As the last copies of the last issue of Jane magazine (R.I.P.) get swept aside to make room for more copies of the 840-page September Vogue, it's worth turning our gaze to founder Jane Pratt's first print foray, the title that first pushed the envelope of girl magazines.
If you haven't yet picked up a copy of Marisa Meltzer and Kara Jesella's How Sassy Changed My Life, do so: the ode in book form to Pratt's teen glossy celebrates how Sassy's plain-talking, non-condescending tone (and willingness to take on subjects untouched in teen print until then, like politics and birth control) really did effect a sea change in how magazines spoke to their young female readers.
Or go straight to the source: Fashionista.com has scanned in the entire November 1992 issue of Sassy. Sure, there were snaps of the hunks from Beverly Hills, 90210, but...a cheat sheet of "all the cool women running for congress"? A rundown of the 7 "most innovative colleges" in America? It was big stuff in 1992 -- and a far cry from the current CosmoGIRL! fare ("Rate your prom date!" "Are you addicted to kissing?").
written on Thursday Aug 30, 2007
Pratt,
points,
print.
