Entertaining magazine is just a big ad for products

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
So maybe we aren't grabbing up the Chanel jackets and begging at the personal shopper's door as we did in the good old '90s. But we're still a nation of shoppers.
Otherwise, why would shopping magazines be about the hottest thing in publishing since the printing press?
For proof, consider the arrival of Shop Etc. It's a brand new magazine focusing on the latest for your wardrobe, home and beauty regimen from Hearst Publications, which owns such other titles as Harper's Bazaar, Town and Country and Cosmopolitan.
It follows Conde Nast's successful Lucky and a men's book called "Cargo."
You don't have to bother reading about socialites, soldiers or sex. These products are all about what to buy.
Insight into products
The new book includes a personal-shopper type "Help Desk" that answers a range of questions on everything from getting a smooth panty line to finding a round bed.
It does everybody's favorite high-end designer and low-end knock-off comparisons and, in a home section, provides guidance on wallpaper, flowered lampshades and a "perky" apron.
Keep in mind, it's really a 200-page commercial, but it's entertaining. Otherwise, you may not know about the $25 cafe latte-colored Body Glow powder from JLO that puts a sheen on your bare legs (macys.com).