Magazine Titles

Why isn’t there a magazine for people that don’t have children, are middle class, in touch with trends but know their budget limitations in regards to fashion, technology and home?

I am certainly not able to be Vogue, nor do I live in the Town and Country or have Better Homes & Gardens. What about Condo and Courtyard? Or at the rate of this economy, Trailer and Trashyard?

If I end up in a trailer, I will be Wired from using stimulates due to boredom and bleakness. Then I will have absolutely zero Allure about me. But Time out…..the odds of that happening are about as likely as me becoming an Esquire.

I don’t know Elle about fashioning a lifestyle of any of the above-mentioned magazines. Marie Claire, don’t know her. Oprah and Martha Stewart have homes and lives that are just too perfect, I don’t care if Oprah has a weight problem, she has gazillions of dollars to make her feel better. And what is a Harper’s Bazaar? Where is it exactly? In this poor financial climate I will certainly never have opportunity for Travel & Leisure; that would be a dream come true.

I never say Bon Appetit when dining, as it is usually leftovers and does not warrant such a fancy gesture. Yes, I do have Food & Wine, I only wish it was the type of food I see splashed on the pages of Cooks, or Cooking Light.

Women’s Day and Family Circle, well, I will tell you about my woman’s day, not much excitement, and I do not have a family circle; I don’t have children, so all the cute, crafty, fun family projects do not have relevance for me.

What about a magazine for the People who are Crate & Barrel sale, mixed with Ikea and flea market? Who shop at the Barney’s warehouse, the Gap and occasionally a cheap joint like Old Navy, Forever 21 or TJ Maxx? A magazine for individuals that don’t do crafty projects, but just need simple fashion and design ideas without having to have a separate garage or studio to bust out the circular saw? A magazine for people that don’t have House Beautiful, they may only have house clean, or house attractive; or for that matter, apartment decent. Perhaps these people, like myself, are tired of the glossy, perfect, slick, unobtainable world of these magazines. We want timely, sensible design solutions that fit our lifestyle. Now that would be InStyle.

Fitting In

Being an inherent soul from the city, I have tried my best to fit within the confines of Charleston, Mount Pleasant, or West Ashley, South Carolina within the last few months. The eponymous named Mount Pleasant, is indeed pleasant. However if you are an urban dweller most of your life, pleasant is defined by other matters.

Those other matters may not include, children, school activities, football games or soccer on the weekends. Couples with children assume that if you do not have a brood of children that perhaps you are not part of the "norm." This thought is more than likely a brief flash in their minds, as opposed to true contemplation. These couples assume the worst, they question and ponder, why one would not want to have children. Therein lies the problem; it is not particularly about not wanting to have children, it is just that some of us city dwellers were confronted with matters of love and marriage later in life.

I am not condoning the Sex & The City, post dweller here, but that is the truth. Maybe it was the dearth of men in those environs that posed the problem. Hell, maybe we were sucked into the post feminist attitude that women too, could behave badly like men and pretend that we didn't want a meaningful relationship. Then when we thought all was well, well; it really wasn't. It was too late.

Was this behavior learned I ask myself? Was it a product of post feminism? A cultural shift? An after thought, while we were pursuing our careers to stay afloat? On the proverbial back burner?

Life deals us harsh realities sometimes. How do we deal with those harsh realities? I find myself amidst school children, babies, young mothers, families everywhere here, how do I fit in? And will I ever fit in? And do I really want to?