It was announced on the 21st of May that M will soon relaunch a mens style mag for men in their 30s and 40s is currently in development. Before we move on to M is likely to be a good opportunity as ever to find out how M compares to the current men’s fashion magazines.
Today, Fairchild Fashion Media announced that they’re coming back with M Magazine, which in the 80’s was called M: The Civilized Man. “It will become a large gorgeous magazine that has an average circulation of 100,000,” Fairchild Editorial Director Peter W. Kaplan told the New York Post’s Keith Kelly. “It is geared towards men who are in their 30s and 40s who are web-savvy, but prefer to keep the printed version.”
It’s an intriguing move. We can get the idea of it: a magazine that is focused on fashion specifically for men, targeted at those of a certain age who might have a fond memory of M back in the glory days or younger guys who are looking to get the printed magazine. It’s also sensible considering that there’s a lack of American men’s fashion magazines.
This is a brave move. Magazines such as Details and GQ under the Conde Nast umbrella (which includes Fairchild) might be considered to be competitors. It is perhaps even more alarming in the case of launching an all-flash men’s magazine that is targeted towards men in their 40s could be that online readers of these two magazines are actually more mature than their paper readers. As per the press kits the median age of Details’ and GQ’s online readers is 40.8 as well as 38, in comparison to the average time of their paper readers: 33.2 and 34 .
“The other magazines are actually mass-circulation,” Kaplan said. “We’re looking for men whose primary focus is about style, who view their world from the perspective of fashion.”
I’m about one year out of Kaplan’s planned population. But, before entering the new and exciting world of M is probably as an appropriate time to review what we’ve learned, what we didn’t and how M stands up to the latest crop of male-focused magazines.
Maxim
Who they say reads it A woman of 32 years old earning around $72,000 annually (Household income).
When I read it When I Read It: As a shy 14-year-old, I read it until 19 years old.
What You Can Learn from reading it: You may be a hormone-driven heterosexual male who’s too young to get a Playboy or smart enough to shut down all of the junk in your Web browser. This magazine for dude brothers who love fart jokes and naked women has inspired young men by showing them how to rate the hotness of women within the magazine’s “Hot 100” as well as the many variations in “scoring” and most notably, “How to Cure a Feminist.”
Esquire
Who Reads What They Say The average income for a 44-year-old is $60,000 a year ($87,000 HHI)
If I read it: 20 to present
What You can Learn from The book What you can do to prepare a cocktail, and “eat like the man” and who the most sexiest woman alive is, or how to dress to look like an alpha Male.
Men’s Health
Who Says What A 37-year-old earns $50,000 ($79,629 HHI)
When I read it A couple of times during my teens, and several instances in my 20s when I was convinced I was going to get the Six-Pack Abs!
What you can learn from This article: That you may be a hormone-positive homosexual male who’s too young to be able to purchase Playgirl skilled enough to unblock your browser. Okay, okay, it was my friend, who told me about the first time he began buying Men’s Health.
There is also the possibility of being one of those men who can keep track of the percentage of body fat in his hand (or are dreaming of achieving it) and someone who is looking to eat This, Not That, and one who is never bored of studying all about Six Pack Abs! or someone who wants to know what type of male underwear most suits their requirements.
Information
Who they say reads it A 33-year-old earns $89,076 (HHI)
When I read it Then I Think: Adam Levine is the latest issue’s cover boy, which is a bit odd given that he was on the cover of the publication a few months ago, telling me how to be ripped through …ummm. Oh.
What You Can Learn From This article: You’re likely to be homosexual. In the 1990s, Details got into some troubles because of the “Gay and/or …” back page ” feature that implied that everyone was homosexual in the end. The magazine has always been its gayer brother with its articles that emphasized the sexiest male muscles and caused body dymosphia, which altered the way men perceived themselves. Also “Ass is the new Abs” as well as “Anal Sexuality is the new Deal-breaker.”
GQ
Who Says What They Read A 34-year-old who earns $77,643 (HHI)
After I read it: Do I do
What You can Learn from The Book: Paul Newman is basically god. The fact that Roger Sterling knows how to wear an elegant gray suit and that dressing as James Dean will always be elegant, but it’s not as elegant that Paul Newman. Also, dressing for the occasion can be expensive. And, of course, there are pieces on politics (and they’re awesome especially if you’re interested in this kind of thing)
