It's Another Sweet September for Fashion Mags

Vogue, Others Fatter Than 2006, but Ad Pages for Rest of Year Remain Uncertain

By Nat Ives

Published: August 13, 2007

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Fall issues, and September in particular, have again proved golden for many magazines this year. That's good news for publishers, whose bosses are by now getting a pretty good idea how 2007 as a whole will turn out. Those big issues will likely help the industry end the year on par with 2006.

Oh, so you noticed we’re nearly midway through August, which means the September glossies are lining the shelves on Barnes & Noble? Perhaps you’ve even carted a few home, or had your doorman drop them off outside your apartment door like a civilized person.

Either way, you’ve come to understand what your Equinox membership has really been good for all summer long: Not to look good poolside in Southampton, but to train for carting your stash of fat, shiny September titles to your sofa for afternoons of perusal. But just how fat are this month’s offerings? We sent Intern Joseph to a few (dozen) Duane Reades and CVSs to find out.

Allure - 282
Cosmopolitan - 306
Details - 338
Elle - 592
Esquire - 252
Glamour - 418
GQ - 184
InStyle - 184
Lucky - 376
Marie Claire - 306
Martha Stewart Living - 256
Men’s Health - 364
O, The Oprah Magazine - 376
Oxygen - 160
Town & Country - 136
Stuff - 140
Vanity Fair - 415
Vogue - 840

Conclusions:

• It’s no wonder why Stuff is folding.
• Details is looking mighty chubby. Not good for any gays we know.
• Of Vogue’s 840 pages, 727 are ads, or: 13 percent is editorial.