Fashion: Mag hag

Worn magazine calls itself a fashion journal. I call it a 45-page big “fuck you” to Anna Wintour. An irreverent mix of fashion textbook and zine, it’s the hipster’s answer to Vogue.

You’ll find no pompous fashion elitism here, none of this “black is the new grey” shit. Worn doesn’t talk down to the reader but instead encourages a personal sense of style. It’s hands-down my favourite magazine for right now (sorry kids, fashion is fickle), and one of those fantastic finds so great that you won’t want to share it with anyone. Instead, you’ll find yourself saying things like, “I’m sorry, it’s vintage,” or “I got it in New York.”

The book section “Books About Looks” is nicely summed up as “Read and reviewed so you don’t have to.” It includes fashion pictorials bearing names like “Mother Russia’s Orphans,” “Rushing The Season: Is February Too Soon To Go Sleeveless?” and “Questions For Dresses.” Worn possesses articles you’d actually want to read, with titles like “A Brief History Of Women’s Underwear” and “I Love Courtney Love And I Don’t Care Who Knows It,” not crap like “How To Satisfy Your Man In 10 Easy Steps.”

My absolute fab favourite feature is “This Shit Ain’t Free: The Beauty Guide.” While other magazine’s beauty sections are nothing more than thinly veiled product placements, columnist Bella B gives an honest and often humorous product review in addition to expert makeup application tips (such as “eyebrows to make Joan Crawford proud”).

Your run-of-the-mill fashion mag has multiconglomerate advertising with waif-thin soulless models. But Worn puts the fun back in fashion with proportions actually seen in nature. And does Vogue have a cartoon strip in the back? I think not. Which other fashion magazine can you name where advertising is kept to a minimum and content rules?

Worn Fashion Journal was founded by Serah-Marie McMahan about two years ago. If you want to treat yourself to this Canadian gem it is available at several locations in Toronto, including This Ain’t The Rosedale Library (483 Church St), for $6.95, or from the website Wornjournal.com. Unfortunately it only comes out twice a year, in spring and fall; the third issue is out now. Pity. Only in Canada, eh.

Sorry I can’t lend you my copy of Worn, I got it in New York — wink, wink, nudge, nudge.