Magazine Discussion Episode 1- ES POSHH!

 ちゃおっす It's Spacy!

Today is the start of a brand new series (and my first might I add) where I talk about less well known gyaru mags that baby gals may not be familiar with.

We all know popteen, Egg, Koakuma Ageha, Happie nuts, but have you heard of ES POSHH!

ES POSHH! is a discontinued Japanese magazine that published from 2006-2008. The magazine seems to be catered to gals entering adulthood, or as I comedically stated one my twitter: "its sort of like a mag for gals who cant decided whether to work in kabukicho or NOT drop out of education"

In all seriousness, looking at ES POSHH! Volumes I seriously can't tell the vibe they're going for, sometimes sexy, sometimes colourful, its almost as if these magazine is too sexy for Egg but not mature enough to be considered a kabukicho magazine. I see some Roma gyaru inspiration, maybe even a bit of onee gal content, but for the demographic, I suggest the magazine was aimed for gals 18 and up, you can sometimes feel the childish vibes but also how they push elements of maturity as well

  .

Also if you're wondering why (which you probably weren't) why these images are spilling over the lines it's bc my crop stopped working xo.

 

According to the wikipedia article posted about EPOSHH!, the magazines started circulation in October 2006, published on the 17th of every month. Interestingly, the rest of the article states 'The magazine's name comes from the English slang word "POSH" (elegant, luxurious, lively, smart).' As English speakers, we know that 'Posh' is not a slang word, but a descriptive adjective, and the use of the  word 'lively' doesn't really suit the meaning of Posh, so maybe the magazine were going for 'Posh' but possibly (...possibly) missed the mark.

In the magazines history, the main models for the magazine were mainly their exclusive models, although (brace yourself) BEYONCE, once featured on one of the covers (Couldn't find the image tho).

 

I think ES POSHH! is good inspiration for baby gals, gals on a budget or simply gals who aren't into that crazy life style. It's mature, stylish but the clothes worn by the models aren't hard to source or get ones that would look similar to it. its also a good mag for gals maybe not looking to wear lots of branded items. It's also pretty mix and match meaning many inspirations for many occasions.

Models:

In this section, Im going to talk about 3 ES POSHH Models, starting off with Aki Matsumoto

Aki Matsumoto (松本 亜希 Later stylised as 松本アキ) was an ES POSHH! exclusive model, and later a SCAWAII exclusive model until 2008.

 

I think one of Aki's most defining features that makes her such a glorious model was her ability to serve when everyone else looked like they had another shift after their shoots, even if she was literally just standing their breathing, she always found a way to out shine her fellow models

Some time right before ES POSHH! stopped publishing in August 2008, she signed with SCAWAII after graduating from the magazine and starting her career in SCAWAII until December 2013 where she graduated from the magazine. 

Aki is now a YouTuber and a mother of a young boy, and shares her life on instagram and other social media, and although she's not a gyaru anymore, she's still goddamned gorgeous.

Twitter: (@aaakichasooo)

The next Model is Tomoko Tamogami

Tomoko Tamogami (田母神 智子) was a former ES POSHH! model, before that, being a former model for another gyaru magazine, Ranzuki.

Tomoko started her career by getting scouted in Shibuya and working for ranzuki started when she was 18. After 4 years, she graduated from  Ranzuki and transferred to ES POSHH! around the time Aki graduated, but she did not have many covers due to publication ending a few months later. After graduating from ES POSHH!, she appeared in the music video for rookie pop singer, Nishino Kana (another personal favourite) and participated in the chorus for one of her songs.

 Tomoko went on to write articles about love, sex and relationships and got married in 2019, having her first child, a girl in 2021

Instagram: (@tomokotamogami)

The last model I'll talk about today is Azumi Sato

Azumi Sato (佐藤あずみ) was a former ES POSHH! and Egg exclusive Model

    Like Tomoko, Azumi was scouted in 2008 while shopping in Shibuya, meaning there is little (if no) covers or pictures of her in ES POSHH! but she was an exclusive model in 2008. She also modelled for EGG around this time, and even made her debut as an idol in the early 2000's. In 2019, Azumi announced her marriage, and in early 2023, announced the birth of her first child

Twitter: (@AZUMISATO)

Although I did talk about those 3 models, my favourite ES POSHH! model is actually Mirei Ueta (not to be confused with NMB48 Mirei Ueda)

I'll leave this little discussion for here now. At some point, I'll to this page to add some resources showing all the covers and pages I could find from the magazine

Thank you for reading - Spacy

Note: This discussion does not aim to promote sexual content or encourage others to engage in it, thank you.