Do you remember the very first time you laid eyes on Suede magazine? I surely do! At the time I was fresh out of college and the magazine just spoke to me in ways I tried to supplement with other mags before it. Or remember when Honey was still in print? I used to love pouring through the mag taking in every word and totally relating to Mitzi Miller‘s (who is now the Editor-in-Chief at JET) hilarious antics.

See, I’ve always been a mag hag. When I was a pre-teen and throughout my teens I’d jump for joy whenever the latest issues of Seventeen and YM hit the mailbox. I felt all grown-up reading about boys and fashion and what not. Plus it was soooo much more sophisticated than Highlights.

But then magazines like Honey and Suede came along and it was like OMG–YOU COMPLETE ME! Sure there was Essence, Ebony, and JET, but finally there was a magazine for my demographic. Glossies that showed young women just like me looking fly and fabulous.

Then one by one, all the magazines folded. I was hurt. Guess it’s hard out there in those ad sales streets for mags geared to young black women.

But with the explosion of blogs since then, I can not only publish my own take on fashion and beauty, but I can also get my fix by just a few mouse clicks. I can check out young black style in Atlanta, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Lagos, and beyond without having to take my left hand out of my bag of Funyuns.

While browsing the web last night, I came across the latest issue of Vibe Vixen magazine with cover girl Tika Sumpter. I almost fell out of my chair thinking that VV was back in print and raced to the site to subscribe. That’s when I realized it was a digital issue. *sigh*

Which leads me to ask of you, Fashion Bombshells…are fashion magazines geared to young black women still necessary? Would you like to see any past favorites come back to print? And would you drop the cold hard change to purchase?

~Danielle

77 thoughts on “Fashion Discussion: Would You Buy A Fashion Magazine Geared Towards Young Black Women ?”

  1. yes they are necessary but i can live with the blogs and online mags since printed magazines are not even making as much money as they used to. not every beauty and hair tip in popular magazines are even geared towards women of color. I just wish the fashion world all together was not so one sided. there needs to be more diversity.

  2. Id buy a fashionbomb mag ! A subscription . I check this site like three times a day because not only is it resourceful its comfortable to me, the fact that I can identify with it. But because we live in the age of ipads and mobile web idk if ppl are as into mags . But me yes I need to to have something tangible .

  3. I had a subscription to HONEY, and Vibe Vixen. Those were really nice magazines, and I was pretty sad that they didn’t last. Blogs can’t do it all, so there is room for a fashion mag geared towards women of color.

  4. i definitely would buy a mag gear toward me!! & i think its about time for one to be in print. Shamefully the biggest obstacle of the mag would be getting blk buyers.

  5. Suede! How I miss thee! I still have two of the four, I wish I got all four issues. Random but, Does anybody know where I can find them?

  6. I so remember Suede Magazine!! I subscribed to it as well but was very saddened when it no longer exist. Would be nice it there was a Fashion Bomb Daily magazine hitting the shelves in the future. Would so buy that as well!!

  7. WHAT HAPPENED TO SUEDE?!????? I GOT SO EXCITED WHEN I SAW IT AT THE TOP OF THE COMP SCREEN! I WOULD MOS DEF BUY INTO PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT CATER TO MY SPECIFIC ETHNIC AND LIFESYTLE AND CULTURE! *I LOVED SUEDE!*

  8. I use to be a magazine addict. I still have old copies of Honey and Vibe Vixon. I think I might have some Suede issues too. I collected all that geared to young AA. I would definitely purchase again if one came back out. Cosmo and all the others that are geared to young white females are still kicking and doing well…why can’t ours?

    There is a new magazine out that is like a black Cosmo, Kraze Magazine. Maybe if we back up our own more, they’d do well and not have to close up shop. Thankfully we still have Essence and Ebony…I was getting sad when they were annoucing they may have to shut down. And JET also.

    I think Fashion Bomb Magazine is a great idea also!!

