Darling

I recently discovered a new magazine (and blog) called Darling. I'm absolutely loving what I've read so far. How lovely to come across a magazine for women that goes beyond the typical How To Lose 10 Pounds in Two Days, celebrity gossip, or pseudo-smart self-help. It's also refreshing to catch a break from uber-intellectual writing that can be downright boring. (I'm peer reviewing an essay for a prominent Victorian journal right now. I keep wondering when the writer will give me a reason to care about her topic. Maybe I've been out of academia too long, but the perennially touted raison d'être--that some obscure literary detail is "interesting"--fails to ignite my passion.) 

As someone who likes clothes, design, and fashion, I find it hard to read magazines or blogs that consistently leave me feeling not enough. Not attractive, thin, clever, stylish, individual enough. In a home that's not quirky, organized, welcoming, clean, green enough. There's always this subtext of lack underneath, surely correlated to the fact magazines are typically selling me something. How refreshing to find print and digital media that celebrate beauty and style in ways that feel more poetic, more unique, more flexible.