If you are a 20-something lover of style now, chances are that you spent a good deal of time reading teen fashion magazines when you were younger. And chances are that one of those magazines included ELLEgirl. Unfortunately defunct now (all that remains is a website that is a shadow of the former publication), ELLEgirl was quite the magazine in its heyday, and I was obsessed.
Specifically, I loved the Global Girl section included in each issue. For a girl growing up in the burbs where “style” equated to “Abercrombie & Fitch,”, the glimpse into fashion in other parts of the world was pretty fascinating to me (this was before the days of street style blogs, mind you).
Of course, there were more than a few misguided pieces of advice. Take, for example, this DIY article with instructions for recreating runway looks at home. I sincerely hope that not too many of us wore masks draped over our shoulders or color guard-worthy ribbons around our waists. If nothing else, at least it maybe inspired some creativity for someone.
If you are interested in re-living the awkward days of the early 2000s (or noughties, as we apparently call them?), before Brandon Holley was at Jane or Lucky, and before Gwen Stefani discovered Harajuku, you can find an impressive archive of the magazine on Google Books. What were your go-to magazines as a teen?
Screen captures from Google Books
City Coeur 
Oh man, this makes me so happy. I idolized Gwen.
Me too! I may or may not have used temporary pink hair dye and stuck bindis on my forehead as a teen 😉