  9. I PROMISE IF THEY WERE TO BRING IT BACK I WOULDNT EVEN WAIT TO GET THAT SEASONAL ISSUE FROM THE STORE, I’D GET AN SUBSCRIPTION! BRING BACK SUEDE!

  10. I had subcriptions for Honey, Suede, and Vibe Vixen. I was hooked and loved everyone one of them, because it spoke to me. I actually still have issues of Suede, there was only 4 or 5. I loved the fab fashion and beauty tips. But I also hated when I receive a letter in mail stating the mags were no longer printing. Then I just do what i do now religiously check websites such as yours and buy other mags.

  11. omg!!! I loved Suede magazine, it was everything! I also loved Honey, so yes I would definitely subscribe to these magazines if they were to be in print. I love reading the blogs but it’s still not the same.

  12. Do any of you guys read Jones Magazine. I guess its suppose to be in the likes of Suede and etc. I picked it up a couple of times but its missing something that I was use to from the other mags. Its not the same. I dont think it will be around much longer. I flipped thru their fall issue recently and I was very disappointed.

  13. Yes, I miss Suede I loved that mag waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than Honey. The layout of Suede was HOTT!

  14. Magazines geared towards young black ladies are needed desperately, but the problem comes from lack of advertising support for lots of inappropriate material. I am not familiar with either magazine and never heard my daughter talk about them at all, but I will take a guess at if they are now gone the reason for there demise had more to do with lack of advertising dollars to support the monthly costs.

    Unfortunate for the black community and in particular our young black girls is they are being left out completely or being marginalized by mainstream media that does not understand nor want to understand their needs. What makes it worse is when those who look like the audience they are trying to serve bring a watered down product to the table that does not serve the greater good of these young ladies and then get upset when they reject it.

    Would I buy such a magazine. Yes if it did not insult my sense of self worth. The truth is more than likely magazines of this sort will never come out in any substantive way until the audience, namely young black women, stop striving for mediocrity and demand more than trivialities in magazines or any other printed material that targets this undeserved demographic.

  15. Suede was me. I went to Walmart each month to get my copy. In fact, I still own most of my copies (some have gone missing *side eyeing my little sis). I still read Essence which is more fitting given that I’m no long a 19 year old college student but I think younger girls are missing out. Even though Suede is an online mag, the feeling isn’t the same. Every weekend, I sit with a glass of tea or wine and flip through my magazines. But don’t dismiss the power of online mags. I read blogs daily which is similar. That Vibe Vixen cover with Tika stopped me in my tracks.

    Bring print mags back and those stupid HipHop Daily mags, REAL MAGS!!!!

  16. Yes I would definitely purchase magazines geared towards young black women because that’s my demographic. I read Marie Claire, Glamour, ELLE, etc. because they cover topics I can relate to. Ebony and Essence are really geared towards women my mother’s age (she’s 44). As a blogger and aspiring magazine journalist, that’s something I want for my generation sooooo bad. I appreciate the online blogs and sites that are making strides, but there is nothing like going to the store and buying a magazine that is printed. I appreciate the real thing, more because it’s the field I aspire to get into, but because I’m a little ‘old fashioned’ when it comes to magazines. I love flipping through the pages to see the different spreads, features, cover stories, etc over a digital copy.

  17. Most defiantly like I always get the september issue of Vogue…its a great feeling to curl up on the sofa with a great magazine looking at the glossy print of fabulous pages of faShion…i would defiantly purchase honey or suede if they came back to print…

  18. In Barcelona we only have Evony and Essence in english of course! and i don’t understand everything!!! I have a blog and i’m crazy looking for black bloggers with real style, people like me because it’s very difficult for me to find this kind of magazine!!!!

    espantajasandfriends.blogspot.com

  19. I’m a voracious ass reader so probably yeah, and especially for my daughters.. I just love glossies period, furniture, fashion, parenting..

