Esquire vs. GQ

Both remind me of ESPN the Magazine. There's a lot to wade through to get to the great, meaty reads.

There's some really great writing in both once you sort past the "Ohmigod, Kate Beckinsale/Jessica Alba is HOT!!! Here's some swear words!!! Whooooo!" chaff. Some spectacular writing, in both.

 

I've read Esquire cover to cover for past 5 years. Love it.

Wish I had a fashion sense (or larger income) so the pictures of guys in $3,000 trench coats would mean something to me.

But I like it because it makes me feel smarter after I've finished reading it. Pretty shallow on my part but that's why I keep coming back. Kind of like the NY Times in that respect.

Every issue has a couple or more great reads that help me put up with screeds on the latest scarf of cuff link that I'll not only never buy, but never see anyone I know wear.

 

The trick is to find the $150 trench coat that looks like the $3,000 trench coat they picture in the book.

It is fun, however, to imagine the lifestyle that makes an $800 dress shirt a reasonable option.

 

Prime example: This month's issue has the "American Tribes" — Preppy, Corporate, Rocker, etc. — and how to dress like them. For the blue-collar worker, they had the model draped in about $10,000 of clothes. For the outdoorsman (as in hunting and fishing) none of it was camo.

That said, I think Esquire is a bit better month-to-month than GQ. I probably split my time 60/40 to Esquire's favor.

 

Just want to add my standard rant about the lack of a women's equivalent. Vanity Fair makes an attempt, but doesn't quite get there--to me it's still People with better verbs. Incredible to me that Esquire and GQ can fill a monthly men's magazine with the best writers in the business, and women are still relegated to Vogue's portrayal of First Ladies.

 

I read Vanity Fair, and while none of the fashion stuff means squadoosh to me in any of the magazines, I'll keep reading it (and paying very little for a subscription, something like a buck an issue) for one thing above all others: William Langewiesche. There's usually a pop culture story or two that interests me (this month was a good piece on John Hughes and "The Making of ..." piece on movies that was "Raging Bull" was very good). And every now and then the rich folk scandal pieces are worth reading just for the absurdities of what you'll find in there.

I read Esquire, but have never really tried GQ. I've also never tried on a $1,000 cashmere sweater.

 

Completely agree. It's embarrassing. Marie Claire is good for one or two "issues" articles about atrocities being committed against women somewhere in the world or a first person "I was a victim, but I'm not anymore." I haven't read Jones' piece yet, but why couldn't a women's magazine run a story like that? Beyond that, I am very tired of reading about alternatives to Botox and about the BEST DIET EVER!

I've subscribed to GQ for close to 20 years, even though I'm a woman and thus not their target audience. I think GQ has lost something over the past few years. Someone upthread mentioned that it's more juvenile, which I completely agree with. Some months, it reads more like DQ (Douchebag Quarterly) than GQ.

I really enjoy Esquire when I do read it. The reason I don't read it more often (or subscribe) is that there's often too much to read in it. I read a lot of magazines and it stresses me out when my magazine stack gets too high. Silly reason, I know. I often consider dropping GQ in favor of Esquire, but I haven't done it yet.

 

I've subscribed to Esquire for a couple years. Never read GQ outside of a rare airport bookstore purchase.

 

The New Yorker has the highest renewal rate in the industry, not because of Anne Hathaway in her undies or the scoop on the latest ear-nose hair trimmers (retail: $300).

 

Right, but I didn't include The New Yorker in the debate because that's not a fair fight. It wasn't, "Which of these two is the best magazine in America?" It was, "Which is the better of these two very similar men's magazines?"

Oh, and I guess I'm in the minority in that I kind of like the men's style stuff in both magazines. Growing up with a father who still wore his power blue 1970's leisure suit to weddings in the 1990's, I think it's helpful. I feel much more comfortable walking into even department stores and knowing what I'm looking for. But it seems in the sports journalism industry there is a cultural reaction against fashion/clothing in any way, shape or form. It's an odd little shared trait.