Fashion magazine for full figures

NEW YORK -- Little by little, fashion magazines have been breaking a longstanding taboo by picturing models in sizes that actually resemble most American women. A new magazine called Grace is going even further, honing in exclusively on the most underserved group of readers: Women who wear sizes 12 and up.

It seems like a great business plan, but previous efforts to reach this market have run into trouble. Last fall Mode magazine closed after five years when its parent company, Freedom Communications, couldn't find a buyer for the title.

This time around, the editors of Grace -- many of whom came from Mode -- think things will be different. They've got new financial backers and a different editorial formula that goes well beyond beauty and fashion, a limited scope that many blame for Mode's downfall.

"Last time, readers were telling us, where's my food, where's my sex, where's my travel," says Grace editor Ceslie Armstrong, who was the executive editor at Mode. "Mode stuck to beauty and fashion, but now we're much more into lifestyle."

Hoping to avoid pitfalls

Put another way, Mode came to be seen as a magazine for big women who had trouble finding clothes that fit them. Hoping to avoid that pitfall, Grace is being positioned as an all-purpose women's title with entertainment news, horoscopes, fitness advice and other typical magazine fare, but with models who happen to look more like typical American women, more than half of whom wear size 12 and up.

What's more, Grace has a far larger base of potential advertisers than Mode did when it launched in 1997. Several leading fashion houses have launched new lines of large sizes in recent years, and sales of "plus" size clothing at retailers like Chico's are growing rapidly.

So far, advertisers like what they see. The first issue of Grace goes on sale Tuesday and is chock full of advertising.

"There's a real need for a magazine that speaks to that customer," Kristine Westerby, advertising director for Marina Rinaldi, said. "We felt it was interesting because it didn't just address fashion concerns. ... There are so many other facets to a woman's life besides getting dressed every day."

But if fashion magazines have been slow to catch on, clothing designers certainly haven't. Sales of larger sizes are holding their own despite an overall drop in the women's clothing market last year.

Tom Julian, a fashion trend analyst for Fallon Worldwide, an advertising agency, says Grace has a chance at success -- if it executes on its mission well. "We know that the plus size market is viable, but they need to make the connection with retailers and readers."