Fashion Magazines
Eucharia, Ireland
Women's fashion's magazines: I like reading them on airplanes cause they don't really require a lot of concentration, and they're better on an airplane than a novel because I don't have the concentration when I'm flying for twelve hours to concentrate on a novel so women's fashions magazines are sort of chewing gum for the mind, excellent on a long, long flight.
Jeannie, The United States
Fashion magazines. I don't pay attention to them at all. I rarely ever read magazines of any type so fashion is maybe at the bottom of my list of magazines that I would even be interested in.
Jim, England
I think fashion magaizines are a bad idea. I think they show an image of women that the average woman maybe can't emulate and lead to a lot of unhappiness. I've actually appeared in Cosmopolitan, UK. I was in central London and a woman came up to me and asked me some opinions about relationships and took my photograph and a month later I was in the magazine.
Kate, New Zealand
Women's fashion magazines - I often buy magazines just to have a look but I find that the clothes that they wear are kind of extreme, and for example, someone like Paris Hilton who was recently in the fashion magazines a lot, that the clothes that she wears, a lot of people, a lot of teenages, 20 year-olds around my age, will not wear outside.
Rina, Canada
I like fashion magazines but I try not to put my body image into the way their body image is, and that's a little hard. I try not to pay attention too much to that. I do like looking at them just because they're fun to look at the articles are good.
Todd, The United States
I think fashion magazines are incredibly stupid. The models always just look ridiculous. They're always in some special pose in some special situation and the clothes that they wear, please, come on, like have you ever seen anybody wear the clothes you see in a fashion magazine, men's or women's out in public. It's pretty rare, so yeah, I think fashion magazines, for the most part, are pretty ridiculous.
concentration
They don't really require a lot of concentration.
To focus and think carefully about what we are doing is called 'concentration.' Notice the following:
- Doing math requires a lot of concentration.
- When I relax, I like to do things that don't require much concentration, like watching TV.
chewing gum for the mind
Fashion magazines are sort of chewing gum for the mind.
The phrase 'chewing gum for the mind' is an idiom we use to talk about things that are fun to look at but have no serious meaning. Notice the following:
- TV is truly chewing gum for the mind.
- Comic books may be be chewing gum for the mind, but if they make kids read, that's good.
the bottom of my list
Fashion mags is maybe at the bottom of my list of magazines.
When something is 'at the bottom of our list,' it is our least favorite of many similar things. Notice the following:
- Watching TV is at the bottom of my list of free time activities.
- I hate taking a bus! It's at the bottom of my list of transportation options.
emulate
They show an image of women that the average woman can't emulate.
When we 'emulate' or something, that means we try to copy it. Notice the following:
- Many social networking sites are trying to emulate Facebook.
- Students often emulate the fashions of their favorite stars.
body image
I try not to worry about my body image.
'Body image' is a phrase we use to talk about how we think our bodies look. Notice the following:
- I'm a little fat, so sometimes I worry too much about my body image.
- People shouldn't worry so much about their body image.
in public
You never see those clothes out in public.
Here, 'in public' talks about what we generally see around us everyday. Notice the following:
- American President Obama smokes, but never in public.
- In many cultures, it's not polite for couples to hold hands in public.
Vocabulary Quiz
emulate • in public
