Tulle Magazine Review

It’s great to know that while 2017 was the year when GLB and KERA stopped publishing a physical magazine, it was also the year many new publications have started. While it remains to be seen if any of them will live past issue one, just before the end of the year I have received a copy of tulle, another kawaii fashion magazine from Japan, so let’s have a look!

Again, I have ordered via Amazon Japan with direct DHL postage to the UK – and once again it arrived within 2 days of the official release. This magazine is a lot cheaper, at ¥680 including tax (paid £4.37 at the time), although it did not include any free gifts, and with another £7.52 for postage and handling fees, it was more than reasonable for a purchase directly from Japan to the UK.

Click to enlarge.

Like most Japanese fashion magazines, tulle is printed on lovely quality paper. It doesn’t look any different from those other magazines, like Miel or Melt. And to be honest, it isn’t. 

Click to enlarge.

What you get in tulle is the standard basic content: lots of previews from various brands, some makeup tutorials, some snaps and a bunch of ads, interestingly, also ads for model or idol auditions. There are two very, very short interviews in there, neither of which takes up even a page, instead being confined to small side boxes and five questions each, which doesn’t allow for any depth. So if you’re looking for content, you would be disappointed with tulle. Both Melt and Miel offered more, although while tulle is about half the price of either of these, it is still slightly thicker (112 pages total, so about 20 pages more than Melt and just under 50 pages more than Miel). But don’t be deceived: here more pages simply means more previews than anything else. 

Click to enlarge.

In short, tulle is what a typical fashion magazine in Japan is: focused on product previews, with a lot to look at and not much to read. It will be great for J-fashion magazine collectors or those looking to branch out into other styles and looking for inspiration, since tulle features all kinds of kawaii fashion from Lolita to Larme and even something more edgy, but would disappoint those wishing to improve their Japanese reading skills or those looking for articles.

Click to enlarge.

Again, because tulle is a lot cheaper than its counterparts, the lack of content to read isn’t really a complaint – you get what you pay for in a fashion magazine. What I do hope, however, is that its lower price will entice more people to buy it, driving some demand for a second issue and then another, so that eventually the publishers would see the point and need in adding something extra to it, like an event report, a longer interview or a lifestyle article. Because it’s been six months now since the first issue of Melt and there’s still no sign of the second one. Similarly, although Miel is still fairly fresh, it’s only one issue. So if the next long-term publication has to start a little bit barer than what I’d like, then so be it.

Click to enlarge.

Did you get a copy of tulle? What did you think? Would you rather have a magazine strictly focused on the fashion or do you prefer something extra with it? Does the lack of freebies bother you? Let me know in the comments!