Why I Don’t Read Vogue (Or Other Fashion Magazines)

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6 years ago

Okay, girls. I have a confession to make. When I was a kid, I hated the fashion magazines in the checkout aisle. I didn’t want to see half-dressed models or racy headlines. So, while the clerk wasn’t looking, ten-year-old me would quickly pull out the magazine, turn it around, and put it back in place. Then everyone else could enjoy an ad for Huggies or Maybelline mascara instead of being forced to stare at the front cover. To my little-girl mind, it was genius!

Over a decade later, I’m still not a fan of fashion magazines. Out of curiosity, I’ve picked up a few and paged through them. However, I always came away with a negative impression—and even a sense of guilt. That’s why, even though I’m a fashion blogger, I don’t read fashion magazines.

[This post is not advised for readers under age 14.]

Here are 5 reasons why I don’t read Vogue (or other fashion magazines).

1. Because runway fashion doesn’t look good on real people.

If you’ve ever seen a fashion show or looked at runway photos, you’ll notice that everything is extreme. Each outfit is designed to attract maximum attention. Here are a few examples of unrealistic and even immodest runway fashion…

-Billowing gowns with yards of lace (I’m looking at you, Spring 2019!)

-Transparent tops and pants

-Oversized outfits

-Skin-tight bodysuits and bike shorts

-Plunging necklines

In most fashion magazine photoshoots, the garments pictured are not designed for real women. They’re not flattering or modest. They’re designed to look good on a hanger (or a starving model).

2. Because fashion magazines encourage covetousness.

Have you ever noticed how often magazines encourage the reader to buy something? Fueled by advertising dollars, their message is, “You need this in order to be happy/ fulfilled/ fashionable/ attractive.” From makeup to clothes to perfume, they create a perceived need in the mind of readers. If you’re not careful, you’ll be convinced that what you have isn’t good enough.

However, the Bible teaches us in 1 Timothy 6:6-8,

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”

Instead of listening to the shouts of advertisers, we need to be content with what God has given us. It’s not wrong to have cute clothes or buy new things. However, we should exercise self-control and wisdom in our purchases. This will honour God and help us be truly content.

3. Because fashion magazines are dangerous.

When you flip through Vogue (or other fashion magazines), you’ll see women who are frighteningly thin. In 2016, a Danish survey calculated the Body Mass Index of 3,000 fashion models around the world. In this study, researchers concluded that 94% of them are seriously underweight. The average model was 5’9” tall, weighed 119 lbs, and had a BMI of 17.3. According to the World Health Organization, a BMI lower than 18.5 classifies a person as malnourished. Evidently, fashion models don’t just look starved- they ARE starved!

In a 1997 Body Image survey in Psychology Today, researchers found that 43% of American women felt insecure about their weight as a result of seeing “very thin or muscular models” in the media. One women surveyed said, “The media portray an image of the perfect woman that is unattainable for somewhere between 98 to 99 percent of the female population. How are we supposed to live up to that standard that is shoved in our faces constantly—I hate it.”

Also, in another survey of college-aged adults, researchers Kristen Harrison and Joanne Cantor studied the effects of thin-depicting and thin-promoting media on women. This included popular TV shows and fashion magazines like Vogue. They found that reading fashion magazines caused a significant increase in body dissatisfaction, a drive for thinness, and eating disorders.

When girls see stick-thin models held up as a beauty ideal, they feel dissatisfied with their own healthy weight. At best, this may lead to low self-esteem. At worst, it can lead to an eating disorder! (Even if you don’t feel this is a personal struggle for you, consider that younger girls are watching your example. And this could be a very real danger for them.)

4. Because fashion magazines are highly sexualized.

Whether in advertisements or in actual content, fashion magazines contain a great deal of “soft porn.” This would include suggestive images of partly-clothed or nude models, as well as articles on sexual topics. They promote every type of immorality and unhealthy behaviours. Magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Harper’s Bazaar are full of this content.

How should a Christian respond to the blatant sensuality in fashion magazines? God answers in 2 Timothy 2:22, “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” If you want to keep your heart and mind pure, don’t read fashion magazines.

5. Because I couldn’t read them with Jesus by my side.

After reading a fashion magazine, I’m left with a lingering sense of guilt…of something wrong. Maybe it’s the underdressed models or the inappropriate headlines. Maybe it’s the sense that I don’t measure up to the “ideal woman.” But, in reality, I believe that it’s the Holy Spirit convicting my heart.

God calls us to be holy. He calls us to keep ourselves pure. And I don’t think that fashion magazines have any place in a holy life.

If you want to know about fashion trends, a simple Google search will tell you all you need to know.

If you want to learn how to dress for your body type, there are many blogs with body type advice.

If you want fashion inspiration, you can subscribe to a modest fashion blog.

But you don’t need to read a fashion magazine for that.

By God’s grace, I want to keep pursuing purity. And that means I don’t read fashion magazines.