  20. YES! i loved all of them I had Honey, Vibe vixen, and Suede ,devoured them -glossy sweetness!.Theres nothing like a print mag it’s more physical,a sensory experience;especially with our face-blogs are ok -but its just not the same.

  21. @Shaq Nicole: I feel you on that! I would most definetly have a subscription if fashionbombdaily.com was in the magazine business!!!!!!

  22. I definitely would and like many I still have all my SUEDE mags. I remember subscribing immediately after I saw the first issue. I definitely wish there was a fashion mag like SUEDE still around for young women of color

  23. I think they are necessary, but clearly we aren’t buying them. Sure blogs have great info and are easily accessible, but there’s nothing like flipping through the pages of a magazine. I still have every issue of Vibe Vixen, the info and the fashions are still relevant today.

  24. It more than necessary, it like water for young urban fashionable black women. The roller coaster of emotions I experienced when Honey, Suede, VV etc appeared on the shelves and then “poof” disappeared were unreal.

    I am still at a standstill of why we cannot keep a black woman based publication in rotation other than Essence and don’t get me wrong, Essence is ok but it still is lacking something … there is also a magazine( don’t know if it is still in rotation) called Jones. I tried but the magazine was to sparse for me, too much white space, like they ran out of ideas.

    So I do believe we need it, I simply cannot function off blogs because how do I tear pages out and put on my beauty/fashion board for inspiration? LOL

  25. YES! I think black women need a lot of things gear towards them from magazines, books (especially good fiction books), tv shows etc. I think it is very much necessary because black women, especially young black women, is still a market that is untapped and ignored when it comes to magazines. Like mention, Cosmo, Glamour, Elle, etc. are good if you want to read nonspecific issues but if I want to read things that are a little close to home and tailored to me in print publication than that is hard to find. But like others said, with the new age of blogs and such magazines in general aren’t doing well

  26. I still have all four issues of Suede and refer to them frequently (still). Suede Magazine convinced me to go to school for graphic design. I would LOVE to see another mag like that, in print not on the web.

  27. OMG!!!! I have all those covers!!!!! Suede was the ultimate. It was pure creative genius. They featured the best before they became the best. There is one editorial where they took all these jewels set against an Indian landscape. 4 PAGES OF THIS. It was a visual dream. Honey magazine wrote the first article about DL men in rap. Was diligent in their features covering sexuality from pleasure to health. It was tasteful and appealed to everyone. Honey was at the beginning of cosmetic companies attempt to market foundation outside the bisque color spectrum.

    Those magazine did not emphasize that they were a “urban” or for black women Magazine. There was no….”black women do this….black women wear this” like Essence. You picked up he magazine because it spoke to you.

  28. I have never heard of Suede but HONEY. I enjoy reading black women magazines such as Essence & Ebony but there aren’t enough out there. Yes, I love PopSugar,Elle,InStyle,Etc….but there is definitely a need and a severe want.

  29. Great post…I was right there w/ you with my YM subscription! But, yes yes…There is still something very special about a physical magazine! i.e., Rihanna 1st cover for W mag.

  30. I’m a true lover of magazines for their fashion,beauty, and life advice. But I truly believe newsstands today lack publications that can relate to young black women on different subjects. Essence is amazing but it’s geared more towards mature African American women. Cosmopolitan is great as well but let’s be honest…they don’t specifically market towards women of color. So I would love for Suede to return to publication or at least see a new mag geared towards young African American women.

  31. Ive never seen any of the 2 Im an avid Essence subscriber. Thanks for putting me on I will subscribe to both of these magazines.

  32. OMG WHERE IS SUEDE????? I saw this post and thought it was back. Honestly I have yet to find a magazine as fashion forward an well written as Suede was. I was so young when it came out and I saved my old issues for YEARS! Can we start a petition to bring it back? I don’t care if it’s only a digital subscription. Suede is a necessity.

