The Women’s Magazines of 2023 Are in a Facebook Group and Your Inbox

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When Kate Middleton wore a Suzannah London dress in different colors to various events, it prompted Ms. Holmes to ask readers what clothing items they had in multiples. She received more than 300 answers. In her newsletter, she compiled the responses in a spreadsheet and featured a dozen products that had been suggested by more than one person. (The Anthropologie ‘Somerset’ Dress! The Madewell Whisper Tank!) Comments poured in: “I just bought my first Nap Dress off of this list!” “People loved that because it was a bunch of testimonials of stuff people try and wear and use and buy,” Ms. Holmes, 43, said. “My audience is women in their 30s and 40s like me, and in some ways, we were the tail-end of the glossy magazine shopping trend, and we definitely experienced the Instagram-influencer beautiful photos.” Now, she said, there’s more of a “community aspect” to consumer recommendations and an interest in what normal people are wearing. For some, these communities are a salve for the sheer amount of stuff for sale online, targeted to them in feeds fueled by algorithms. These women want a review of a review and the truth behind a flawless Instagram picture — has a real person actually tried that face roller? Has anyone else been targeted by ads for that particular eyeliner? As Ms. Moss put it: “So many of the amazing things about the internet are also all of the bad things about the internet when it comes to needing to make a meaningful purchase.” Ms. Malinsky, who started her career at the now-defunct Lucky magazine in 2007 and worked at Glamour and GQ before joining The Journal, tells her newsletter subscribers: “I scroll so you don’t have to.” She sends crisp missives that you can count on one hand: five white T-shirts, five dresses for “extreme heat” or five tips for entertaining on Thanksgiving, with casual photos of herself wearing the clothes she’s endorsing.