Where have you been all my life, Worn magazine?

Fashion magazines are like peoples’ taste in their mates, sure there's certain common ground that the bulk of us strive to find, but ultimately it is the uniqueness of an individual, or a fashion mag, that draws us to it beyond the initial infatuation stage.

For many years now I’ve test drive magazines of all sorts, a good chunk of which centred around the fashion universe. Though there are a couple of glossies I subscribe to year round, the majority of magazines that cross my threshold do so on a trial basis. As in love, once burned, doubly cautious.

Having scrutinized my taste in magazines rather meticulously – and having brought home copies, at one point or another, of most fashion spreads that the North American market has to offer – I’ve come to understand what it is that I want, and expect, from a fashion publication.

Ideally I long for glossies that neither assume I’m a jet-set millionaire or a fashion idiot who wouldn’t know toile from tulle. I prefer fashion mags to centre around fashion (as opposed to, say, scores of pages of useless celebrity gossip or reams on the latest “It Diet”), a concept that I think fewer and fewer publications are staying in touch with. I like a magazine to feature real women in addition to the usual slew of lithe, taller than a giraffe models. I’m 5’2” and a curve bedecked hourglass with a petite frame, I have never, and will never, feel like I can see myself in something a magazine is promoting if the woman wearing it looks like Barbie after five hours on a medieval rack.

I like a hearty dose of imagery and intelligently written articles on a broad range of topics that actually relate to the kind of clothing that I wear and/or love, and a magazine that’s not afraid to find its own voice (and though this should go without saying, spell checking is an absolute must! Now I don’t claim that my writing is typo free, but there’s a substantial difference between being a one woman blogging show and a nationally syndicated magazine with a whole staff behind it – Nylon, I’m looking at you in particular when I mention this point). Creativity is a must, and diversity throughout an issue is a big plus.

My criteria is not impossible to fulfill, though the market is not exactly heavily saturated with publications that met my fashion magazine expectations. A couple of beloved titles aside, it seems that the hunt for further glossies to inspire my sartorial tastes is an ongoing adventure. It was with great excitement then I recently read a copy of a heretofore unknown to me Canadian fashion magazine by the name of Worn.

Published biannually out of Toronto, this independent publication, while not the largest (in terms of page numbers) of spreads, is by far one of the finest I’ve ever encountered. To say that Worn is nothing short of a breath of fresh air in a world of chain smoking fashion magazines would scarcely be doing it justice.
While issue number nine is the first I’ve had the pleasure of reading, if those that proceeded it and those that lay in store are to be judged on the same merits, Worn may be one of the few fashion magazines that I’ve ever fallen in love with after reading just one copy.


{Worn’s ninth issue sports one of their very own, Kate the copy editor (who did a marvellous job with this edition, may I add) on the cover.}


Worn, which bills itself as a “fashion journal”, feels just like that. Refreshingly its pages are not comprised mainly of ads, nor is it filled with the same sort of articles we’ve all read elsewhere about seven thousand times this year alone. In this edition many of the topics covered have a decidedly vintage feel to them that would make Worn a welcome read for anyone with a passion for old school style.

From an interview with renowned fashion collector, expert, author and museum curator hopeful Jonathan Walford (and his partner in vintage fashion collecting Kenn Norman), whose book Fashion Forties takes pride of place on my vintage related bookshelf, to a frank and excellently written piece on the legendary Italian muse (and all around wildly eccentric fashionista of yesteryear) Marchesa Luisa Casati, the fascinating articles in this edition of Worn ensured that I consumed it cover-to-cover in one sitting.

I did not rush through my time with this publication in the slightest though, instead I savoured each one of its 44 pages, adoring the fact that Worn spoke not only about vintage fashion, but also featured real world models, mentioned (and shot some of their images in) Toronto, and left me truly wanting more. Though 44 pages may not sound like much in a world of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar behemoth sized glossies, I gleamed more enjoyment from those well crafted and beautifully presented (nearly ad free) pages than I have from all the fashion magazines I’ve read in 2009 combined – hands down.

Worn is the kind of magazine you wish was published as frequently as the daily newspaper. While the paper version itself does only come out twice a year, those like myself who instantly find they’re craving more of all the insightful, fascinating goodness Worn has to offer can get their fix from the magazine’s frequently updated blog.

I fully believe in promoting both indie designers and indie publications, and so wanted to share my first encounter with Worn with you, my readers – especially since the current edition covers a broad array of vintage fashion related topics. I sincerely plan to keep on reading Worn and am definitely going to grab a subscription for myself. After a year of dismally lacklustre fashion magazines and the articles they housed (if I see one more piece toting the merits of boyfriend jeans and leather-look leggings I’m going to start throwing vintage shoes at the mainstream mags), Worn has given me a publication to eagerly look forward to reading in 2010.

If you’re interested in trying Worn out for a spin yourself, copies can be obtained from their website and etsy shop, as well small selection of online retailers and better bookstores across North America and abroad.

Thank you, Worn, for creating the sort of insightful, relevant, enjoyable fashion magazine I’m proud to leave out on my coffee table, happily rereading with gusto until your next stellar edition appears and I can fall even more in love with you!