  33. I soooo wish that Honey and Suede would come back!! I live and breathed for Honey! When I was reading your post, I felt like you were walking around in my head. I too read all of those magazines when I was growing up. Remember Mademoiselle too? Yes these magazines are very necessary and I would subscribe if they came back.

  34. At one time I also subscribed to all three magazines. Lately I’ve noticed several new magazines on the market that are supposedly geared toward a younger audience. The sad part is that many of these magazines won’t survive because they lack the advertisement dollars to keep them afloat.

    Most of their content is old because many of us have already seen what they’ve printed on the internet. I’ve never understood why these magazines feature high-end items in editorials and feature no luxury goods advertisements inside the magazines.

    One certain magazine started out directed toward one demographic and now it’s trying to brand itself as multicultural with the old bait and switch trick and that will eventually become it’s demise. I don’t mind diversity, but the dominant culture only shows diversity in seasons and I will not support that.

    I read blogs and magazines from all over the world and several of my favorites now have online digital magazines which is fine by me.

    Since I’m older than 35, what I look for in a magazine is innovative ideas geared toward women of all ages. I don’t care for the celebrity overload, but prefer to see real trendsetters which means it depends on the content and I have daughters who also love fashion and style, so it has to be relatable to them.

  35. Yes, yes, and yes! and true confirmation fashionbomb is my blood. I felt the same way Danielle when I first saw Suede and I too have been a magazine junkie well before my time my magazine budget may be disturbing to some; Suede completed me *sigh* and like everyone I have archived my copies. I mean I do love me some Essence and have a subscription as a twenty something mother and professional of Afro-Caribbean descent living in Toronto, Canada the content is important for me to touch base with like-minded people of colour (Cdn sp lol) but the vibe is just NOT the same.

    …at this point, I live blog to blog so I challenge the blog Gods to make it happen and fuse the needs, wants and desires of this demographic for the sake of black womanity (fashionbomb *wink, wink*) you would be surprised how much one would spend on a quality magazine that puts you in the zone and I know you know that feeling and exaaactly what I mean.

    PS while you’re listening Gods bring me back my ‘Girlfriends’ *sigh* Joan Clayton iconic style inspiration forever, relived through my complete box series but I’ll peep ‘Reed Between the Lines’…my two cents xoxo

  36. Had every issue of Suede Mag in college….& ripped them up for my personal look book. Really regret that!!!! They were amazing

  37. I love blogs, websites, etc. But nothing replaces the glossy mags. I also live for them! When I travel, half of the weight of my baggage is from magazines I buy overseas- always get afresh take on fashion from the glossies. I still “tear and peg”- I have a huge bulletin board in my closet dedicated to tears from magazines that I want to remeber to inspire my next look.

  38. As long as it ISN’T like BET on paper, then yes, I would buy. A Fashion Bomb mag would be great!

  39. I use to love Suede magazine and Honey but everything is on the Internet. I was very disappointed when these type of magazines went away. I still have my issue with Alicia on front Fab!!! I would love for these type of magazines to revert to the Internet for IPAD or smart phone users. I have a app for Vogue and Glamour magazine and if I want to purchase I do not have to leave the house.

  40. I LOVED LOVED LOVED both Suede and Honey magazine. I still have my Suede issue with Eve on the cover and still read through it from time to time. It’s still relevant today so they were definitely onto something. I still love the printed magazines over the digital ones and have subscriptions to many of them. I would definitely subscribe to Honey and Suede if they were ever resurrected, lol.

  41. I subscribed to Suede Magazine I feel like they took a piece of me when they stopped publishing. It was such a good magazine an Essence for the younger generation.

  42. I remember the day I laid my eyes on the Suede cover with Alicia Keys and spent the last five dollars I had to purchase it.
    Suede was going to be my coffee table decor until it folded. My heart and soul hurted because this magazine was the wave of the future.

    Everybody do go online to the digital magazines and blogs BUT they still collect the print issues of fashion magazines which is priceless to have.

