Fall has arrived

The seasons have changed, and it is now fall. How do I know this? My mailbox is stuffed to overflowing with giant issues of Glamour and InStyle and bookstore shelves are groaning with the new offerings. Here is a selection of magazines I recently bought or came to my door.

As you can see, the InStyle magazine is the thickest of all the magazines. I'm not sure if there's actually more content, or the the ads have just exponentially increased. I have to admit that I'm getting a little bored with InStyle and so won't be renewing my subscription when it comes up for renewal in the fall. It's still a magazine I have to read, but I don't think it's one that I need to read every month.

As you can probably guess from the title, InStyle is about what clothes to wear to be, well, in style. It's mostly a bunch of photos of the new fall clothes and suggestions on what to pair them with. They also have articles on hair and beauty tips as well. Generally, it's a pretty good publication and I enjoy it. The clothes, of course, are too expensive for mere mortals to buy, but presumably one can find the knock-offs down at the local mall.

Where InStyle kind of lost it for me this month was at the end, in the story about designers Dolce and Gabbana and their spacious villa on the Italian coast. After looking through nearly 500 pages of clothes I can't afford, the last thing I wanted to hear about was some designer's summer palace! That said, while the location may be beautiful, the inside style of the mansion is pretty ugly - for designers, they don't have very good taste! (See the photo on page 577 of the guest bedroom tiled in solid gold.)

Of the fashion magazines I do get, I think I prefer Glamour. It is less snarky than MarieClaire, and a lot less sex-focused than Cosmo (which really just repeats the same articles under different titles!). I enjoy the articles about fashion that is achievable and the hair and makeup looks that seem like something I may be able to pull off. I enjoy the other articles about women my age and hearing about what they're going through. Plus Glamour tries to include cheaper fashion that is actually affordable. I enjoyed the September issue and it was a good read as always.

If you're looking for a magazine that includes healthy living tips, try Self. I used to borrow this from a friend of mine and enjoyed it so much that I became a subscriber. The tone is generally a nicer, more supportive tone than in many of the women's magazines today and it mixes a number of articles about diet and exercise with the usual topics: clothes, hair, make-up, and relationships.

The September issue of Self wasn't any bigger than a normal issue, so they weren't previewing all the fall collections. However, there seemed to be a number of new exercise plans for those of us who have maybe fallen off the bandwagon a little bit this summer and want to get back into getting fit. I also like that Self includes a lot of recipes for how to eat healthily. I've tried a few and they've been pretty good.

Another fall must for me this year was The Hockey News: 2010-11 Yearbook. This magazine is packed with enough stats to keep the most rabid hockey fan happy. There are lists of top players, articles about players, and finally stats on all the teams from last year and predictions for the upcoming season. This is one magazine that I will keep around for the year to check back as the season goes on to see how accurate the predictions are!

And, finally, the Ikea catalogue. While technically not a magazine (and not a traditional harbinger of fall [although it did arrive on the same day as my nice fat Glamour]), it still has glossy paper. Less words, perhaps, than a traditional magazine. Still, it provided a happy few afternoons as I looked through the pages and picked out all the furniture I want.

However, despite all this glossy paper to read over the past month, I am still missing my favourite fall magazine of all time: Entertainment Weekly's Fall TV Preview. This has coverage of every show on every network, every night. That is when I truly know that fall has begun.