April 24, 2010

Vogue Hommes Japan Back Issues

This post goes out to Fabulous Florida Mommy (FFM) (who runs this marvelous blog) as she deserves full credit for helping me go about obtaining issues of Vogue Hommes Japan. After posting about the publication's then-upcoming fourth issue back in March, FFM kindly directed me (thank you!) toward the OPR website, which sells the biannual subscription for about $20/issue.

At the time, not only was I interested in obtaining the soon-to-be-released issue, but I was also intent on tracking down the magazine's previous three issues. Unfortunately, OPR didn't have any available to sell to me. But the fact that FFM had found me an online business that sold this specific magazine gave me hope that there'd be others offering what I was looking for.

Enter Magazine Cafe, a Manhattan magazine store that also has an online website for people like me...who live in the boonies...and find the foreign magazine selection at B&N quite upsetting and dismal. Although their asking price for an issue was slightly higher ($25/issue), a nice employee/owner(?) named Bhanu was able to sell me the first three issues. Not only was he great with answering emails, but when my actual order arrived, I found that somebody over there had taken the time to wrap the magazines and then place them in a sturdy box to ship. Now that's service! I've never been a fan of subscribing to US magazines for the very reason that they always come in a flimsy plastic wrap (if that sometimes!) and often times, there's holes and rips and creases in the magazines themselves on arrival. Call me OCD, but I prefer the luxury of going to a magazine stand in person and picking out that copy that sits in the way back that nobody's touched yet.

Anyway, so I have the first three issues of Vogue Hommes Japan, and I'm so thoroughly pleased with the content...I only wish I knew how to read Japanese! As a source of visual distraction, however, VHJ delivers. The editorial layouts are some of the most creative and stimulating I've seen in a men's fashion magazine, and the quality of the magazine in general rivals that of better women's Conde Nast foreign publications. The focus is definitely on progressive trends and the models who pull them off, which is very refreshing to see, given US options for men's reading have all this extra crap -- meant to reassure the average American dude it's okay to read a magazine with fashion features I'm convinced -- that just bogs everything down...full length articles not even related to menswear in addition to cooking recipes, lifestyle musings, sports...please, not for me...

I've yet to obtain the Spring 2010 VHJ issue that sparked my interest in this magazine and subsequently started me on this mini-adventure. FFM, my initial plan was to use OPR and save a couple bucks...but it looks like it's sold out already! So, it looks like I'll be going through Magazine Cafe again at least for the fourth issue...and before September rolls around, I definitely plan on getting a one-year subscription ;) Thanks again for your help, FFM!

2 comments:

  1. Hi HDNB! I'm so glad to hear that you've had success in getting some of the issues, and even found another source of obtaining them...that is fantastic news! Thank you for mentioning me in your post, btw...I'm glad I was able to help. Have a great weekend! :)

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  2. Hi again HDNB! I wanted to let you know that I'm having a giveaway for a J.Crew Gift Card on my blog in case you want to enter. Have a great day! :)

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