I was gathering book notes yesterday and discovered this juicy tidbit reported by David M. Garner and Ann Kearney-Cooke, both experts on body image. Their study reported:

70% of women felt depressed, guilty and ashamed after looking at fashion magazines for a mere three minutes.

And I get it.

Page after page of gorgeous, fit women. Page after page of drool-worthy clothes and jewelry. Page after page of articles on all kinds of issues that you had no idea you should be worrying about.

Even if you have healthy self-esteem, it can sometimes be a challenge to get through an entire issue without feeling…less than.

Not good enough. Not rich enough. Not slim enough. Not pretty enough. Not smart enough. Not stylish enough.

This morning I took out three recent fashion magazines and randomly flipped through the pages and here’s jut a sampling of what I found:

* a page featuring a new line of handbags with all pictured items priced $4700 or higher
* an article about getting your hair “commercial worthy”
* an article asking if women are wasting unused “erotic capital,” whatever that is

Look, I subscribe to the major fashion magazines, too, but I confess I haven’t actually read any of them in months. At most, I’ve been giving them a quick flip before filing them away for future reference.

And I’m not suggesting that you not read fashion magazines, either.

They can be a guilty little pleasure and they can offer inspiration to keep your style current.

But for heaven’s sake, if they make you feel guilty or anxious or ashamed, and apparently for seven out of ten you they do, then yes, I’m suggesting you cancel your subscriptions and replace reading fashion magazines with an activity you find much more empowering and uplifting instead.

And even if you can pore over fashion magazines without them affecting your psyche in a negative way, keep in mind that for every hour you’re gazing at the models and designer clothes and living your dream of going to Cannes by vicariously reading about it secondhand, you could be actively engaged in obtaining the film skills you need to actually get you there yourself.

Instead of making a judgment about “Who Wore It Better” or getting the play-by-play on some famous person who’s famous just for being famous, you could actually spend the same time learning about an issue in your local community that can have an actual effect on your life.

Instead of consuming an entire afternoon learning about an entirely new way to tie a ponytail, why it’s so important to have thick, lustrous eyelashes and why the jeans that took you three months to save for last season are now out of style, you might want to reserve a bit of your afternoon for heavier topics like learning more about the escalating famine crisis in Africa or the record-breaking drought that has devastated much of the American south this summer.

(And if this is first you’ve heard of a famine in Africa or a drought in the South, then you really need to spend less time obsessing about ponytails and eyelashes.)

I guess all I’m suggesting is that you approach reading a fashion magazine with the same awareness and intent that you approach the rest of life.

So if you find yourself feeling guilty, depressed, ashamed or inadequate while paging through Vogue, ask yourself why.

Why does reading about this particular topic make me feel this way? Why does looking at this fashion layout bring on these feelings?

And more importantly, pay attention to the subtle sales manipulation contributing to the feeling like headlines proclaiming “what you need now” or “must-have products.” Really? Says who?

Then you can make a conscious choice if you want to continue reading and feeling bad, if you can continue reading without feeling bad, or if you want to just close the covers and go for a run or spend time with your kids.

And remember, just because all the fashion magazines and blogs are proclaiming some hot new trend doesn’t mean you have to mortgage the farm to buy into it. I’d like to suggest that you could go this entire season, for example, without jumping on board the southwest and Navajo trend.

Since this is the type of trend that’s loaded with visual impact, when this trend is over, it’ll be over and when it goes out, it’ll be OUT.

So you may want to save a whole lot of dollars by just giving the trend a nod with a fab vintage scarf like today’s VPOD.

It’s the smart way to trend for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Spanish Moss Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)