Magalog Central

Like they say, timing is everything. Right after I put up a post way too reminiscent of Lucky, the matriarch of the "magalog" (that's "magazine" and "catalog" combined, also known as the shopping magazine, in the forms of Lucky, Cargo and Domino (Vitals is a bit of one, too)), Salon.com puts up an article about the very phenomenon, cast through the lens of media/cultural criticism. Here's the gist:

Now that Domino has dropped, the insidiousness of the shopping magazine takes a clear form: Why spend years building a personal aesthetic when you can just buy one?

Of course, I love the shopping mags - they are a form of vicarious shopping from the comfort of my couch and harmless to my bank account, but I also understand what Stephanie Zacharek, the writer, is talking about and, frankly, wish I would have written something like this myself. Ah well, I'll at least link to it to make myself feel smarter by association.

Don't Buy It! on Salon.com