When I finally got hold of them, I found many of February's magazines to be rather weak, which surprised me. I'm so used to the rhythm of magazines picking up speed as we head towards March, but this year, even if there was increased content from the month before, for me, there was little soul or true excitement to be found in it.
If I forced myself to fill that gap by searching out reasons to be thrilled, I could summon up some artificial enthusiasm for new faces or particular covers which would keep me going - but I shouldn't have to scrape to get a sense of excitement. I think it's a combination of me being old and having read a lot of magazines, and the outside circumstance of what can you expect, when the economic glory days are distant at the moment? There aren't going to be fireworks in the fashion world. I'd probably be better off doing a Rip Van Winkle and going to sleep until the good times return. As long I didn't wake up with a big white beard. Then I would have something to complain about.
January's issues weren't as woeful as I feared, given their thinness, and March always feels like you're getting something good for your money. It's probably a difficult job to produce a great February issue when you're having to ration everything in the run-up to the next month.