  43. :: Oh Hell yes! I have EVERY issue of Suede & will forever covet the experience they gave me. I would defiantly subscribe to a fashion magazine geared towards me and my sisters!!

  44. this was my favorite mag i loved their layouts this magazine needs to come back theres no magazines out to take the place of them.

  45. Yes i would still buy. I remember subscribing to Honey…they cashed my check and folded. I didn’t get a single issue! lol. There is Jones Mag, the AA fashion mag based outta Houston. I sub to that…

  46. Funny you’d mention this because someone oversees called me after I was featured on here thinking that I worked for you guys (idk how/why), but they were asking me about “subscribing to Fashion Bomb Daily” – thinking it was a magazine. Magazines have surely lost their once exclusive edge only because information now comes so fast. The things we once waited to learn or hear about are now all over the Internet, which makes us feel like there isn’t anything we don’t already know being covered. I do still buy my Vogue & Glamour magazine but I don’t read them as soon as I get them as I used to. I think a magazine geared towards young minorities would be great with a little fashion and a whole lot of LIFE. Something I strive for with my site. Keeping it real yet current in efforts to capture and teach.

  47. I miss Suede like we broke up and it moved away! Fashion Bomb is the closest I’ve gotten to anything like that. If this was a magazine, my heart would stop briefly and would resume beating with new vigor.

    Oh, it’s that serious :D

  48. I’ve always collected magazines since I was a teen. Still have a few issues of Suede, Honey and Vibe Vixen. Ebony and Essence have stepped their game up (they have great covers). Magazines like Suede and Honey are still needed in the market because the young urban female set still have a strong fashion voice. I guess Jones Magazine fills the gap for now.

    I’m all about the foreign magazines. Arise is the best black fashion magazine on the market right now. It cost $10.00 but it’s worth every penny. The best Urban Female Japanese magazines went out of business a few years ago. That’s why I’ve always wanted to create my own teen urban magazine. I recently launched the website.

  49. Yes! I remember my mom and I LOVING Suede. We even paid for a subscription that never came :-(

    I’d love to see young black magazines brought back into print. My own website aims to be sophisticated and is totally for US. Please take a look!

  50. YES! It is definitely needed! I still have every issue of Suede. Can Fashion Bomb, BGLH, BGG2WL and Clutch (and me :-) ) get together and make a print magazine PUUULLLLEEEEEZZZZEEE

  51. I LOOOOVED Suede Magazine!! The glossy pages, amazing photography and stories just jumped out at me! Every time I hear the name of this mag, a feeling of nostalgia comes over me!! What in the world happened, and is it remotely possible to bring this magazine back?? Online magazines and blogs in no way suppliment the need for fabulousness in print. Period. There is just something special about picking up your favorite mag or opening your mailbox, sitting on the couch, and flipping through!!

  52. I was definitely a magazine addict growing up! But I don’t think print magazines have as much appeal as they used to. Why wait for a monthly issue when you can get the same news (and more!) within seconds online? There’s more opportunity for magazines to live on ipads, tablets, etc. You can still have glamorous spreads and all of that digitally.

    But there’s still nothing like the feel of a glossy mag in your hands. *le sigh*

  53. I can relate. I was a little hesitant about starting a magazine of my own, but I felt such a desire to see more black women of my demographic represented in printed media. On top of that, I’m sick to death of the celebrity oversaturation happening in mags today so Urban Queen Magazine is dedicated to the equally fabulous black women we never get to read about.

  54. I love magazines and browse through many different types. I realized although I would like to see more magazines targeted to young black women, the magazines on the shelves today arent that visually appealing as other fashion magazines. Magazines such as Marie Claire, Glamour, and Instyle are more visual as far as clothing, make-up and just spreads of celebrities. Now magazines that are geared to young black individuals have more articles that simulate our minds, but there’s a lack of balance.

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