In defense of skirt!

It's no secret that I work for one of the greatest women's magazines ever: skirt!

If you're familiar with the magazine, you probably know that it's all about women, including personal essays written by women about all kinds of topics, plus profiles of local women (in each of our 20 markets), and products, inspirational images, encouragement, local events, ways to make a difference in your local community...it's the antithesis to the "How to Look Thinner" or "How to Please Your Man" content that so many magazines publish today.

skirt! isn't Cosmo or Vogue, but that's not to say that we don't ever talk about controversial topics, or sex, or that we don't love fashion (we do). The magazine has been around since 1994, when our founder, Nikki Hardin, set out to create a way to publish the kind of writing she enjoyed (and couldn't find much of). Born in Charleston, S.C., with $400 and a dream, the magazine was purchased by Morris Communications in 2003, and has been branching out coast-to-coast (from Boston to Santa Barbara) ever since--with Nikki remaining at the helm. (You can find the whole story on our web site, here.)

Recently, our magazine has been slammed in the blogosphere because of a trademark infringement (click the link for a chance to win an awesome bouquet of flowers) that not only made our readers think we were affiliated with another web site, but fooled some of our staffers as well--skirt! has been growing so fast, even those of us who work for the mag have a hard time keeping up!

(I'm not linking to the web site here or to the flamers that have been bashing us, because I'd prefer not to drive up their traffic. A quick Google search should reveal the sites I'm speaking to, if you would like to see the extent of the bashing.)

I'm writing this post out of sheer love for the magazine. I'm not being paid to write about this. I haven't been asked to write about this. But I've been reading skirt! since I moved back to Charleston in 1999, and it's become something that I cannot live without. I love that we're a magazine that supports women--of all backgrounds, races, income levels, and situations. We don't bash women; we support them. Which is why this whole situation, seeing the magazine I love and am so proud to work for being name-called, has been difficult for me. We're being bashed by a community of the very same women who should recognize skirt!'s worth. It's catty. It's one-sided. And it's honestly ridiculous that a woman, Nikki Hardin, who is the physical embodiment of skirt!, should be vilified on the 'net because of a web site that infringed upon a trademark.

Hence this post in support of my most favorite magazine ever. If you love skirt!, too, I'd love for you to post a "Why I love skirt! Magazine" blog on your site. We know we have a lot of fans out there, and we're hoping to garner their support. I'm thankful that 14 years ago, Nikki created a publication that stands up for women--all women--and I hope that if you haven't yet checked out our magazine (or if there's not yet a skirt! in your city), you'll go to our web site, www.skirt.com, and see what we're all about.

Peace, love, and skirt!