The Best Alternative Magazines For Style Lovers

Fear not print fiends, the world of actual paper publishing isn't going away — yet. There's still plenty of diehard magazine fans out there to keep it alive. And, with as many diverse, impeccably photographed, penned, and printed culture magazines floating around, maintaining the presence of physical publications is that much easier.

There's more to glossies than the Vogues, i-Ds, and Harper's Bazaars. There are niche publications that are just, if not more, pleasing on the eyes as they are to the mind. And, tacking on a queer angle puts them into a whole other league of their own — one that's floating just beneath the mainstream surface, quietly influencing what we see in the bigwig glossies. They push the boundaries of sexuality in print, challenge what it means to be pornographic, and work to elevate the subculture to high. They're often regulated to biannual or quarterly issues, which, for some reason, makes them perfect coffee table companions to whatever art books you may have thoughtfully stacked along the surface. They might not be "fashion" magazines per se, but fashion, by definition, stands for making something, to assemble a form.

The following five publications deal with forming and making sense of our world as we see it today through sex, art, music, culture, and, yes, fashion.