When Glamour and Cosmopolitan don’t cut it anymore, take a sharp turn on the twisted roadways of the Internet to load up on cool at nylonmag.com. This photo-rich, uber-animated, flash-required site opens with penciled silhouettes of the fashion model aristocracy; posh young girls who look condescendingly over their exfoliated shoulders, glistening with Chanel’s latest products. Double click and quite suddenly you are part of the “fashionista.”
Nylon Magazine manages to capture the best and the worst aspects of the fashion world. Fun facts, such as a timeline chronicling the history of blue jeans appeals to even the most fashion-challenged. Not only does it allow anyone to view the trendiest designs flooding the market, but the use of hip designer names also gears the site toward the knowledgeable connoisseur. This borderline position between dilettante and professional, which is not typical of most fashion publications, is part of Nylon’s refreshing and easygoing style.
The site, however, is not without flaws. Whether to mock its well-known competition, such as Vogue, or to make a separate claim to the fashion elite, Nylon forgoes conventional topics of discussion as part of its content. Additionally, their excessive use of Flash animation can be rather tiresome for those without a fast connection or who are searching for a site geared toward the written word as opposed to graphics and layout.
Despite these few faults, Nylon is an entertaining and novel corner of the web, especially for someone who appreciates fashion as an art in itself. Nylon manages to capture the beauty of designs that may not be wearable in the real world, but can certainly be regarded as pieces of art. Few fashion magazines manage to accomplish this, centering their themes and focus on more practical designs. Nylon’s unique approach sets it aside from these conventional magazines.
Even though most designs featured in Nylon probably won’t be seen or worn outside the catwalk, the site offers many fashion tips useful for the regular shopper. For example, a feature called technolust presents several of the latest cell phone models. Now the increasing number of cell phone users can talk in style. That is, before they get their service bill.
Models, fashion slang, abundant animation and a taste for technology: Nylon has all the ingredients for becoming a worthy successor of its printed brethren.
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