When I grow up, I want to be Tavi Gevinson.

Fashion blogger and feminist extraodinaire Tavi Gevinson is my hero. She dyed her hair gray (well, sort of by accident, but still) when she was only 13, and may I just say: Pulling. It. Off. She’s respected across the fashion industry by the likes of Agyness Deyn and the Prada-wearing devil, herself, but this pint-sized style savant is also a proud feminist and steering her role in the media in a more political direction than straightforward fashion coverage.

At only 15-years-old, she’s editor-in-chief of a teen girls’ magazine (only online, so far) that she launched this year called The Rookie that is sort of Ms. Magazine meets Nylon. The Rookie’s tone says that it’s OK to be a quirky, imaginative girl. Insecurities are normal and something you grow out of. Being smart is cool. That sort of thing.

The third and latest issue looks at the theme ‘Girl Gang’, which entails everything from Greece‘s Sandra D (granted, not exactly a feminist icon), girl bands, Powder Puff Girls(I don’t even really know what that is – I’m too old for this sh*t) and the Golden Girls. The magazine is a mix of cutesy teenage stuff and more serious pieces like the one titled First Encounters with the Male Gaze, in which she writes about being frustrated by the sudden onslaught of men’s eye-pawing that comes with adolescence. She writes: “I want them to know that I don’t exist for them to look at, I don’t get dressed for them, and however I have put myself together on this day—it is not for you. Most of all, I want to be able to walk around my neighborhood and school without its being assumed that I am looking for feedback on my figure.”

There are things on the site that could use some editing, but given that there are people on The Rookie’s staff who are over the legal drinking age and should know better than to leave some of that sloppy writing in there, I almost wonder if it’s left in intentionally to tell readers that she really is doing the job of EIC.

A recent post includes a video of the three comediennes starlets from the most awesome sitcom on the current primetime roster, Parks and Recreation. The video features Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones and Aubrey Plaza sampling candy gifted to them by the team at The Rookie. The sweet treats do not disappoint. And may I just say that amid all the protests and political assassinations and Kardashian heartbreak: Tavi Gevinson, Amy Poehler and Candy. The World makes sense again.

Out with the Old in Vogue

This month’s issue of Vogue got me feeling all tingly inside. I wasn’t sure if I was willing to cough up the $5 to buy it – in the case of magazines, I have a golden rule to ALWAYS judge the book by its cover and I wasn’t sure how I felt about Rachel McAdams or her latest Guy Ritchie flick. But I was so enticed by her fun and flirtatious outfit that I caved and bought it as an impulse buy while I was in line at the grocery store. And I was pleasantly surprised with the treasures inside.

Anna Wintour’s editor’s letter gave me hope for the future of fashion. Titled “In with the new”, it’s dedicated to up-and-coming designers who have sought out a new type of muse. From the powerful and elegant First Lady to the fresh-faced Canadian starlet featured on the magazine’s cover, Wintour is calling these inspiring fashion icons “fearless women with their own ideas about looking wonderful”, and the styling throughout the magazine definitely lives up to that statement. (She also boldly remarks that the red carpet is in need of a ‘spring cleaning’ – ouch! Take that SJP and Nicole Kidman)

A spread featuring the new It girl, Carey Mulligan, is a salute to playfulness and imagination filled with loads of polka dots, lace, classic tweeds and goofy hats.  Another article outlines the career of Lara Stone, a sexy size 4 model who is finally managing to break into an industry of malnourished waifs and is being taken seriously by major labels (she has walked down the runway for the likes of Marc Jacobs and Balmain). Stone’s headway is hardly in line with the aspirations of the Dove campaign, and of course the fact that Vogue printed a story entirely about her being a size 4 proves how far we are from considering even a size SMALL to be an accepted norm, but it’s the first article of its kind that’s managed to convince me of a possible shift in the collective conscience about perceptions of beauty.

I have yet to seriously peruse the article about Rachel McAdams but I read the pull quotes and I can see that it is yet another article about how clever, talented and sincere she is. I may be alone in my opinion here, but I don’t really see her conveying that on screen! I glimpsed a quote from Diane Keaton saying that McAdams has the brains and stunning face to be compared to Meryl Streep. I would love to see McAdams prove Keaton’s claims, but in my opinion she’ll need to take on a role more challenging than The Notebook, Sherlock Holmes and Mean Girls.