Anyway, I picked up a copy of Jane at some airport or another this week...

and though it was really awesome compared to all the other vapid stuff out there, it made me miss Sassy like I never have before. Jane is, of course, relatively similar... but it doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor.

Like you, Mantequilla, I missed Sassy all the more when Jane was launched. In a lot of ways it's far inferior to Sassy. It lacks spirit and spunk and that exciting lack of self-conciousness that Sassy had. But, as was pointed out in the latest issue of Jane, "Sassy folded and we're still here." Sniff!

Nevertheless, I have most of my copies of Sassy carefully stored away.

edited because I attended junior high in the '80s, not '90s.

It was the summer of Grade 11 and I was nannying two middle school kids and I would whip up a raspberry mousse pie for the three of us and eat my piece sitting beside the pool with Sassy. I felt so privileged.

The men that were in the cute boys alert were really cute. The bands in the cute band alert were usually decent bands that I had actually heard of "Back what Boys? do they sound like the Smiths?". There were DIY projects and "I like my fat ass" stories and, yes, clothes I would have actually worn; clothes that would've looked normal on a 17 yo with tits and attitude.

Yes, Jane is no real comparison, but I buiy itout of loyalty to the concept, I think.

I clearly remember reading the article in which staff members recounted the tales of their first periods -- a story which my mother has still not shared from her personal annals.

And Ian Svenious was the first "Sassiest Boy in America," remember? I feel like I've grown up with him, manifesto and all.

When the first issue of Jane came out, I actually wrote them a letter celebrating their return to newsstands; I've come to regret that, because it really doesn't compare.

I miss Christina Kelly, and "Dear Boy," and the new slang term of the month, and damn if they didn't frost the cake with those monthly short stories. Even their celebrity polls were fabulous.

I miss finding the latest issue in the mail, looking first at the blurb on the magazine's spine, then flipping to the very back page to see what they'd come up with to fill it. And I remember noticing all the other teen magazines scrambling to keep up with Sassy's influence.

So damn good. Sassy made me want to create a magazine of my own.

But looking back 10 years has made me very emotional! The experience was so life-changing for me and so many other people who worked on the issue. The art director of that issue, Tali Edut, went on to found and edit HUES (Hear Us Emerging Sisters) magazine, a groundbreaking mag for young feminists. And so many feminists -- artists, academics, activists, famous and infamous, etc. -- point to Sassy as an integral part of their early feminist development. I'm proud to have been a small part of the legend that is Sassy.

Margie, who used to write some of the best stuff in Sassy, has a site, www.snarly.com, where she archives some of her old stuff. I've tried to find some other Sassy archive and tribute sites but it seems a lot of them have shut down, so if anyone has info, please let me know!

JANE is most definitely not Sassy. I only halfheartedly subscribe -- I think the fashion sucks and it's not half as witty as the old Sassy used to be.

Anyone interested?

quote:

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Originally posted by LaMantequilla:
Wouldn't it be cool to start a revolutionary teen fashion mag in the tradition of Sassy?

Anyone interested?

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I have to tell you, that's been my dream since I was about 11 years old, no lie. I would love to. I am so serious. I currently work in magazine publishing and can find out more about how my publisher got started (it's a Spanish-language parenting magazine so there'd be no competition). So if you're serious, let's talk! Email me at emma_j_gibson@yahoo.com

quote:

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Originally posted by sfpinay:
Aah, Sassy nostalgia! I loved Sassy! I replaced Jane as the editor-in-chief of the December 1991 Reader Produced Issue of Sassy. Anyone remember that issue? What were your favorite issues/sections of Sassy? I loved the Diary section and What Now.

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I remember you! I was so jealous and thought you were really cool!

My favorite section was, hands down, "What Now." I idolized Christina Kelly and wanted to be best friends with Karen Catchpole (who's now back at JANE, much to my great joy!).

isn't it funny how this one magazine can bring women together like no other periodical? just look at all of our replies. jane's near-obsession with michael stipe, christina's crazy tales. the photos they would include of their cubes.

jane comes nowhere near to what sassy once was, but boy do i wish it did. i could certainly use a grown-up version of sassy's sensibilities.

I loved sassy so much. My mom would buy me a subscription to Seventeen every year and I would throw that mag away and pour over every sassy detail.

I loved their Zine of the Month section.

Let's just say that I'm settling down to sleep with my new issue of Cooking Light and Real Simple. JANE will wait for when I'm hella, hella bored. It's the celebrity issue...oh, wait...isn't EVERY issue the celebrity issue?

i did buy LUCKY this month -- edited by former SASSY staffers Kim France and Andrea Linett. LUCKY at least I can respect -- it's straight up, no bones about it materialism and consumption -- no pretenses about being remotely feminist. I just wanna buy a cute coat this winter. For my feminist fix, I read my BUST and BITCH (magazines founded by old SASSY fans and interns).

I hate how i can never remember things....ok i am done...thank you, come again...