Cosmo Mag Gets Eighteenth-Century Makeover

Someone at the humor website Historic LOLs had some fun giving Cosmopolitan magazine an eighteenth-century makeover. It’s a far cry from the sex-obsessed magazine of today, but this new old version of it is something that even Jane Austen might approve of:

Well, that may be taking it too far. But that’s what makes this cover so great: By placing the magazine in a more prudish context, but using similar headlines as those of today, this cover highlights just how absurd and over-the-top Cosmo‘s contemporary covers are.

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Parody is one way to respond to Cosmopolitan magazine. But there’s another way, too–one that six New York women have hit upon. If you’re interested in a real fashion magazine for women that is classier than those on the stands today, then check out Verily magazine, a new publication that is bucking the Cosmo trend. Managed by six New York professionals, the new magazine is seeking to engage “in conversation on what it means to be authentic women in the 21st century.”

What that means, the editors of Verily believe, has not been expressed by the current offerings in women’s magazines:

Like so many things in NYC, Verily was born over a gathering of friends for brunch. We ended up on the topic of women’s magazines – in particular, how most of them didn’t seem to reflect our lives or our philosophies as women. Here was a diverse group hailing from all over the country and working in everything from fashion to medicine to philanthropy. We had gone through the learning curve of our first jobs, navigated life in a new city, and been on more first dates than many of us would like to admit. If this group of modern women were all feeling overlooked, surely others must feel the same way?

Research would indicate so. In their paper The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness, researchers Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School found that “women’s happiness has fallen both absolutely and relative to men’s in a pervasive way.” In Dove’s 2004 study, The Real Truth About Beauty, Dr. Susie Orbach notes, “When it comes to strictly physical attributes, the images of manufactured femininity are rejected as being too narrow, as inauthentic and as insufficient.”

So we set out to create a real alternative for modern women. What started as Kara & Janet meeting over coffee in their East Village apartment quickly grew to connecting with Mary Rose, Ashley, and Krizia to plan out and create the first issue. We have been so fortunate to work with dozens of talented people, from writers to photographers and stylists, to all the amazing women who have shared their perspectives with us. We look forward to growing with all of you and look forward to engaging in conversation on what it means to be authentic women in the 21st century.

The first issue of the magazine is available to read online. What do you think? I like the soft and natural aesthetic, and many of the feature articles, including one on the women of Downton Abbey, are interesting reads.